1995–96 San Antonio Spurs season

The 1995–96 San Antonio Spurs season was the 20th season for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association, and their 29th season as a franchise.^[1] The city of San Antonio, Texas hosted the NBA All-Star weekend at the Alamodome this season.^[2] During the off-season, the team acquired Will Perdue from the Chicago Bulls,^[3][4][5] and signed free agents Carl Herrera, who previously won two NBA championships with the Houston Rockets,^[6] former Spurs center Greg Anderson, and three-point specialist Brad Lohaus.^[7][8]

With the addition of Perdue, the Spurs got off to a solid 11–4 start to the regular season, and later on held a 31–14 record at the All-Star break.^[9] At mid-season, the team traded Lohaus, and J.R. Reid to the New York Knicks in exchange for Charles D. Smith, and second-year forward Monty Williams.^[10][11][12] The Spurs posted a 17-game winning streak in March, where they went undefeated posting a 16–0 record that month, which matched the 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers' record.^[13][14][15] The Spurs won their second consecutive Midwest Division title with a 59–23 record, and earned the second seed in the Western Conference;^[16] the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the seventh consecutive year.^[1]

David Robinson averaged 25.0 points, 12.2 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 3.3 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.^[17] In addition, Sean Elliott averaged 20.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, and contributed 161 three-point field goals, while Vinny Del Negro provided the team with 14.5 points and 3.8 assists per game, Avery Johnson contributed 13.1 points, 9.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and Smith provided with 9.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in 32 games after the trade. Off the bench, sixth man and three-point specialist Chuck Person contributed 10.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, and led the Spurs with 190 three-point field goals, while Perdue averaged 5.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, and Doc Rivers provided with 4.0 points per game.^[18]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Robinson and Elliott were both selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was Elliott's second and final All-Star appearance.^[19][20][21] Robinson finished in second place in Most Valuable Player voting, behind Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls,^[22][23] and also finished in fourth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting;^[23] Del Negro finished tied in 14th place in Most Improved Player voting, Person finished in sixth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting,^[23] and head coach Bob Hill finished tied in third place in Coach of the Year voting.^[24][23]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1996 NBA playoffs, the Spurs faced off against the 7th–seeded Phoenix Suns, a team that featured All-Star forward Charles Barkley, All-Star guard Kevin Johnson, and sixth man Danny Manning. The Spurs won the first two games over the Suns at home at the Alamodome, before losing Game 3 on the road, 94–93 at the America West Arena.^[25] The Spurs won Game 4 over the Suns on the road, 116–98 to win the series in four games.^[26][27][28]

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 3rd–seeded Utah Jazz, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Karl Malone, All-Star guard John Stockton, and Jeff Hornacek. With the series tied at 1–1, the Spurs lost the next two games to the Jazz on the road, including a Game 4 loss at the Delta Center, 101–86.^[29] However, the Spurs managed to win Game 5 at the Alamodome, 98–87,^[30] but then lost Game 6 to the Jazz at the Delta Center, 108–81, thus losing the series in six games.^[31][32][33]

The Spurs finished seventh in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 782,701 at the Alamodome during the regular season.^[18][34] Following the season, Rivers retired to become a broadcast analyst for Turner Sports, ending his 13-year career in the NBA.^[35][36][37] One notable highlight of the regular season occurred on November 8, 1995, in which the Spurs defeated the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies, 111–62 at the Alamodome; Vancouver's 62 points were the fifth-lowest number of points scored in a game in NBA history at the time.^[38][39][40]