1999–2000 San Antonio Spurs season

The 1999–2000 San Antonio Spurs season was the 24th season for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association, their 27th season as the Spurs, and their 33rd season as a franchise.^[1] After having won their first NBA championship in the 1999 NBA Finals, where they defeated the New York Knicks in five games, the Spurs signed free agents Terry Porter,^[2][3][4] Samaki Walker and Chucky Brown during the off-season.^[5][6][7]

However, prior to the season, Sean Elliott was diagnosed with a kidney disorder, and missed the first four months of the regular season; he would then receive a kidney transplant from his brother, Noel.^[8][9][10] The Spurs were originally scheduled to play two games against the Minnesota Timberwolves overseas in Tokyo, Japan in November during the first month of the regular season, but because they won the NBA championship, they were obligated to play in the McDonald's Championship in Milan, Italy in October.^[11][12][13]

With the addition of Porter, the Spurs got off to a fast start by winning 14 of their first 17 games of the regular season, which included a seven-game winning streak between November and December,^[14] and later on held a 32–17 record at the All-Star break.^[15] At mid-season, Brown was released to free agency after 30 games, and re-signed with his former team, the Charlotte Hornets. On March 14, 2000, Elliott returned to the team to play in a home game against the Atlanta Hawks, in which the Spurs won at the Alamodome, 94–79; Elliott played in the final 19 games of the season.^[16][17][18] The Spurs won six of their final seven games, and finished in second place in the Midwest Division with a 53–29 record, earning the fourth seed in the Western Conference.^[19]

Tim Duncan averaged 23.2 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, while David Robinson averaged 17.8 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team. In addition, Avery Johnson provided the team with 11.2 points and 6.0 assists per game, while Porter contributed 9.4 points and 3.3 assists per game, and Mario Elie provided with 7.5 points per game. Meanwhile, Malik Rose averaged 6.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while three-point specialist Jaren Jackson contributed 6.3 points per game, and led the Spurs with 108 three-point field goals, Elliot averaged 6.0 points per game, Walker provided with 5.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, and Jerome Kersey contributed 4.5 points per game.^[20]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at The Arena in Oakland in Oakland, California, Duncan and Robinson were both selected for the 2000 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team.^[21][22][23] Duncan scored 24 points along with 14 rebounds, as he and Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers both shared the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player award, as the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 137–126.^[24][25][26] Meanwhile, Porter participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout for the third time.^[27][28] Duncan also finished in fifth place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[29][30] while Elliott finished tied in eleventh place in Most Improved Player voting.^[30]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 2000 NBA playoffs, the Spurs faced off against the 5th–seeded Phoenix Suns, a team that featured Clifford Robinson, Penny Hardaway, and All-Star guard Jason Kidd. Despite both teams finishing with the same regular-season record, the Spurs had home-court advantage in the series. However, shortly before the regular season ended, Duncan suffered a season-ending knee injury.^[31][32][33] Without Duncan, the Spurs lost Game 1 to the Suns at home, 72–70 at the Alamodome, but managed to win Game 2 at home, 85–70 to even the series. However, the Spurs lost the next two games to the Suns on the road, which included a Game 4 loss at the America West Arena, 89–78, in which Kidd returned from an ankle injury; the Spurs lost the series to the Suns in four games.^[34][35][36] This was the first time that the Spurs lost in the opening round of the NBA playoffs since the 1993–94 season.

The Spurs finished second in the NBA in home-game attendance behind the Chicago Bulls, with an attendance of 884,450 at the Alamodome during the regular season.^[20][37] Following the season, Elie signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns,^[38][39][40] and Kersey signed with the Milwaukee Bucks during the next season.^[41]