The San Antonio Spurs: Making San Antonio Proud!

The Spurs is the only major professional sports team that calls the city of San Antonio their home. For this special honor, the residents of San Antonio shower their "boys" with praise and attention. In return, the Spurs team delivers an entertaining season and also gives back to the community. This is quite evident through the efforts and endeavors associated with influential personalities, such as David Robinson (Carver Academy) and George Gervin (Youth Center).

It is believed that the impressive community involvement from players greatly contributes to creating one of the most loyal fan bases within the NBA. This fact is also obvious through the attendance records that the team set when they called the Astrodome their home court. They also broke records for having one of the biggest crowds in history during the 1999 NBA Finals. Now, they play in the AT&T Center and continue to regularly sell out seats.

Another unique bond that the city and team have with one another showcases one of the most important forms of respect. When celebrating championship runs or significant milestones within the sporting world, the residents of San Antonio march up and down the streets, honking horns and spreading pride with little disruption. When it comes to rejoicing after a Spurs-title win, a major riot has yet to take place.

Throughout the years, San Antonio has had a lot to be happy about. They have sent three players to the Basketball Hall of Fame: George Gervin, Moses Malone, and Dominique Wilkins. The first of these basketball greats inducted into the Hall of Fame was George Gervin, who was nicknamed the "Iceman" during his career. In 1996, his outstanding run with the Spurs left him retiring with the second-most blocks of any guard in the NBA.

In 2001, Moses Malone was inducted into the Hall of Fame. By the end of his career, his longevity in the game sent him playing with two members of the Berry family (Rick in Houston; 1979 and 1980) and his son (Jon in Milwaukee; 1992 and 1993). The last of the current Hall of Famers is Dominique Wilkins, who in 2006 was inducted after leading an NBA career filled with major scoring and dunking accolades.

The San Antonio Spurs have rewarded an assortment of players for their service on the team by retiring their number into the rafters, which is an attractive accomplishment for any basketball player. Out of former Spurs players, Johnny Moore, who played in the 80s, had his # 00 retired. Moore played the position of guard and was known for overcoming Valley fever, which at the time was thought to have the capability to put an end to his career. Luckily, Moore was able to make a full recovery and wound up playing 520 games with San Antonio.

Guard James Silas (#13) may seem like an unlucky number, but for this Spurs player, it turned out to be quit lucky when his jersey was retired. Nicknamed "Captain Late" and "The Snake," he was thought as being his basketball best when games were late into play.

Sean Elliott, a forward for San Antonio played from 1989 to 1993, as well as from 1994 to 2001 had his #32 jersey sent high into the rafters of the AT&T Center in 2005. While he accomplished many achievements during his time on the team, he might be best known for the role he played in 1999, when the Spurs gained the NBA championship title. In Game 2, he walked a thin line down the sideline and set off a three-pointer to inch the Spurs to a win the Portland Trail Blazers during the Western Conference Finals.

David Robinson (#50) has always been known as one-half of the Twin Towers duo. The center played for the Spurs from 1989 to 2003 and also had his number retired. He is often referred to as one of the best centers to ever play in professional basketball. Playing from 1974 to 1985, George Gervin also earned the respect to have his #44 join the ranks of retired numbers associated with the San Antonio organization. To date, there have only been five who have been able to accomplish such a feat.