| 1994–95 San Antonio Spurs season | |
|---|---|
Division champions | |
| Head coach | Bob Hill |
| President | Gregg Popovich (vice) |
| General manager | Gregg Popovich |
| Owner | Peter Holt |
| Arena | Alamodome |
| Results | |
| Record | 62–20 (.756) |
| Place | Division: 1st (Midwest) Conference: 1st (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Western Conference finals (lost to Rockets 2–4) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | KSAT-TV KABB Prime Sports Southwest |
| Radio | WOAI |
The 1994–95 San Antonio Spurs season was the 19th season for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association, and their 28th season as a franchise. [1] During the off-season, the Spurs hired Bob Hill as their new head coach, [2] [3] [4] re-acquired Sean Elliott after playing one year with the Detroit Pistons, [5] [6] [7] re-signed Avery Johnson after one season with the Golden State Warriors, [8] and signed free agents Chuck Person, [9] [10] [11] and former All-Star forward Moses Malone. [12] [13] [14] Early into the regular season, they signed free agent Doc Rivers, who was previously released by the New York Knicks. [15] [16]
With Dennis Rodman serving two suspensions early into the regular season, [17] [18] [19] the Spurs struggled and played below .500 in winning percentage with a slow 7–9 start. However, they would win 13 of their next 14 games, hold a 30–15 record at the All-Star break, [20] then later on post a 15-game winning streak between March and April, and win 21 of their final 23 games, winning the Midwest Division title by finishing with the league's best record at 62–20, and earning the first seed in the Western Conference. [21] It was also their best regular season record in franchise history, surpassing the 56-win 1989–90 season, which would be surpassed 11 seasons later by the 2005-06 team (63–19), then 10 seasons later by the 2015-16 squad (67–15).
David Robinson averaged 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game, and was named the NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year; [22] [23] [24] he was also named to the All-NBA First Team. In addition, Elliott averaged 18.1 points per game and contributed 136 three-point field goals, while Johnson provided the team with 13.4 points, 8.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game, Vinny Del Negro contributed 12.5 points per game, and Rodman, who only played just 49 games, averaged 7.1 points, and led the league with 16.8 rebounds per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team. Off the bench, Person played a sixth man role, averaging 10.8 points per game and leading the Spurs with 172 three-point field-goals, while J.R. Reid averaged 7.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, and Terry Cummings provided with 6.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. [25]
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, Robinson was selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team, [26] [27] [28] while Person participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout. [29] [30] Both Robinson and Rodman were named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team; Robinson also finished in fourth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, while Rodman finished in fifth place, [31] [32] Johnson finished in sixth place in Most Improved Player voting, [33] [32] Person finished in third place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, [34] [32] and Hill finished in third place in Coach of the Year voting. [35] [32]
In the Western Conference First Round of the 1995 NBA playoffs, the Spurs faced off against the 8th–seeded Denver Nuggets, a team that featured All-Star center, and Defensive Player of the Year, Dikembe Mutombo, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Reggie Williams. The Spurs won the first two games over the Nuggets at home at the Alamodome, before winning Game 3 on the road, 99–95 at the McNichols Sports Arena to win the series in a three-game sweep. [36] [37] [38]
In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 5th–seeded Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Cedric Ceballos, second-year star Nick Van Exel, and Vlade Divac. The Spurs took a 3–1 series lead over the Lakers, before losing Game 5 at home in overtime, 98–96 at the Alamodome. The Spurs won Game 6 over the Lakers on the road, 100–88 at the Great Western Forum to win the series in six games. [39] [40] [41]
In the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs then faced off against the 6th–seeded, and defending NBA champion Houston Rockets, a team that featured All-Star center Hakeem Olajuwon, All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, and Robert Horry. Both teams lacked home-court advantage in the series with the road team winning every game, until the Rockets won Game 6 over the Spurs at The Summit, 100–95, as the Spurs lost the series in six games. [42] [43] [44] The Rockets would go on to defeat the Orlando Magic in a four-game sweep in the 1995 NBA Finals, winning their second consecutive NBA championship. [45] [46] [47]
The Spurs finished third in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 920,413 at the Alamodome during the regular season. [25] [48] Following the season, the controversial Rodman was traded to the Chicago Bulls after only two seasons with the Spurs, [49] [50] [51] while Terry Cummings re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the Milwaukee Bucks, [52] [53] [54] Willie Anderson was left unprotected in the 1995 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Toronto Raptors expansion team, [55] [56] [57] and Malone, who only played just 17 games this season due to a ruptured tendon in his right leg, [58] [59] retired after nineteen seasons in the NBA.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Bill Curley | Forward | Boston College | |
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach Assistant(s) Legend
|
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| z- San Antonio Spurs | 62 | 20 | .756 | — | 33–8 | 29–12 | 20–6 |
| x- Utah Jazz | 60 | 22 | .732 | 2 | 33–8 | 27–14 | 17–9 |
| x- Houston Rockets | 47 | 35 | .573 | 15 | 25–16 | 22–19 | 13–13 |
| x- Denver Nuggets | 41 | 41 | .500 | 21 | 23–18 | 18–23 | 13–13 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 36 | 46 | .439 | 26 | 19–22 | 17–24 | 11–15 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 21 | 61 | .256 | 41 | 13–28 | 8–33 | 4–22 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-San Antonio Spurs | 62 | 20 | .756 | – |
| 2 | y-Phoenix Suns | 59 | 23 | .720 | 3 |
| 3 | x-Utah Jazz | 60 | 22 | .732 | 2 |
| 4 | x-Seattle SuperSonics | 57 | 25 | .695 | 5 |
| 5 | x-Los Angeles Lakers | 48 | 34 | .585 | 14 |
| 6 | x-Houston Rockets | 47 | 35 | .573 | 15 |
| 7 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 18 |
| 8 | x-Denver Nuggets | 41 | 41 | .500 | 21 |
| 9 | Sacramento Kings | 39 | 43 | .476 | 23 |
| 10 | Dallas Mavericks | 36 | 46 | .439 | 26 |
| 11 | Golden State Warriors | 26 | 56 | .317 | 36 |
| 12 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 21 | 61 | .256 | 41 |
| 13 | Los Angeles Clippers | 17 | 65 | .207 | 45 |
The Spurs' season opener against the Golden State Warriors on November 4, 1994, was delayed more than 50 minutes after the Alamodome's sprinkler system accidentally went off. The cause was a sensor getting triggered by the fireworks display the team put on during the player introductions. Most of those soaked were the fans who were seated in the season ticket area, and they took it in stride. The game eventually went on as scheduled, with Golden State winning 123–118. [60] [61] [62]
Dennis Rodman helped San Antonio to their then-franchise best win–loss record of 62–20, and they made it to the Western Conference finals. However, his increasingly erratic off-court life, including a brief but heavily publicized relationship with singer Madonna, and on-court antics, such as dyeing his hair and starting on-court arguments resulted in him being traded to the Chicago Bulls after only two years with the Spurs.
| 1994–95 game log Total: 62–20 (home: 33–8; road: 29–12) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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November: 6–7 (home: 5–3; road: 1–4)
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December: 9–3 (home: 5–2; road: 4–1)
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January: 11–4 (home: 4–1; road: 7–3)
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February: 11–2 (home: 7–0; road: 4–2)
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March: 14–2 (home: 8–1; road: 6–1)
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April: 11–2 (home: 4–1; road: 7–1)
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| 1994–95 schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995 playoff game log | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First Round: 3–0 (home: 2–0; road: 1–0)
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Conference semifinals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1)
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Conference finals: 2–4 (home: 0–3; road: 2–1)
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| 1995 schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avery Johnson | PG | 82 | 82 | 3,011 | 208 | 670 | 114 | 13 | 1,101 | 36.7 | 2.5 | 8.2 | 1.4 | .2 | 13.4 |
| David Robinson | C | 81 | 81 | 3,074 | 877 | 236 | 134 | 262 | 2,238 | 38.0 | 10.8 | 2.9 | 1.7 | 3.2 | 27.6 |
| Sean Elliott | SF | 81 | 81 | 2,858 | 287 | 206 | 78 | 38 | 1,466 | 35.3 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 1.0 | .5 | 18.1 |
| J. R. Reid | PF | 81 | 37 | 1,566 | 393 | 55 | 60 | 32 | 563 | 19.3 | 4.9 | .7 | .7 | .4 | 7.0 |
| Chuck Person | SF | 81 | 1 | 2,033 | 258 | 106 | 45 | 12 | 872 | 25.1 | 3.2 | 1.3 | .6 | .1 | 10.8 |
| Terry Cummings | PF | 76 | 20 | 1,273 | 378 | 59 | 36 | 19 | 520 | 16.8 | 5.0 | .8 | .5 | .3 | 6.8 |
| Vinny Del Negro | SG | 75 | 71 | 2,360 | 192 | 226 | 61 | 14 | 938 | 31.5 | 2.6 | 3.0 | .8 | .2 | 12.5 |
| Doc Rivers † | PG | 60 | 0 | 942 | 100 | 154 | 61 | 21 | 302 | 15.7 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 1.0 | .4 | 5.0 |
| Dennis Rodman | PF | 49 | 26 | 1,568 | 823 | 97 | 31 | 23 | 349 | 32.0 | 16.8 | 2.0 | .6 | .5 | 7.1 |
| Willie Anderson | SG | 38 | 11 | 556 | 55 | 52 | 26 | 10 | 185 | 14.6 | 1.4 | 1.4 | .7 | .3 | 4.9 |
| Jack Haley | PF | 31 | 0 | 117 | 27 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 73 | 3.8 | .9 | .1 | .1 | .2 | 2.4 |
| Chris Whitney | PG | 25 | 0 | 179 | 13 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 42 | 7.2 | .5 | 1.1 | .2 | .0 | 1.7 |
| Julius Nwosu | C | 23 | 0 | 84 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 31 | 3.7 | 1.0 | .1 | .0 | .1 | 1.3 |
| Moses Malone | C | 17 | 0 | 149 | 46 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 49 | 8.8 | 2.7 | .4 | .1 | .2 | 2.9 |
| Howard Eisley † | PG | 15 | 0 | 56 | 6 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3.7 | .4 | 1.2 | .0 | .1 | .5 |
| Corey Crowder | SF | 7 | 0 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4.1 | .4 | .1 | .1 | .0 | .9 |
| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Robinson | C | 15 | 15 | 623 | 182 | 47 | 22 | 39 | 380 | 41.5 | 12.1 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 25.3 |
| Avery Johnson | PG | 15 | 15 | 575 | 32 | 125 | 20 | 6 | 218 | 38.3 | 2.1 | 8.3 | 1.3 | .4 | 14.5 |
| Sean Elliott | SF | 15 | 15 | 574 | 72 | 40 | 10 | 7 | 260 | 38.3 | 4.8 | 2.7 | .7 | .5 | 17.3 |
| Vinny Del Negro | SG | 15 | 15 | 382 | 32 | 37 | 8 | 2 | 131 | 25.5 | 2.1 | 2.5 | .5 | .1 | 8.7 |
| Terry Cummings | PF | 15 | 2 | 135 | 31 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 58 | 9.0 | 2.1 | .3 | .3 | .1 | 3.9 |
| J. R. Reid | PF | 15 | 1 | 209 | 42 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 91 | 13.9 | 2.8 | .6 | .5 | .3 | 6.1 |
| Doc Rivers | PG | 15 | 0 | 318 | 29 | 24 | 14 | 9 | 117 | 21.2 | 1.9 | 1.6 | .9 | .6 | 7.8 |
| Chuck Person | SF | 15 | 0 | 258 | 27 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 75 | 17.2 | 1.8 | .5 | .3 | .5 | 5.0 |
| Dennis Rodman | PF | 14 | 12 | 459 | 207 | 18 | 12 | 0 | 124 | 32.8 | 14.8 | 1.3 | .9 | .0 | 8.9 |
| Willie Anderson | SG | 11 | 0 | 97 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 20 | 8.8 | 1.1 | .9 | .5 | .0 | 1.8 |
| Jack Haley | PF | 4 | 0 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3.3 | 1.5 | .0 | .0 | .3 | .8 |
| Julius Nwosu | C | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |