Emanuel David Ginóbili Maccari is an Argentine former professional basketball player. Widely credited for changing the game of basketball by popularizing the Euro step move in the NBA, he is regarded as one of the greatest shooting guards and sixth men in the league's history and as the greatest Latin American player of all time. He notably led Argentina to a gold medal in the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. Over a 23-year professional career, he became one of only two players to have won a EuroLeague title, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal. A four-time NBA champion, Ginóbili was a member of the San Antonio Spurs for his entire 16-year NBA career. Along with Spurs teammates Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, he was known as one of the "Big Three" during the Spurs' era of success. During their playing years together, the Spurs became a "model franchise" for other NBA teams. Since September 2021, Ginóbili had been appointed as special advisor to basketball operations for the San Antonio Spurs.
Timothy Theodore Duncan is an American former professional basketball player. He spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Big Fundamental", he is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time and one of the greatest players in NBA history, and was a central contributor to the franchise's success during the 2000s and 2010s. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020 and named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
William Anthony Parker Jr. is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in the LNB Pro A. Himself the son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in the French basketball league before joining the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Spurs with the 28th overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft, and quickly became their starting point guard. Parker won four NBA championships, all of which were with the Spurs. He also played for ASVEL Basket in France during the 2011 NBA lockout, and finished his playing career after one season with the Charlotte Hornets. He retired as the ninth leading scorer and fifth leading passer in NBA playoffs history.
Karl Anthony Malone is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spent his first 18 seasons (1985–2003) in the NBA with the Utah Jazz and formed a formidable duo with his teammate John Stockton. He was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a 14-time NBA All-Star, and an 11-time member of the All-NBA first team. His 36,928 career points scored rank third all-time in NBA history behind LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and he holds the records for most free throws made and attempted, and most regular season games started, in addition to being tied for the second-most first-team All-NBA selections with Kobe Bryant and behind LeBron James.
Richard Clay "Rip" Hamilton is an American former professional basketball player and current basketball analyst for CBS Sports HQ. Hamilton played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is best known for his nine-year stint with the Detroit Pistons, where he was a three-time All-Star. He helped lead the Pistons to six straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances, back to back NBA Finals appearances, their best record in franchise history and the 2004 NBA championship.
James Caron Butler is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During a 14-year career he played for the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Washington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons, and Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Butler is a two-time NBA All-Star and was the 2002 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, while playing for the Connecticut Huskies.
Andre Lloyd Miller is an American former professional basketball player and the current head coach for the Grand Rapids Gold. Miller has played professional basketball for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs. Currently, he ranks eleventh all-time in NBA career assists and only missed three games to injury in his 17-year career. He is the only player in NBA history to have at least 16,000 career points, 8,000 assists and 1,500 steals without making an NBA All-Star Game.
Darius Songaila is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He serves as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has represented the Lithuania national team. He played at the power forward and center positions.
Devin LaVell Brown is an American former professional basketball shooting guard who played 8 seasons in the National Basketball Association. Brown won an NBA championship as a member of the San Antonio Spurs in 2005.
Sean Andrew Marks is a New Zealand-American basketball executive and former player and coach who is the general manager and alternate owner of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the first New Zealand-born player to play in the NBA. Marks won two championships with the San Antonio Spurs: one as a player in 2005 and another as an assistant coach in 2014.
Tony Arnel Massenburg is an American former professional basketball player. Massenburg was on the active roster of 12 different teams, which was an NBA record shared with Joe Smith, Jim Jackson, Chucky Brown, and Ish Smith; until Ish played with the Denver Nuggets, his 13th team, in the 2022–23 season. In 2005, while on the San Antonio Spurs, Massenburg became the first player in NBA history to win a championship after playing for at least 12 different franchises.
Ian Mahinmi is a French former professional basketball player. At 6'11" and 250 lb, he played the center position and was selected with the 28th overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs.
Fabricio Raúl Jesús Oberto is an Argentine-Italian color analyst and former professional basketball player. At 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m), he played as a center and power forward. With the LNB club Atenas, in his native Argentina, Oberto began playing professionally in 1993, and later played overseas with teams in Spain and Greece. In 2005, Oberto signed with the San Antonio Spurs, a team of the American National Basketball Association (NBA), and won a championship with the Spurs in 2007. He is also a former member of the senior Argentina national basketball team, with whom he won two Olympic medals, including a gold medal in 2004.
Francisco Marinho Robby Elson is a Dutch former professional basketball player. Elson was the seventh Dutch player to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Elson served as the captain of the Netherlands national basketball team in international basketball, as he led the team in several EuroBasket qualifying rounds. He was the first Dutch player to become NBA champion, with the San Antonio Spurs in 2007.
William Edward Perdue III is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a member of four NBA championship teams, three with the Chicago Bulls (1991–1993) and one with the San Antonio Spurs (1999). Perdue is now a Studio analyst for NBC Sports Chicago during their pre-game and post-game Chicago Bulls broadcasts.
Roger Philip Mason Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. He is the former deputy executive director of the NBA Players Association. He is the former president and commissioner of Big3.
The 1997–98 NBA season was the Spurs' 22nd season in the National Basketball Association, and 31st season as a franchise. This season is most memorable when the Spurs selected Tim Duncan out of Wake Forest University with the first overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft. After finishing with the third-worst record in 1996–97, the Spurs won the 1997 NBA Draft Lottery, dubbed as the "Tim Duncan Sweepstakes". During the off-season, the team signed free agents, three-point specialist Jaren Jackson, and second-year forward Malik Rose.
DeJuan Lamont Blair is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Pittsburgh Panthers from 2007 to 2009. Blair entered the 2009 NBA draft where he was selected as the 37th overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 7 seasons with the Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and Washington Wizards. Blair also played in the NBA Development League and overseas in Russia, China and Argentina.
Othyus Jeffers is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Jeffers played college basketball with the University of Illinois at Chicago for two years, before transferring to Robert Morris University for his senior season. He then started his professional career with the Iowa Energy of the NBA D-League, a minor league basketball organization owned and run by the NBA. He has had stints with three prior NBA teams: the Utah Jazz, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Washington Wizards. He has also spent a short stint in Italy with NGC Cantù. After his playing career, he returned to Robert Morris and served as head coach of the basketball team from 2017 to 2019.
Rashard Quovon Lewis is an American former professional basketball player. Lewis entered the NBA directly from Alief Elsik High School. He rose to prominence in the NBA as a scorer with the Seattle SuperSonics, and was later a member of the Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards and Miami Heat. He garnered two NBA All-Star selections, one with Seattle and another with Orlando. Lewis reached the NBA Finals three times, winning an NBA championship in 2013 as a member of the Heat.
