Category: San Antonio Spurs Blog

The San Antonio Spurs will retire Tim Duncan’s No. 21 jersey on Sunday, Dec. 18 when the team hosts the New Orleans Pelicans at 6 p.m. CST.

Duncan will become the eighth Spurs player in franchise history to have his number raised to the rafters, joining Bruce Bowen (12), Sean Elliott (32), George Gervin (44), Avery Johnson (6), Johnny Moore (00), David Robinson (50) and James Silas (13).

Originally selected by the Spurs as the first overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, Duncan guided San Antonio to five NBA championships and posted a 1,072-438 regular-season record, giving the team a .710 winning percentage, which is the best 19-year stretch in NBA history and was the best in all of the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB over that time. He helped the Spurs reach the playoffs in each of his 19 seasons and became the only player in league history to start and win a title in three different decades. The Silver and Black won at least 50 games in his last 17 seasons, the longest streak in league history, and posted at least a .600 winning percentage in each of Duncan’s 19 seasons, an all-time record for most consecutive seasons with a .600 win percentage in the four major U.S. sports.

In his final season with the Silver and Black, Duncan became just the third player in league history to reach 1,000 career wins, as well as the only player to reach 1,000 wins with one team. He helped the Spurs to a franchise-best 67-15 record and also became one of two players in NBA history to record at least 26,000 points, 15,000 rebounds and 3,000 blocks in his career (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).
Duncan totaled 15 All-NBA Team selections (tied for most all-time) and 15 NBA All-Defensive Team honors (most all-time), garnering both honors in the same season 15 times, the most in league history. The 1998 Rookie of the Year was named NBA MVP twice (2002, 2003) and NBA Finals MVP three times (1999, 2003 and 2005).
In his NBA career, the 15-time All-Star appeared in a total of 1,392 games and averaged 19.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.17 blocks in 34.0 minutes. He shot .506 (10,285-20,334) from the floor and .696 (5,896-8,468) from the free throw line.
The Wake Forest graduate is the Spurs all-time NBA leader in total points (26,496), rebounds (15,091), blocked shots (3,020), minutes (47,368) and games played (1,392), as well as third in assists (4,225). In NBA history, Duncan is fifth all-time in double-doubles (841) and blocks, sixth in rebounding and 14th in scoring.
As the only player in NBA history to play over 9,000 career minutes in the playoffs, Duncan ranks first all-time in postseason double-doubles (164) and blocks (568), third in rebounds (2,859) and sixth in points (5,172). For his career, Duncan appeared in 251 postseason contests (second all-time) and averaged 20.6 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 37.3 minutes while shooting .501 (1,975-3,939) from the field.

Along with teammates Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, Duncan is part of the NBA record for most wins by a trio in both the regular season (575) and postseason (126). Duncan and Gregg Popovich have the most wins by a player-coach duo in NBA history (1,001) and the Spurs forward finished his career in San Antonio as one of just three players in NBA history, along with John Stockton and Kobe Bryant, to spend 19 seasons with one franchise.

The Austin Spurs (D-League) have acquired Cory Jefferson. Austin acquired the returning player rights of Jefferson from Northern Arizona in exchange for Austin’s own 2017 NBA D-League first round draft pick. Additional roster moves prior to tomorrow’s home opener include activating Jeff Ledbetter, and moving Danny Stewart and Alexis Wangmene to inactive status.

Jefferson (6-9, 218) was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in 2014, and later traded to the Brooklyn Nets. He played in 50 games for the Nets averaging 3.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in 10.9 minutes of play. Jefferson’s professional career includes stops in the NBA D-League with the Maine Red Claws (2015) and the Bakersfield Jam (2016), and six games with the Phoenix Suns during the 2015-16 season where he averaged 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds. Collegiately, he played four years for the Baylor Bears averaging 8.9 points and 5.6 assists.

Jefferson will wear jersey no. 40 when Austin opens the season tomorrow afternoon against the Oklahoma City Blue at 3 p.m. at Cedar Park Center.

The Spurs have waived forward/center Ryan Richards.

The Spurs training camp roster now stands at 19.

The vast majority of the league’s training camps opened on Tuesday. In the next few weeks, the vast majority of players around the NBA who were signed to non-guaranteed contracts will be let go.

The Spurs training camp roster stands at 20 players, and includes the additions of center Joel Anthony, guard Nicolás Laprovíttola and forward-center Ryan Richards.

Anthony (6-9, 245), a nine-year NBA veteran, spent the last two seasons with the Detroit Pistons. The UNLV product has also played for the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, where he spent his first six-plus seasons and won back-to-back NBA championships in 2012 and 2013. Anthony has appeared in 471 career games, averaging 2.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.11 blocks in 14.7 minutes.

Laprovíttola (6-4, 180) is a native of Argentina and has played professionally since 2007, most recently splitting last season between Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius (Lithuania) and Movil Estudiantes (Spain). In 20 games with Lietuvos, he averaged 10.3 points, 3.8 assists and 2.2 rebounds before making the move to Movil. In 20 games with Estudiantes, he posted averages of 13.8 points, 4.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds. Laprovíttola is also a member of the Argentinian National Team and competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he averaged 8.2 points, 2.7 assist and 2.2 rebounds in six games.

Richards (6-11, 265) was originally drafted by the Spurs with the 49th overall pick in the second round of the 2010 NBA Draft. He split last season between Iran-Super League’s Shahdary Gorgan and Lebanon-Pepsi LBL’s Sagesse-Al Kekmeh Beirut. In 26 games with Shadary, he averaged 20.9 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 37.6 minutes. After transferring to Sagasse-Al Kekmeh Beruit midway through the season, he averaged 15.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists in six games.

The Spurs today officially signed forward-center David Lee.

Lee, 6-9/245, is a two-time NBA All-Star (2010, 2013) who was named to the All-NBA Third Team in 2013. An NBA Champion with Golden State in 2015, Lee has played 750 career games and holds averages of 14.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 30.4 minutes while shooting .533 (4,339-8,146) from the floor and .774 (1,977-2,553) from the free throw line.

Lee brings good offense and rebounding, but his defensive ability has generally needed improvement.

With the legendary Tim Duncan having retired from basketball, the Spurs big-man rotation boasts impressive starters but a limited bench, so the Lee signing should help. The likely starter at power forward is LaMarcus Aldridge and at center is new addition Pau Gasol. Lee is now their most talented big reserve.

The 11-year veteran finished last season with the Dallas Mavericks, where he averaged 8.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists while shooting .636 (91-143) from the floor in 17.3 minutes over 25 games. Lee started the year with the Boston Celtics and averaged 7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 30 appearances before being waived on Feb. 19.

Originally drafted by New York in the first round (30th overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft, the former Florida Gator spent his first five NBA seasons (2005-10) with the Knicks and averaged 13.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 30.1 minutes over 368 games. Lee was traded to Golden State following the 2009-10 season and would go on to average 16.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 33.2 minutes over 327 appearances with the Warriors before being dealt to Boston on July 9, 2015.

Lee is one of just three players in the NBA to total at least 10,000 points, 6,000 rebounds and 1,500 assists over the last 10 seasons, along with current Spur Pau Gasol and former San Antonio forward Tim Duncan.

The Spurs have signed forward Patricio Garino.

Until we hear otherwise, we’ll assume this is a non-guaranteed contract that just brings Garino to training camp.

Garino, 6-6/210, spent the past four seasons at George Washington University. In his final season, he helped guide the Colonials to the 2016 NIT Championship and was named to the All-Tournament Team. He earned Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team and the All-Conference Second Team honors after averaging 14.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.37 steals in 32.0 minutes, while shooting .510 (203-398) from the field and .430 (58-135) from three-point range.

Garino was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team in each of his final three seasons. For his collegiate career he averaged 12.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.71 steals in 30.1 minutes while shooting .508 (567-1,1167) from the field and .364 (102-280) from long range. He ranks third in school history on George Washington’s career steals list (219) and is 11th all-time in scoring (1,536 points).

A native of Mar del Plata, Argentina, Garino is a member of the Argentinian National Team and is a currently preparing for the 2016 Rio Olympics. He represented Argentina at the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship where the team won the silver medal.

Garino played on the Orlando Magic’s 2016 NBA Summer League team, where he averaged 12.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.00 steals in 30.7 minutes over three games.

The Spurs have signed forward Livio Jean-Charles.

Jean-Charles, 6-9/225, was originally drafted by the Spurs with the 28th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. The 22-year-old has spent the last four seasons with ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne of the French Pro-A League. Last season he saw action in 25 games, averaging 5.9 points and 4.6 rebounds in 21.2 minutes while shooting .552 (64-116) from the field and .655 (19-29) from the foul line. In the playoffs he appeared in 11 games, upping his averages to 7.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in 25.9 minutes helping lead ASVEL to the French League championship. Jean-Charles also made eight FIBA Europe Cup appearances, averaging 8.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 23.9 minutes.

Prior to joining Lyon-Villeurbanne, Jean-Charles spent two seasons with Centre Federal du Basket-Ball in the French-NM1 League.

Jean-Charles represented France on the U-20 National Team at the 2012 and 2013 U-20 European Championships. At the 2013 U-20 Championships, he averaged 17.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists.

In April 2013, Jean-Charles participated in the Nike Hoop Summit where he was named the Most Outstanding Player after a 27-point, 13-rebound effort, leading the World Team to a 112-98 win over the USA Junior Select Team that included current NBA players Karl-Anthony Towns, Joel Embiid and Jabari Parker.

The San Antonio Spurs yesterday (Thursday) signed guard Ryan Arcidiacono.

Until we hear otherwise, we will assume this is a non-guaranteed contract that merely brings Arcidiacono to training camp.

Arcidiacono, 6-3/188, played four seasons at Villanova University. In his final season, he helped guide the Wildcats to the 2016 NCAA Championship and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2016 NCAA Final Four after scoring 16 points and setting up the game-winning three-pointer in the championship game. He was named Second Team All-BIG EAST after averaging 12.5 points, 4.2 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 32.1 minutes while shooting .445 (165-371) from the field, .394 (76-193) from three-point range and .836 (92-110) from the foul line. He leaves Villanova as the only player in school history to record 1,500-plus points and 500-plus assists, while guiding the Wildcats to a 117-27 (.813) record over the course of his four-year career.

As a junior, Arcidiacono was named the 2015 BIG EAST Player of the Year co-recipient (Providence’s Kris Dunn). For his collegiate career he averaged 11.1 points, 3.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 31.9 minutes while shooting .397 (487-1,228) from the field, .358 (261-729) from long range and .800 (369-461) from the free throw line.

Arcidiacono is currently playing on the Spurs 2016 NBA Summer League team, where he’s averaging 2.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 19.4 minutes in seven total games between Las Vegas and Utah.