Like every other major professional sports team that has survived from its league’s humble days, the modern day operations of the San Antonio Spurs would be unrecognizable to anyone involved with the team in 1973. While the franchise was blessed with national headlines for its early years, in today’s NBA, Spurs news and rumors are as consistent as those coming from the Los Angeles or Boston Lakers. Celtics.
But the fervor surrounding the team’s media coverage — and the virtually limitless ways fans can get that news — is just one of many things that’s changed drastically from the old days. From Spurs ticket prices to the logo, arena, coaching staff and team roster, here’s a look at how the San Antonio NBA team looked compared to how it looks today.
Next: Spurs players
The team you know as the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs actually started in 1967 as American Basketball Association (ABA) called the team Dallas Chaparrals. The franchise moved to San Antonio and became the Spurs in 1973, while still in the ABA. When that league merged with the then struggling NBA before the 1976-77 season, the Spurs were one of four ABA teams who were admitted.
During that first NBA season for the team, Spurs’ roster included serious players and guys who would become serious coaches. The best players were ABA survivors Larry Kenon, James Silas, Louie Dampier and George Gervin, two of whom will go to the Basketball Hall of Fame and two of whom would have their shirt numbers retired by Spurs. Meanwhile, George Karl and Mike D’Antoni, who would both win NBA Coach of the Year honors much later, were coming off the bench.
George Gervin #44 of the San Antonio Spurs shoots a free throw against the Washington Bullets in an NBA basketball game circa 1978 at the Capital Center in Landover, Maryland. Gervin played for Spurs from 1974 to 1985.
Sports Zoom/Getty ImagesNow: Spurs players
The caliber of players the franchise has been able to attract since the Dynasty began in the late 1990s has been filled with All-Stars and Hall-of-Fame level stars. In recent years, guys like Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan and Dejounte Murray have helped sell San Antonio Spurs jerseys and tickets.
Next: Spurs team stats
The 1976-77 Spurs were a bit ahead of their time, in terms of style of play. While NBA veterans like to complain that no one is playing defense in today’s game, San Antonio n didn’t even have much time for that back then.
This Spurs team finished the season with the best offense in the NBA, averaging 115.0 points per gameand the worst scoring defense, giving up 114.4 points per game. Gervin was the top scorer with 23.1 points per game. They went 44-38 and were swept out of the playoffs in what was a best-of-three first round.
Now: Spurs team stats
While the 2020-21 San Antonio Spurs could compare to the 1976-77 team in terms of results, they were far from leading the league. The recent team average of 111.1 points per game, which was less than that old list, and only ranked them 20th in the league. Defensively, the modern team was tighter only by the slimmest of margins, giving up 112.8 points each night. DeRozan was the top scorer, with 21.6 points per game.
This team went 33-39 in a shortened season and missed the playoffs completely. If the 1976-77 Spurs played the 2020-21 Spurs, it would be hard to bet against the trailblazers.
DeMar DeRozan #10 of the San Antonio Spurs shoots against Norman Powell #24 of the Portland Trail Blazers during the first quarter at Moda Center on May 08, 2021 in Portland, Oregon.
Steph Chambers/Getty ImagesNext: Spurs ticket prices and attendance
When the Spurs first joined the NBA, they played at the now defunct HemisFair Arena, which was their home turf until 1993. just over 10,000 people at full capacity and during the Gervin years it was often crowded and wild. In the 1976-77 season, the Baseline Bums and many other fans gave Spurs an average home attendance of 9,174 people per night.
In that first NBA season, Spurs tickets often cost $5-7 each, and in 1983 — the first year from which we could find league-wide numbers — the average ticket price was would have $9.88.
Now: Spurs ticket prices and attendance
Since 2002, Spurs home games have been played in San Antonio AT&T Center, where they settled after a decade at the Alamodome. the building capacity for NBA games is 18,500, nearly double what HemisFair Arena could hold. Spurs almost encountered this, average of 18,308 people per match during the 2018–19 season, which was the most recent full season with full participation allowed.
In 2019, it was reported that Spurs tickets averages $177 per nightwhich made it one of the 10 most expensive seats in the NBA.
A general view outside of Game 5 of the 2014 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center on May 29, 2014 in San Antonio, Texas.
Ronald Martinez/Getty ImagesNext: Spurs player salaries
NBA player salaries weren’t widely reported on in 1976, which already shows the stark contrast between the league then and now. We don’t have salary data for every player in Spurs’ first NBA season, but we do know that the average league player salary was $130,000 (equivalent to approximately $652,000 in 2022). the highest paid player in the league was Bill Bradley, who won $325,000 (about $1.6 million in 2022).
Now: Spurs player salaries
If you know anything about NBA salaries, it’s that they’ve grown astronomically over the past few decades. The average player salary in the league was $10 million in 2021 – nearly 10 times what the highest-paid player earned in 1976, after adjusting for inflation. San Antonio’s top earner in the 2021-22 season was Dejounte Murray, which raised $15.4 million.
That’s practically peanuts compared to the NBA’s best earner at the same time, as Steph Curry earned $45.7 million.
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