document_title: San Antonio Spurs

question_text: when was the last time the spurs didn't make the playoffs

question_tokens: when was the last time the spurs did n 't make the playoffs

text: San Antonio Spurs

text: The Spurs in San Antonio

text: The Spurs are the city's only team in any of the four major U.S. professional sports leagues and the only major-league team in the city's history to have lasted more than five years. Spurs players are active members of the San Antonio community, and many former Spurs are still active in San Antonio including David Robinson with the Carver Academy[9] and George Gervin with the George Gervin Youth Center.[10]

text: The Spurs set several NBA attendance records while playing at the Alamodome including the largest crowd ever for a NBA Finals game in 1999,[11] and the Spurs continue to sell out the smaller AT&T Center (formerly SBC Center) on a regular basis.

text: Since 2003, the team has been forced on an extended road trip for much of February since the AT&T Center hosts the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. This is informally known as the "Rodeo Road Trip".[12] The Spurs have consistently posted winning road records during this period, including an NBA-record longest single road trip winning streak (eight games out of nine, achieved in 2003).[13]

text: When the Spurs have won the NBA title, the team's victory parades have been boat trips on the San Antonio River Walk.[14]

text: Franchise history

text: 1967–1973: Dallas Chaparrals/Texas Chaparrals

text: The San Antonio Spurs started out as the Dallas Chaparrals of the original version of the American Basketball Association (ABA). Coached by player/coach Cliff Hagan the Dallas Chaparrals were one of 11 teams to take the floor in the inaugural season of the upstart ABA. The Chaps' second season was a bit of a disappointment, as the team finished in 4th place with a mediocre 41–37 record. In the playoffs the Chaparrals quickly fell to the New Orleans Buccaneers.[15]

text: The team suffered from poor attendance and general disinterest in Dallas. In fact, during the 1970–71 season, the name "Dallas" was dropped in favor of "Texas" and an attempt was made to make the team a regional one, playing games in Fort Worth, Texas, at the Tarrant County Convention Center, as well as Lubbock, Texas, at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum, but this proved a failure and the team returned full-time to Dallas in time for the 1971–72 season, splitting their games at Moody Coliseum and Dallas Convention Center Arena.[16]

text: 1973–1976: Coming to San Antonio

text: While the Chaparrals had been modestly successful on the court, they were sinking financially by their third season, largely because the ownership group refused to spend much money on the team. After missing the playoffs for the first time in their existence in the 1972–73 season, nearly all of the owners wanted out. A group of 36 San Antonio businessmen, led by Manager/Angelo Drossos, Chairman of the Board/John Schaefer and President/Red McCombs, worked out a "lend-lease" deal with the Dallas ownership group. Drossos and his group would lease the team for three years and move it to San Antonio, and agreed to return the team to Dallas if no purchase occurred by 1975.

text: After the deal was signed, the team was renamed the San Antonio Gunslingers.[17] However, before they even played a game the name was changed to Spurs. The team's primary colors were changed from the red, white, and blue of the Chaparrals to the now familiar black, silver and white motif of the Spurs.[18]

text: In the first game at the HemisFair Arena the Spurs lost to the San Diego Conquistadors, despite attracting a noisy crowd of 6,000 fans. A smothering defense was the team's image, as they held opponents less than 100 points an ABA record 49 times. The early Spurs were led by ABA veteran James Silas, and the team would get stronger as the season went on as they twice took advantage of the Virginia Squires, acquiring Swen Nater, who would go on to win Rookie of the Year, in November, and "The Iceman" George Gervin in January. The ABA tried to halt the Gervin deal, claiming it was detrimental to the league, but a judge would rule in the Spurs' favor, and Gervin made his Spurs debut on February 7. The Spurs would go on to finish with a 45–39 record, good for 3rd place in the Western Division.

text: In the playoffs, the Spurs would battle the Indiana Pacers to the bitter end before falling in seven games. San Antonio embraced the Spurs with open arms; the Spurs drew 6,303 fans per game, surpassing the Chaparrals' entire total attendance in only 18 games. Schaefer, Drossos and McCombs knew a runaway hit when they saw it. After only one year, they exercised their option to tear up the lease agreement, buy the franchise outright and keep the team in San Antonio for good.[19]

text: The team quickly made themselves at home at HemisFair Arena, playing to increasingly large and raucous crowds. Despite a respectable 17–10 start during the 1974–75 season, Coach Tom Nissalke was fired as owners become tired of the Spurs' slow defensive style of games. He would be replaced by Bob Bass, who stated that the Spurs would have an entirely new playing style: "It is my belief that you cannot throw a set offense at another professional team for 48 minutes. You've got to let them play some schoolyard basketball." George Gervin and James Silas took that style to heart, as the Spurs became an exciting fast breaking team on the way to a solid 51–33 record, good enough for second place in the West. Gervin said, "Our whole theory was that you shoot 100 times, we'll shoot 107." However, in the playoffs the Spurs would fall to the Indiana Pacers in six games.

text: Even though playoff success would elude the team, the Spurs had suddenly found themselves among the top teams in the ABA. Moreover, their gaudy attendance figures made them very attractive to the NBA, despite the size of the market. Although San Antonio had over 650,000 people at the time (and has since grown to become the seventh-largest city in the United States), it has always been a medium-sized market because the surrounding suburban and rural areas are not much larger than the city itself. In June 1976, the ABA–NBA merger took place, moving San Antonio's sole professional sports franchise into a new league. The Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers and New York Nets moved to the NBA for the 1976–77 season.

text: The Spurs and the other three ABA teams agreed to pay the owners of two other strong ABA teams that folded instead of joining the NBA. John Y. Brown, Jr., the owner of the Kentucky Colonels, received $3 million, which he used to purchase the NBA's Buffalo Braves and later the Boston Celtics, after selling star guard Louie Dampier to the Spurs. The owners of the Spirits of St. Louis received a portion of all television profits during their NBA tenure, which amounted to roughly 1/7 of the Spurs' television profit every year. This agreement placed particular financial pressure on the Spurs and the other three former ABA teams.[20] In 2014, the Spirits' owners reached agreement with the NBA to end the perpetual payments and take a lump sum of $500 million instead.[21]

text: 1976–1985: The George Gervin era

text: Although there was some initial skepticism in league circles regarding the potential success and talent levels of the incoming ABA teams, the Spurs would prove worthy of NBA inclusion during the 1976–77 season with a record of 44–38, good for a tie for fourth place overall in the Eastern Conference. This was done in spite of significant handicaps the NBA imposed on the incoming ABA teams, limiting their draft picks and television revenues during their early time in the merged league. They gained a new rival in the form of the Houston Rockets, who had played in Texas for five years prior to the merger.

text: During the 1977–78 season, George Gervin and David Thompson of the Denver Nuggets battled all season for the NBA scoring title. On the final day of the season, Thompson took the lead by scoring 73 points in an afternoon game against the Detroit Pistons. That night Gervin knew that he needed 58 points against the Jazz in New Orleans. Gervin got off to a good start by scoring 20 points in the 1st quarter. In the 2nd, The Iceman was even better, setting a single period record with 33 points. Early on in the 3rd period Gervin scored his 58 points on the way to 63 capturing the scoring title. While Gervin was lighting up the scoreboard the Spurs were winning the Central Division with a 52–30 record.

text: However, in the playoffs the Spurs would be stunned in six games by the Washington Bullets despite an outstanding series from Gervin who averaged 33.2 ppg. The following season in the 1979 Conference Finals the Spurs led the series 3–1 but the Bullets came back to win the last three games and came from behind to win the 7th game 107–105 handing the Spurs a heartbreaking loss. The Spurs would have to wait another 20 years to make it to their first NBA finals.

text: The Spurs would go on to capture five division titles in their first seven years in the NBA and became a perennial playoff participant. However, in the playoffs, the Spurs would never find a break, losing to teams like the Washington Bullets, the Boston Celtics, the Houston Rockets, and the Los Angeles Lakers.

text: As the 1980s progressed, the Spurs would see their shares of highs and lows. For the first few seasons of the decade, the Spurs continued their success of the 1970s with records of 52–30 in 1980–81, 48–34 in 1981–82, and 53–29 in 1982–83 (it was during this period that the Spurs were moved to the Western Conference).

text: Despite their regular season success, the Spurs were unable to win any NBA championships, losing in the Western Conference playoffs to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 1981 and the Los Angeles Lakers in four games 1982 and in six games in the 1983 Western Finals despite getting both wins at the Forum in the 1983 series. They lost every home game in both series in 1982 and 1983 vs the Lakers as Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and co. were too strong. The Spurs did not make the conference finals until 1995.

text: After the 1984–85 season, Gervin, who had been the Spurs' biggest star, was traded to the Chicago Bulls in what effectively signaled the end of the era that began when the Spurs first moved to San Antonio.

text: 1985–1989: Difficult years

text: The next four seasons were a dark time in Spurs' history with the team having a combined record of 115–213 from 1985–86 until 1988–89. The losing seasons and dwindling attendance often caused the Spurs to be mentioned as a potential candidate for relocation to another city.

text: The lone bright spot during this period was the Spurs being awarded the top pick in the 1987 NBA draft through NBA Draft Lottery. The Spurs used this selection on United States Naval Academy standout David Robinson. Although drafted in 1987, the Spurs would have to wait until the 1989–90 season to see Robinson actually play, due to a two-year commitment he had to serve with the United States Navy.

text: The Spurs seemingly bottomed out in 1988–89 with a record of 21–61, the worst in franchise history at the time. However, the 1989–90 season was notable for several reasons. It was the first season of full ownership for Red McCombs, who was an original investor in the team and helped solidify local ownership for the team. Additionally, the 1988–89 season featured the debut of Larry Brown as the Spurs head coach who moved to San Antonio after winning the NCAA National Championship with Kansas in 1988.

text: 1989–1997: Arrival of The Admiral

text: Although there was speculation that Robinson might choose not to sign with the Spurs and to become a free agent once his Navy commitment ended,[22][23] Robinson decided in the end to come to San Antonio for the 1989–90 season.

text: While it was thought his arrival would make the Spurs respectable again, no one expected what happened in his rookie season. Led by Robinson, 1989 draftee Sean Elliott from Arizona, and trade acquisition Terry Cummings from the Milwaukee Bucks, the Spurs achieved the biggest one-season turnaround in NBA history, finishing with a record of 56–26. They also jumped all the way to first place in the Midwest Division, their first division title in seven years. Robinson had one of the most successful rookie seasons for a center in NBA history, finishing the season as the unanimous Rookie of the Year while averaging 24.3 points and 12.0 rebounds.

text: The Spurs began the 1990s with great optimism. The team became a perennial playoff presence, although unable to advance further than the second round of the NBA Playoffs under Brown's tutelage. Late in the 1991–92 season, McCombs fired Brown and replaced him with Bob Bass for the remainder of the season. Without a healthy David Robinson, the Spurs were swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the Phoenix Suns.

text: McCombs made national headlines during the summer of 1992 with the hiring of former UNLV head coach Jerry Tarkanian. The Tarkanian experiment proved a flop, as the coach was fired 20 games into the 1992–93 season with the Spurs record at 9–11. After Rex Hughes filled the coaching shoes for one game, NBA veteran John Lucas was named head coach. It was Lucas' first NBA coaching assignment, although he had gained recognition in league circles for his success in helping NBA players rehab from drug abuse. The Lucas era started out successfully. His coaching propelled the team to a 39–22 finish over the rest of the regular season, and the team reached the Western Conference semi-finals.

text: In 1993, local businessman Peter M. Holt and a group of 22 investors purchased the Spurs from Red McCombs for $75 million. In the 1993–94 season, the Spurs' first in the newly built Alamodome, Lucas led the team to a 55–27 record but the team suffered a loss in the first round of the playoffs, which led to the immediate firing of Lucas as head coach. Prior to the season the Spurs traded fan-favorite Elliott to the Detroit Pistons in return for rebounding star Dennis Rodman.

text: Lucas was replaced by former Pacers coach Bob Hill for the 1994–95 season. Elliott returned to the team after an uneventful season with the Pistons, and the team finished with the NBA's best record at 62–20, cracking the 60-win mark for the first time in franchise history. Robinson was named the league's Most Valuable Player. The Spurs reached the Western Conference Finals, but lost to the eventual NBA Champion Houston Rockets. Throughout the season, and particularly in the playoffs, there appeared to be friction developing between Rodman and several Spurs' teammates, most notably Robinson. Rodman was traded to the Chicago Bulls after the season, and helped the Bulls win three titles from 1996 to 1998.

text: The Spurs finished the 1995–96 season under Hill at 59–23 and lost in the Western Conference semi-finals. Few observers could have predicted how far the Spurs would fall during the 1996–97 season, especially with the signing of Dominique Wilkins. Robinson missed the first month of the season due to a back injury. He returned in December, but played only six games before a broken foot sidelined him for the rest of the season. Elliott also missed more than half the season due to injury. Without Robinson and Elliott, the Spurs were a rudderless team. The lone bright spot was Wilkins, leading the team in scoring with an average of 18.2 ppg. The Spurs ended the season with a 20–62 record, the worst in franchise history—and to date, the last time they have missed the playoffs. Hill only lasted 18 games as coach that season, eventually being fired and replaced by general manager Gregg Popovich, who had also served a stint under Brown as an assistant coach. Wilkins would play his lone season in 1996–97 for San Antonio, knowing his minutes and playing time would greatly diminish next season.

text: As disastrous as the 1996–97 season was for the Spurs, the offseason proved to be the opposite. With the third-worst record in the league, the Spurs won the NBA's draft lottery, which gave them the top pick in the 1997 draft. The Spurs used their pick to select Wake Forest product and consensus All-American Tim Duncan.

text: 1997–2016: Tim Duncan era

text: 1997–2003: The "Twin Towers"

text: Gregg Popovich watched Tim Duncan play in summer league and immediately noted that, "If I try to coach this guy, the only thing I can do is screw him up", effectively saying that Duncan was very gifted, very intelligent, and had a keen knowledge of the game.

text: Duncan quickly emerged as a dominant force in the NBA during the 1997–98 season, averaging 21.1 points and 11.9 rebounds per game as a power forward. He was named First Team All-NBA while winning Rookie of the Year honors. The team ended up at 56–26, breaking their own record from 1989–90 for the biggest single-season improvement for wins, but once again lost to the Jazz in the Western Conference semi-finals. While both Duncan and Robinson played low-post roles, the two seamlessly meshed on the court.

text: With a healthy Robinson and Duncan and the additions of playoff veterans such as Mario Elie and Jerome Kersey, the Spurs looked forward to the 1998–99 season. Prior to the beginning of training camps, however, the NBA owners, led by commissioner David Stern, locked out the players in order to force a new collective bargaining agreement with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). The season was delayed for over three months until resolution on a new labor agreement was reached in January 1999.

text: Playing a shortened 50-game season, the Spurs earned an NBA-best 37–13 record (.740 win percentage, and only season since Duncan was drafted the Spurs did not win at least 50 games in a season as of 2016). The team was just as dominant in the playoffs, rolling through the Western Conference with a record of 11–1. In the NBA Finals, they faced the New York Knicks, who had made history by becoming the first eighth seed to ever make the NBA Finals. The Spurs won the series and the franchise's first NBA Championship in Game 5 at the Knicks' home arena, Madison Square Garden. Duncan was named the NBA Finals MVP. The Spurs became the first former ABA team to reach and to win the NBA Finals. They also won the 1999 McDonald's Championship in the off-season and were the last champions of that tournament as it was disbanded right after.

text: Coming off their first NBA Championship, the Spurs were still among the best teams in the West and battling for first place in the Midwest Division during the 1999–2000 season. On March 14, the Spurs playoff spirits got a lift when Sean Elliott, who received a kidney transplant from his brother prior to the season, returned and played in the last 19 games. As the season wound down, Duncan suffered a knee injury and the Spurs finished in second place with a 53–29 record. Without Duncan, the Spurs were knocked out of the playoffs by the Phoenix Suns in four games.

text: The long-term viability of the Spurs franchise in San Antonio was, however, achieved during the 1999–2000 season, as Bexar County voters approved increases in car rental and hotel taxes which would allow for the construction of a new arena next to the Freeman Coliseum. The Spurs finished with 58–24 records for both the 2000–01 and 2001–02 seasons but found themselves suffering playoff ousters in both seasons from the eventual NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers, getting swept from the 2001 Conference Finals and losing in five games during the second round in 2002.

text: Entering the 2002–03 season, the team knew it would be memorable for at least two reasons, as David Robinson announced that it would be his last in the NBA and the Spurs would begin play at their new arena, the SBC Center, named after telecommunications giant SBC, whose corporate headquarters were located in San Antonio (SBC became AT&T after its acquisition of its former parent company). To mark this occasion, the Spurs revamped their "Fiesta Colors" logo and reverted to the familiar silver and black motif (though, during the time of the Fiesta logo, the uniform remained silver and black). This version of the Spurs was very different from the team that had won the title a few years earlier. Second-year French star Tony Parker, drafted by the Spurs in the first round of the 2001 NBA draft, was now the starting point guard for the Spurs. The squad featured a variety of newly acquired three-point shooters, including Stephen Jackson, Danny Ferry, Bruce Bowen, Steve Kerr, Steve Smith and Argentine product Manu Ginóbili, a 1999 second-round draft choice playing in his first NBA season.

text: The Spurs christened the SBC Center in style on November 1, 2002 by defeating the Toronto Raptors 91–72.[24] The Spurs would not get off to a flying start as they had just a 19–13 record heading into January. In January the Spurs began to gel and seemed prepped to make a run, when they embarked on their annual Rodeo Road Trip, a nine-game road trip from January 25 to February 16. However, it would be hardly a bump in the road for the charging Spurs, who won eight of the nine and began to climb their way to first place. The Spurs went on to erase their seven-game deficit and finished the season in a tie with the Dallas Mavericks for the best record in the NBA (60–22). Thanks to a tiebreaker, the Spurs won their third straight Division title as Tim Duncan claimed his second straight NBA MVP.[25]

text: In the playoffs, the Spurs defeated the Suns, Lakers and Mavericks en route to facing the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals. The series against the Nets marked the first time two former ABA teams played each other for the NBA Championship. The Spurs won the series 4–2, giving them their second NBA Championship in franchise history. Duncan, after having been named NBA MVP, was also named Finals MVP.

text: 2003–2004: Bridging the Gap

text: Coming off their second NBA Championship, the retirement of David Robinson left a void in San Antonio's daunting defense, while playoff hero Steve Kerr and veteran forward Danny Ferry also retired. Meanwhile, backup point guard Speedy Claxton was left for the Warriors, and Stephen Jackson left for Atlanta. With several holes to fill in their rotation, the Spurs would make several key signings in the off-season. Rasho Nesterovic and Hedo Türkoğlu were brought in to replace Robinson and Jackson, respectively. What proved to be the most important off-season acquisition would be the signing of veteran Robert Horry.

text: The Spurs, playing with nine new players, struggled early as they missed the presence of Robinson while the new players struggled to fit in, as they held a 9–10 record on December 3. However, the Spurs would turn it around, as they ended December on a 13-game winning streak and quickly climbed back to the top of the NBA standings. They would battle all year for the top spot in the Western Conference, as they ended the season on another strong note winning their final 11 games. However, they would fall one game short of a division title and the best record in the West, posting a record of 57–25. In the second round of the playoffs, the Spurs found themselves in another showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Spurs would win Games 1 and 2 at home, but drop the next two in the Los Angeles. In Game 5 back in San Antonio, Duncan seemingly delivered the Spurs a 73–72 win as he hit a dramatic shot with just 0.4 seconds remaining. However, the Lakers' Derek Fisher would launch a game-winner as time expired, giving the Lakers a stunning 74–73 win to take a 3–2 series lead.[26][27][28] The Spurs would eventually lose the series in six games.

text: 2004–2013: The "Big Three"

text: After their disappointing second round collapse, the Spurs looked to regain the NBA crown. With the acquisition of guard Brent Barry from Seattle, the Spurs would get off to a quick start, posting a 12–3 record in November. The Spurs would stay hot through December as they established a 25–6 record entering the New Year. With the later additions of center Nazr Mohammed from New York (acquired in a midseason trade of Malik Rose), and veteran forward Glenn Robinson from free agency, alongside regulars Bruce Bowen, Robert Horry, Tony Parker, Manu Ginóbili, and Tim Duncan, the Spurs would be near the top in the Western Conference all season, battling the Phoenix Suns for the best record in the NBA. Just as it appeared the Spurs would cruise toward the playoffs their season suddenly hit a bump in the road when Tim Duncan suffered an ankle injury. The Spurs struggled the rest of the season, finishing just 59–23. However, by the time the playoffs rolled around, Duncan was ready to return.

text: In the postseason, The Spurs went through the West relatively easily, culminating with a 5-game victory in the Conference Finals over the Phoenix Suns. In the NBA Finals, the Spurs would face the defending champion Detroit Pistons. The first two games in San Antonio were both Spurs victories as Ginóbili led the way with 26 and 27 points, in blow out wins by the Spurs. However, as the series shifted to Detroit, the Spurs were the ones who were blown out, losing Games 3 and 4 by big margins as the Pistons evened the series. Faced with a third straight loss in Detroit, the Spurs would play tougher in Game 5, which would go into overtime. After going scoreless in the first half, Robert Horry hit a clutch three-point shot with nine seconds remaining to give the Spurs a dramatic 96–95 win.[29] The series moved back to San Antonio for game six, but the Spurs were unable to close out the series, setting up a deciding Game 7. In Game 7, Duncan had 25 points as the Spurs pulled away late to win their third NBA Title in seven years with an 81–74 win.[25] Duncan was named Finals MVP, becoming the fourth player to win the MVP award three times (joining Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Michael Jordan).

text: Coming off their third NBA Championship in seven years, there was a sense that the Spurs were the class of the NBA, and once again would be the team to beat in the NBA for the Championship.[25] For the 2005–06 season, the Spurs acquired the two-time All-Star Michael Finley and one-time All Star Nick Van Exel. Not surprisingly, the Spurs would come flying out of the gate, winning 16 of their first 19 games. Once again, the Spurs would get challenged within their own division by the Dallas Mavericks as they held the two best records in the Western Conference all season, battling for first place. In the end, the experience of the Spurs would be the difference as they won the Southwest Division again with a new franchise best record of 63–19.[25] The Spurs met the Mavericks in the second round of the playoffs, but it would be Dallas coming out on top 4–3, including a 119–111 overtime victory in Game 7.

text: The Spurs struggled during the first half of the 2006–07 season, which led to discussions of trading away veteran players to build for the future. The team remained intact, and the Spurs would win 13 games in a row during February and March, and were an NBA-best 25–6 in the final 31 games, as the Spurs were able to claim the 3-seed in the West. The Spurs cruised through the first round, while the #1-seeded Dallas Mavericks were upset. This set up a second-round series with the Phoenix Suns as the key series in the entire NBA Playoffs, as this series featured the teams with the two best records remaining in the NBA.

text: The Spurs went on to win 4–2 in the contentious and controversial series versus the Suns. The series featured a Robert Horry foul on Steve Nash toward the end of Game 4 which resulted in Horry being suspended for two games. Those who said the second-round series against the Suns was the true NBA Finals would be proven right, as the Spurs easily dispatched the Utah Jazz in five games to reach the NBA Finals. In the Finals, the Spurs swept the Cleveland Cavaliers and captured their fourth title in nine years. Tony Parker, who dominated in the Finals averaging 24.5 ppg on 57% shooting, was named Finals MVP and became the first European-born player to win the award.[30]

text: The 2007–2008 season saw the Spurs go 56–26 and finish 3rd in the Western Conference. The Spurs faced hurdles but would make it to the Western Conference Finals, but lose to the Lakers in five games. The next season would see the Spurs drop off in wins to 54–28 and lose to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs.

text: Two days before the 2009 NBA draft, general manager R. C. Buford acted to address the team's age and health concerns[31] by acquiring 29-year-old swingman Richard Jefferson from the Milwaukee Bucks. The Spurs sent 38-year-old Bruce Bowen, 36-year-old Kurt Thomas, and 34-year-old Fabricio Oberto to the Bucks, who swapped Oberto to the Detroit Pistons for Amir Johnson.

text: The Spurs held three 2nd-round picks in the 2009 draft. Their selection of Pittsburgh Panthers forward DeJuan Blair with the #37 pick was described as a "steal" by analysts;[32][33] the Spurs later drafted two guards they had been targeting with the No. 37 pick,[34] taking Miami Hurricanes shooting guard Jack McClinton and point/shooting guard Nando de Colo from France with the No. 51 and No. 53 picks, respectively. On July 10, 2009, the Spurs signed Detroit Pistons power forward Antonio McDyess to a three-year deal worth approximately $15 million in guaranteed money.[35]

text: The Spurs struggled with injuries during the 2009–10 regular season, but managed another 50-win season, finishing at 50–32. The seventh-seeded Spurs would once again battle the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. After falling to the Mavericks in Game 1, the Spurs went on to avenge their 2009 defeat to Dallas by winning the series in six games. The Spurs however, were swept out of the playoffs in the following round by the Phoenix Suns.

text: During the 2010 NBA draft, the Spurs management held the highest draft pick since the Tim Duncan draft a decade earlier. They drafted rookie James Anderson from Oklahoma State at #20.[36] However, Anderson was soon sitting out of the first half of the season due to injuries. In 2010–11, the Spurs finished 61–21 to be the #1 seed, but an injury to Ginóbili in the final regular season game took a toll on the team, and they were upset by the #8 seeded Memphis Grizzlies.

text: 2011 brought a change to the Spurs' philosophy that set the stage for the next successful run in the club's history. Out went the stream of last-legs, wizened veterans that the Spurs had relied on to fill out the rotation behind the Big Three. Minutes went to younger and more athletic talent like Danny Green, Gary Neal, and Tiago Splitter, to whom Popovich would teach The Spurs' Way – a fast pace, unselfish passing, and accountability on defense. The biggest personnel move of the Spurs' off-season had the club sending the beloved guard George Hill to his hometown Indiana Pacers for San Diego State's Kawhi Leonard, a hyper-athletic forward selected #15 overall by the Pacers in the 2011 NBA draft. The team also selected Texas Longhorns' Cory Joseph as the #29 overall pick.

text: After the lockout that delayed the 2011–2012 season, the Spurs signed T.J. Ford, who would eventually retire in the middle of the season after playing only 14 games due to a stinger. Before the trade deadline, the Spurs decided to part ways with Richard Jefferson and sent him to the Golden State Warriors for Stephen Jackson, who had been a member of the 2003 championship team. Leonard then became the starting small forward. In the week following the trade deadline, the Spurs also signed forward Boris Diaw after his contract was bought out by the Charlotte Bobcats, and former Portland Trail Blazers guard Patrick Mills who played for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in the CBA during the lockout. This gave the Spurs a deeper bench for their playoff run.

text: Despite the shortened 66-game NBA season due to the NBA lockout, the Spurs won 50 games and tied the Chicago Bulls for the best record in the league. They extended their streak of 50+ win seasons to 13 since the 1999–2000 season, an NBA record. Popovich won his second Coach of the Year.[37]

text: The Spurs swept the first two rounds of the Playoffs. With those two sweeps, a 10-game win streak to end the season, and wins in Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs would win 20 straight games. However, the Oklahoma City Thunder would end up winning the next four games in the West Finals, to take the series 4–2.

text: During the 2012 off-season, the Spurs re-signed swingman Danny Green, who was a welcome surprise for them from the previous season, and Tim Duncan, both for three years. The Spurs would have a strong 2012–13 season, going 58–24 and earning the #2 seed in the West.

text: The Spurs clinched the playoffs for a 16th consecutive season, as well as extended the NBA record with 50+ games for 14 consecutive seasons. On April 16, the Spurs signed two-time scoring champion, and seven-time All-Star Tracy McGrady to help in the playoffs after waiving Stephen Jackson.[38] The Spurs finished the regular season second in the Western Conference behind the Oklahoma City Thunder with a record of 58–24, and swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, 4–0. In the second round of the 2013 playoffs, the Spurs faced Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. They beat the Warriors four games to two.[39] In the conference finals, the Spurs swept the Memphis Grizzlies, with Tony Parker having an 18-assist performance in Game 2 and a 37-point performance in Game 4.[40] The Spurs would meet the defending champion Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

text: The Spurs and Heat would alternate wins the first six games in the series. In Game 6, the Spurs were on the verge of winning their fifth NBA title. San Antonio was up five points with 28 seconds to go in regulation. An unlikely and uncharacteristic series of mishaps would doom the Spurs down the stretch, including the benching of Duncan by Popovich at the end of regulation with the Spurs on defense. The Heat missed their field goal attempt, but the undersized Spurs could not grab the defensive rebound. Chris Bosh rebounded the ball and Ray Allen then hit a 3-pointer to tie the game with five seconds left in regulation to send it to overtime, during which the Spurs were defeated 103–100. In Game 7, San Antonio jumped out to a lead early and kept the game close the entire way. Toward the end of the game, however, and despite a 24-point, 12 rebound effort, Duncan failed to convert on two attempts to tie the game: a missed layup and missed tip-in that allowed LeBron James to hit a jumper and increase the Heat's lead to 92–88. After a steal from Ginóbili, James hit two free throws after being fouled by Duncan, and when Ginóbili missed a subsequent 3-pointer, Dwyane Wade hit one out of two from the free throw line to put the game on ice, as the Heat would win their second straight championship.[41]

text: 2013–2016: Fifth championship and Duncan's retirement

text: The Spurs returned with their core roster largely intact, adding free agents Marco Belinelli and Jeff Ayres (formerly Jeff Pendergraph) while losing Gary Neal to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Spurs clinched the best record in the NBA with 62 wins, which included a franchise record 19 straight wins in February and March. In the first round of the playoffs, the eighth-seeded Dallas Mavericks surprised the Spurs by taking the series to 7 games, but the Spurs prevailed in convincing fashion in the deciding Game 7. In the second round, Tim Duncan surpassed Karl Malone for fifth place in NBA Playoffs all-time points scored while the Spurs cruised past the Portland Trail Blazers in 5 games. San Antonio played the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, which marked the third straight appearance in the Western Conference Finals for the Spurs, and defeated them in 6 games to advance to the Finals for a second straight year for a rematch with the Miami Heat. It was also the first time that they had advanced to the Finals in consecutive years. This made it the first time since 1998 NBA Finals that the same two teams faced off in the Finals in consecutive years. With a victory in the second game of the series, Duncan, Ginóbili, and Parker won more playoff games together than any other three players on the same team in NBA history. The Spurs would go on to win the 2014 NBA Championship, 4 games to 1. The Spurs blew out Miami in all of their wins, each of them by 15 or more points. Kawhi Leonard had a breakout performance and was named NBA Finals MVP for his big game performance and is the third youngest to win it, behind Magic Johnson and teammate Duncan. In the 2014 NBA draft, they selected Kyle Anderson out of UCLA as the 30th overall pick.

text: During the 2014 offseason, the Spurs made headlines when they announced that they had hired Becky Hammon as an assistant coach, effective with her retirement as a player at the end of the 2014 WNBA season.[42] Hammon became the first full-time female coach in any of the four major U.S. professional leagues.[43]

text: The 2014–15 season was an up-and-down season, but finishing strong with a 55–27 regular season record and 6th seed in the West, they qualified for the playoffs. They faced the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. The Spurs went up 3–2 heading into Game 6 at San Antonio. However, the Clippers would win that game and go on to win Game 7 at home. The San Antonio Spurs became the first defending champions since the 2011–12 Dallas Mavericks to be eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

text: With the acquisitions of David West and LaMarcus Aldridge during the offseason, the Spurs finished with a 67–15 record, their best winning percentage in franchise history, earning them the Southwest Division title. They also set a franchise record for most wins in a season with 67 and a NBA record for most home wins in a season with 40 (tying the 1985–86 Boston Celtics 40–1 home record).[44] The Spurs also had the league's best defense.[45] During the playoffs they swept the shorthanded Memphis Grizzles in the first round before losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 6 games in the second round. They would become the first team since the 2006–07 Dallas Mavericks to finish with 67 wins and be eliminated before the conference finals.[46]

text: On July 11, 2016, Duncan announced his retirement from the NBA after 19 seasons with the Spurs.[47]

text: 2016–present: Kawhi Leonard era

text: Despite the loss of longtime captain Tim Duncan, the Spurs, now led by Kawhi Leonard, remained a perennial playoff contender and finished with a record of 61–21. After defeating the Grizzlies and the Rockets in the first two rounds, the Spurs ended the season with a four-game sweep to the eventual champions Golden State Warriors, with injuries to Leonard, Parker, and David Lee in the playoffs. In the following offseason, the Spurs re-signed Aldridge and Pau Gasol, signed Rudy Gay, but lost Dewayne Dedmon and Jonathon Simmons to free agency.

text: On April 3, 2018, the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Spurs 113–110, handing San Antonio their 33rd loss of the season. This loss ended the Spurs' record streak of eighteen 50-win seasons that had stretched back to 2000, including the 2011–12 season, which was shortened by a lockout (San Antonio finished 50–16), as the best possible finish for the Spurs was now 49–33. The Spurs eventually finished the season with a record of 47–35.

text: Rivalries

text: Los Angeles Lakers

text: The rivalry between the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers started in the late 1970s and peaked in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Since 1999, the teams have met in the NBA Playoffs 7 times, with the clubs combining to appear in seven straight NBA Finals from 1999 to 2005. Additionally, the teams won each NBA Title from 1999 to 2003 (the Spurs won in 1999 and 2003, while the Lakers won in 2000, 2001, and 2002). From 1999 to 2004, the rivalry was considered as the NBA's best,[48] as each time the clubs faced each other in the playoffs, the winner advanced to the NBA Finals. The rivalry fell off from 2005 to 2007, with the Lakers missing the playoffs in 2005 and losing in the first round to the Phoenix Suns in 2006 and 2007, but intensified again in 2008 when they met in the Western Conference Finals. Both teams met once again for the 12th time in 2013 in the first round, with the Spurs winning in four games.

text: Dallas Mavericks

text: The rivalry between the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks features two teams with Dallas roots. The Spurs began their life in the ABA as the Dallas Chaparrals and did not move to San Antonio until 1973. On October 11, 1980, the Mavs made their NBA debut by defeating the Spurs 103–92. In the playoffs the Spurs defeated the Mavericks in 2001, 2003, 2010, and 2014; while the Mavericks defeated the Spurs in 2006 and 2009. The Spurs have won five championships and six conference titles, while the Mavericks have won one championship and two conference titles. The Spurs have won 18 division titles, while the Mavericks have won 3. The Mavericks have three 60-win seasons, while the Spurs have five.

text: The two teams met in the playoffs during the 2000–2001 season with the Spurs winning in five games. Little was made during this series, as the Spurs won their first NBA championship only two years before. The Mavericks, run by a trio of Steve Nash, Michael Finley, and Dirk Nowitzki, had just defeated the Utah Jazz, despite not having home court advantage, and were only starting to meld into a title contender.

text: The rivalry took on a new meaning in 2005 when, near the end of the regular season, Don Nelson resigned as Dallas' head coach, apparently dissatisfied with the state of the team, and handed the coaching reins to former Spur Avery Johnson, the point guard of the 1999 NBA champion Spurs team who hit the game-winning shot against the New York Knicks. Since Johnson was coached under Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich, he would be familiar with most, if not all, of Popovich's coaching style and philosophy. During the 2005 offseason, Michael Finley, waived by the Mavericks under the amnesty clause, joined the Spurs in search for an elusive title victory, that he finally was part of with the Spurs in 2007. Ironically, part of his salary was being paid for by the Mavericks during that season to allow for cap room.

text: The Mavericks were swept in the 2012–13 season by the Spurs for the first time since the 1998 season, Tim Duncan's rookie season. In their last match up of the season, San Antonio escaped with a 95–94 victory over Dallas when a Vince Carter 3-point attempt bounced off the rim at the buzzer. With that win, the Spurs clinched a playoff spot for a 16th straight season, currently the longest streak in the NBA. San Antonio also reached 50 wins for a 14th consecutive season, the longest streak in NBA history.[49]

text: In the 2013–14 season, the Spurs once again swept the Mavs in the regular season, giving them nine straight victories. In addition, an overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on April 16, 2014 ensured that the Mavericks would face the Spurs once again in the 2014 NBA Playoffs, where the Mavs would be the eighth seed and San Antonio the first. In Game 1 in San Antonio, the game was relatively close. Dallas managed to reach an 81–71 lead in the fourth quarter, but the Spurs rallied back and took Game 1 at home, 90–85. However, the Mavs managed to force 22 turnovers in Game 2 to rout the Spurs 113–92, splitting the first two games before the series went to Dallas. In Game 3, Manu Ginóbili managed to hit a shot that put the Spurs up 108–106 with 1.7 left, but a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Vince Carter gave the Mavs the victory, putting them up 2–1 in the series. The Spurs took Game 4 in Dallas 93–89 and later Game 5 at home 109–103, giving them a 3–2 lead. The Mavs avoided elimination in Game 6 at home by rallying in the fourth quarter, winning 111–113. The Spurs would then advance to the second round with a Game 7 blowout, winning 119–96.

text: Houston Rockets

text: Also known as the I-10 Rivalry since San Antonio and Houston both lie on the path of the Interstate 10 freeway. The rivalry between the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets began in 1976 when the Spurs were absorbed into the NBA from the American Basketball Association, along with the Denver Nuggets, the New York Nets, and the Indiana Pacers. The Rockets and Spurs competed for the division title, with the Rockets winning it first in 1977 and the Spurs in 1978 and 1979. In 1980, they met in the playoffs for the first time as the Rockets led by Moses Malone and Calvin Murphy beat the Spurs led by George Gervin and James Silas 2–1. The rivalry grew intense as both teams moved from the East to the West. They met again in 1981, this time in the second round. The Spurs had home-court advantage, and were heavily favored, winning the Midwest Division Title and the Rockets only 40–42. The Rockets and Spurs fought to the bitter end before the Rockets held on to win Game 7 capped by Murphy's 42 points. The Rockets would advance to the Finals in a losing cause to the Boston Celtics. The rivalry continued in 1995 when the defending champion Rockets led by Hakeem Olajuwon beat the top-seeded Spurs led by MVP David Robinson in the Western Conference Finals, despite only being the sixth seed, with Olajuwon, who had won the previous year's MVP, being widely regarded as having outplayed Robinson. In a regular season game early in the 2005 season, the Spurs were leading the Rockets very late in the fourth quarter by eight points. Houston's Tracy McGrady went on a personal 13–4 run in the final 35 seconds to miraculously steal the game away from San Antonio, including the game winning 3 pointer with one second remaining to the delight of the Toyota Center crowd.

text: The rivalry was renewed in the 2017 Playoffs, in which the two teams met in the Western Conference Semifinals. The match-up was the first between the two teams in the playoffs since the 1995 Western Conference Finals.[50] Five of the six games in the series resulted in blowouts.[51] In game 2 of the series, starting point guard Tony Parker suffered a ruptured quadriceps tendon, forcing him to miss the remainder of the playoffs.[52] In game 5, all-star small forward Kawhi Leonard suffered an injury to his right ankle in the third quarter, resulting in him sitting out for the closing portions of the game. Despite the injury issues, the Spurs were able to send game 5 to overtime. In the overtime period, Manu Ginóbili blocked James Harden's three-point attempt in the final seconds to secure the 110–107 victory for the Spurs.[53] The Spurs would close out the series in a game 6 blowout, 114–75.

text: Phoenix Suns

text: The rivalry between the Spurs and the Phoenix Suns began in the 1990s when the Spurs were led by "The Admiral", David Robinson, and the Suns were propelled by a number of players including Dan Majerle, Kevin Johnson, and Tom Chambers. The rivalry continued into the next decade with Tim Duncan leading the Spurs and with the Suns headed by Steve Nash. In 2003, the Spurs beat the Suns 4–2 in the first round. In 2005, the Spurs beat the Suns 4–1 in the Conference Finals. In 2007, the Spurs beat the Suns 4–2 in a Conference Semi-finals series that was notable for putting the two best teams remaining in the NBA against each other. There was a controversial ruling in game 4 when Diaw and Stoudemire left the bench during an altercation and were suspended for game 5. In 2008, the Spurs beat the Suns 4–1 in the first round. Tim Duncan hit a three-pointer to force overtime and win the series. In 2010, the Suns swept the Spurs in four games in the playoffs, including a big time performance by Goran Dragic in game 3, against the team who originally drafted him, scoring 23 fourth quarter points, which amounted to 26 points in thirteen minutes. The rivalry has cooled off, with the Spurs winning most of the meetings, but that was not the case on February 21, 2014, where the Suns blew out the road-weary Spurs, who were ending the Rodeo Road Trip in Phoenix, 106–85. Markieff Morris of the Suns lead all scorers with 26 points. Danny Green lead the Spurs with a low 15 points. On April 11, 2014, the Spurs clinched the league-best record, and at the same time, handing the Suns a loss that would keep them out of the postseason, winning 112–104, with Danny Green setting a career high 33 points. In a pre-season game on October 16, 2014, Suns owner Robert Sarver apologized to the Phoenix crowd for the game, where the Spurs rested 5 people, including Popovich. Pop would only end his statement about the incident with, "The only thing that surprises me is that he didn't say it in a chicken suit."

text: Logo and uniforms

text: Since becoming the San Antonio Spurs in 1973, the team colors have been black, silver and white. The distinctive logo of the word Spurs in Eurostile font, with the stylized spur substituting for the letter U, has been a part of the team's identity since their move to San Antonio.[54][55] The logo incorporated 'Fiesta colors' of pink, orange and teal, used from 1989 to 2002 (though the uniforms remained the same), and alignment from straight to arched beginning with the 2002–03 NBA season.

text: The Spurs have always worn black on the road and white at home, except during the 1973–76 ABA seasons and their first NBA season when the home uniform was always silver. Until the 1988–89 NBA season, the road uniform had "San Antonio" on the front while the home uniform featured the team nickname adopted from the Spurs logo; from 1973 to 1982, the road uniform lettering was black with silver trim. In addition, from 1977 to 1981 a saddle-like striping was featured on the back of the home shorts. Since the 1989–90 NBA season the Spurs uniform has remained practically the same, with the road uniform now using the team nickname from their logo; a minor change included the addition of another black (road) and white (home) trim to the already silver-trimmed block numbers in the 2002–03 season. The Spurs wear black sneakers and socks on the road, and white sneakers and socks at home (except for select games with the silver alternates), a practice that began in the 2002–03 season. When the NBA moved to the Adidas Revolution 30 technology for the 2010–11 season, the Spurs changed to V-neck jerseys and eliminated striping on the shorts' beltline.

text: On September 19, 2012, the Spurs unveiled a silver alternate uniform. In breaking from the traditional practice of placing the team or city name in front, the Spurs' new uniform features only the stylized spur logo, with the black number trimmed in white and silver on the upper right. The Spurs primary logo is atop the player name and number on the back (replaced by the NBA logo prior to the 2014–15 season), while the Eurostile 'SA' initials (for San Antonio) are on the left leg of the shorts. Black, silver and white side stripes are also featured on the uniform. The uniforms are worn for select home games.[56] A variation of this uniform, featuring military camouflage patterns instead of the usual silver, was used for two games in the 2013–14 season; a sleeved version was used the next season.[57] Another variation, this time in black, was unveiled for the 2015–16 season.[58]

text: At times throughout the season, the Spurs wear a jersey that says "Los Spurs" on the front, in recognition of Latino fans both at home and across the US and Latin America. The Spurs were one of the first NBA teams to wear these branded jerseys. In 2014, the jerseys were sleeved. These events are called "Noches Latinas", first launched during the 2006–07 NBA season, part of an Hispanic marketing campaign known as "éne-bé-a".[59] Six teams in the NBA participate in these events. The Spurs have had the most players from Latin America and are one of only three NBA teams who have had at least five players on their rosters who originate from Latin America and Spain (if one includes Puerto Rico as part of Latin America, although it is a U.S. territory), the others being the Memphis Grizzlies and the Portland Trail Blazers.[60]

text: The switch to Nike as the uniform provider in 2017 eliminated the "home" and "away" uniform designations. The Spurs' black "Icon", silver "Statement" and white "Association" uniform remained identical to the previous set save for the manufacturer's logo and updated lettering on the team name.[61]

text: Season-by-season record

text: List of the last five seasons completed by the Spurs. For the full season-by-season history, see List of San Antonio Spurs seasons.

text: Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, % = Winning Percentage

text:
Season
GP
W
L
%
Finish
Playoffs

2012–13
82
58
24
.707
1st, Southwest
Lost in NBA Finals, 3–4 (Heat)

2013–14
82
62
20
.756
1st, Southwest
NBA Champions, 4–1 (Heat)

2014–15
82
55
27
.671
3rd, Southwest
Lost in First Round, 3–4 (Clippers)

2015–16
82
67
15
.817
1st, Southwest
Lost in Conference Semifinals, 2–4 (Thunder)

2016–17
82
61
21
.744
1st, Southwest
Lost in Conference Finals, 0–4 (Warriors)

text: Arena history

text: Dallas (Texas) Chaparrals

text:
State Fair Coliseum (1967–1973)
Moody Coliseum (1967–1973)
Tarrant County Coliseum (1970–1971)
Lubbock Municipal Coliseum (1970–1971)

text: San Antonio Spurs

text:
HemisFair Arena (1973–1993)
Alamodome (1993–2002)
AT&T Center (formerly SBC Center) (2002–present)

text: Players

text: Current roster

text:
San Antonio Spurs roster

v
t
e

Players
Coaches

Pos.
No.
Name
Height
Weight
DOB (YYYY-MM-DD)
From

4.0 !F
7001120000000000000♠12
Aldridge, LaMarcus
7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
260 lb (118 kg)
1985–07–19
Texas

4.0 !F
7000100000000000000♠1
Anderson, Kyle
7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
1993–09–20
UCLA

4.0 !F
7001420000000000000♠42
Bertāns, Dāvis
7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
1992–11–12
Latvia

5.5 !F/C
7001100000000000000♠10
Costello, Matt (TW)
7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
240 lb (109 kg)
1993–08–05
Michigan State

1.5 !G
7001110000000000000♠11
Forbes, Bryn
7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
1993–07–23
Michigan State

6.0 !C
7001160000000000000♠16
Gasol, Pau
7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
250 lb (113 kg)
1980–07–06
Spain

4.0 !F
7001220000000000000♠22
Gay, Rudy
7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
1986–08–17
Connecticut

1.5 !G
7001200000000000000♠20
Ginóbili, Manu (C)
7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
1977–07–28
Argentina

2.5 !G/F
7001140000000000000♠14
Green, Danny
7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
1987–06–22
North Carolina

1.5 !G
7001240000000000000♠24
Hilliard, Darrun (TW)
7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
1993–04–13
Villanova

6.0 !C
7001770000000000000♠77
Lauvergne, Joffrey
7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
260 lb (118 kg)
1991–09–30
INSEP (FRA)

4.0 !F
7000200000000000000♠2
Leonard, Kawhi  (C)
7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
1991–06–29
San Diego State

1.5 !G
7000800000000000000♠8
Mills, Patty
7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
1988–08–11
Saint Mary's

1.5 !G
7000500000000000000♠5
Murray, Dejounte
7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
1996–09–19
Washington

1.5 !G
7000900000000000000♠9
Parker, Tony (C)
7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
1982–05–17
INSEP (FRA)

1.5 !G
7000300000000000000♠3
Paul, Brandon
7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
1991–04–30
Illinois

1.5 !G
7000400000000000000♠4
White, Derrick
7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
1994–07–02
Colorado

Head coach

Gregg Popovich

Assistant coach(es)

James Borrego
Chip Engelland
Becky Hammon
Will Hardy
Ettore Messina
Ime Udoka

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
(GL) On assignment to G League affiliate
(TW) Two-way affiliate player
 Injured

Roster • Transactions
Last transaction: 2018–04–12

text: Retained draft rights

text: The Spurs own the NBA rights to the players listed in the table below. The typical pattern is to allow the player to develop in leagues outside the United States. The player is free to negotiate contracts in other leagues and is not obligated to play in the NBA. Sometimes, a player's overseas contract may have an expensive buyout clause that would discourage the Spurs from seeking to bring him in. The Spurs have had past success in finding foreign talent; some examples of this success include the selections of second rounder Manu Ginóbili (57th overall in 1999) and first rounder Tony Parker (28th overall in 2001), who both went on to become All-Stars.

text:
Draft
Round
Pick
Player
Pos.
Nationality
Current team
Note(s)
Ref

2017
2
59
Blossomgame, JaronJaron Blossomgame
F
 United States
Austin Spurs (G League)

[62]

2015
1
26
Milutinov, NikolaNikola Milutinov
C
 Serbia
Olympiacos (Greece)

[63]

2015
2
42
Hanlan, OlivierOlivier Hanlan
G
 Canada
Austin Spurs (G League)
Acquired from the Utah Jazz
[64]

2015
2
55
Lalanne, CadyCady Lalanne
C
 Haiti
Beşiktaş Sompo Japan (Turkey)

[63]

2014
2
54
Dangubić, NemanjaNemanja Dangubić
G/F
 Serbia
Crvena zvezda mts (Serbia)
Acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers
[65]

2011
2
59
Hanga, ÁdámÁdám Hanga
G/F
 Hungary
Barcelona Lassa (Spain)

[66]

2007
2
58
Printezis, GeorgiosGeorgios Printezis
F
 Greece
Olympiacos (Greece)
Re-acquired from the Atlanta Hawks (via Toronto, Dallas, New York, Portland, and Oklahoma City)
[67]

2005
2
46
Lorbek, ErazemErazem Lorbek
F/C
 Slovenia
Petrol Olimpija (Slovenia)
Acquired from the Indiana Pacers
[68]

2004
2
42
Sanikidze, ViktorViktor Sanikidze
F
 Georgia
Free agent
Acquired from the Atlanta Hawks
[69]

2004
2
58
Karaulov, SergeiSergei Karaulov
C
 Uzbekistan
Temp-SUMZ-UGMK Revda (Russia)

[70]

text: Retired numbers

text:
San Antonio Spurs retired numbers

No.
Player
Position
Tenure
Date

00
Johnny Moore
G
1980–1988
1989–1990
March 20, 1998

6
Avery Johnson
G
1991
1992–1993
1994–2001
December 22, 2007

12 1
Bruce Bowen
F
2001–2009
March 21, 2012

13
James Silas
G
1972–1981
February 28, 1984

21
Tim Duncan
F/C
1997–2016
December 18, 2016

32
Sean Elliott
F
1989–1993
1994–2001
March 6, 2005

44
George Gervin
G
1974–1985
December 5, 1987

50
David Robinson
C
1989–2003
November 10, 2003

text: Notes:

text: 1 On July 9, 2015, the Spurs "unretired" and reissued the number 12 to LaMarcus Aldridge with the blessing of Bruce Bowen.[71]

text: Basketball Hall of Famers

text:
San Antonio Spurs Basketball Hall of Famers

Players

No.
Name
Position
Tenure
Inducted

34
Cliff Hagan 1
F/G
1967–1969
1978

44
George Gervin 2
G/F
1974–1985
1996

2
Moses Malone
C/F
1994–1995
2001

21
Dominique Wilkins
F
1996–1997
2006

50
David Robinson 3
C
1989–2003
2009

53
Artis Gilmore
C
1982–1987
2011

10
Dennis Rodman
F
1993–1995
2011

10
Louie Dampier
G
1976–1979
2015

1
Tracy McGrady
G/F
2013
2017[72]

10
Maurice Cheeks
G
1989–1990
2018

Coaches

Name
Position
Tenure
Inducted

Larry Brown
Coach
1988–1992
2002

Jerry Tarkanian
Coach
1992
2013

text: Notes:

text:
1 Played and coached (1967–1970) for the team when they were known as Dallas Chaparrals (ABA).
2 Started playing for the team during its time in ABA.
3 In total, Robinson was inducted into the Hall of Fame twice – as player and as a member of the 1992 Olympic team.

text: FIBA Hall of Famers

text:
San Antonio Spurs Hall of Famers

Players

No.
Name
Position
Tenure
Inducted

50
David Robinson
C
1989–2003
2013

10
Andrew Gaze
G
1999
2013

text: Franchise leaders

text: Bold denotes still active with team. "Name*" includes points scored for the team while in the ABA. Italics denotes still active but not with team.

text: Points scored (regular season) as of the end of the 2017–18 season[73]

text:
1. Tim Duncan (26,496)
2. George Gervin* (23,602)
3. David Robinson (20,790)
4. Tony Parker (18,943)
5. Manu Ginóbili (14,043)
6. James Silas* (10,290)

text:
7. Mike Mitchell (9,799)
8. Sean Elliott (9,659)
9. Larry Kenon* (8,428)
10. Kawhi Leonard (6,654)
11. Avery Johnson (6,486)
12. Rich Jones* (6,466)

text:
13. Alvin Robertson (6,285)
14. Artis Gilmore (6,127)
15. John Beasley* (5,983)
16. Willie Anderson (5,946)
17. Mark Olberding* (5,626)
18. Billy Paultz* (5,297)

text:
19. Terry Cummings (5,181)
20. Johnny Moore (4,890)
21. Vinny Del Negro (4,844)
22. Danny Green (4,715)
23. Cincinnatus Powell* (4,392)
24 LaMarcus Aldridge (4,309)

text:
25. Bruce Bowen (4,061)
26. Donnie Freeman* (3,920)
27. Patty Mills (3,904)
28. Coby Dietrick* (3,857)
29. Glen Combs* (3,839)
30. Malik Rose (3,815)

text: Other statistics (regular season) as of the end of the 2017–18 season[73]

text:
Most minutes played

Player
Minutes

Tim Duncan
47,368

Tony Parker
37,276

David Robinson
34,271

George Gervin*
31,115

Manu Ginóbili
26,859

text:
Most rebounds

Player
Rebounds

Tim Duncan
15,091

David Robinson
10,497

George Gervin*
4,841

Larry Kenon*
4,114

Manu Ginóbili
3,697

text:
Most assists

Player
Assists

Tony Parker
6,829

Avery Johnson
4,474

Tim Duncan
4,225

Manu Ginóbili
4,001

Johnny Moore
3,865

text:
Most steals

Player
Steals

Manu Ginóbili
1,392

David Robinson
1,388

George Gervin*
1,159

Alvin Robertson
1,128

Tony Parker
1,032

text:
Most blocks

Player
Blocks

Tim Duncan
3,020

David Robinson
2,954

George Gervin*
938

Billy Paultz*
796

Artis Gilmore
700

text: Individual awards

text: NBA Individual awards

text: NBA Most Valuable Player

text:
David Robinson – 1995
Tim Duncan – 2002, 2003

text: NBA Finals MVP

text:
Tim Duncan – 1999, 2003, 2005
Tony Parker – 2007
Kawhi Leonard – 2014

text: NBA Rookie of the Year

text:
David Robinson – 1990
Tim Duncan – 1998

text: NBA Defensive Player of the Year

text:
Alvin Robertson – 1986
David Robinson – 1992
Kawhi Leonard – 2015, 2016

text: NBA Sixth Man of the Year

text: Manu Ginóbili – 2008

text: NBA Most Improved Player Award

text: Alvin Robertson – 1986

text: NBA Coach of the Year

text: Gregg Popovich – 2003, 2012, 2014

text: NBA Executive of the Year

text:
Angelo Drossos – 1978
Bob Bass – 1990
R.C. Buford – 2014, 2016

text: NBA Sportsmanship Award

text:
Avery Johnson – 1998
David Robinson – 2001
Steve Smith – 2002

text: J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award

text: David Robinson – 2003

text: Twyman–Stokes Teammate of the Year Award

text: Tim Duncan – 2015

text: NBA scoring champion

text:
George Gervin – 1979, 1980, 1982
David Robinson – 1994

text: NBA rebounding leader

text:
David Robinson – 1991
Dennis Rodman – 1994, 1995

text: NBA assists leader

text: Johnny Moore – 1982

text: NBA blocks leader

text:
George T. Johnson – 1981, 1982
David Robinson – 1992

text: NBA steals leader

text:
Alvin Robertson – 1986, 1987
Kawhi Leonard – 2015

text: All-NBA First Team

text:
George Gervin – 1978–1982
David Robinson – 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996
Tim Duncan – 1998–2005, 2007, 2013
Kawhi Leonard – 2016, 2017

text: All-NBA Second Team

text:
George Gervin – 1977, 1983
Alvin Robertson – 1986
David Robinson – 1994, 1998
Tim Duncan – 2006, 2008, 2009
Tony Parker – 2012–2014

text: All-NBA Third Team

text:
David Robinson – 1990, 1993, 2000, 2001
Dennis Rodman – 1995
Tim Duncan – 2010, 2015
Manu Ginóbili – 2008, 2011
Tony Parker – 2009
LaMarcus Aldridge – 2016

text: NBA All-Defensive First Team

text:
Alvin Robertson – 1987
David Robinson – 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996
Dennis Rodman  – 1995
Tim Duncan – 1999–2003, 2005, 2007, 2008
Bruce Bowen – 2004–2008
Kawhi Leonard - 2015–2017

text: NBA All-Defensive Second Team

text:
Alvin Robertson – 1986, 1988, 1989
David Robinson – 1990, 1993, 1994, 1998
Dennis Rodman – 1994
Tim Duncan – 1998, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015
Bruce Bowen – 2002, 2003
Kawhi Leonard – 2014
Danny Green – 2017

text: NBA All-Rookie First Team

text:
Greg Anderson – 1988
Willie Anderson – 1989
David Robinson – 1990
Tim Duncan – 1998
Tony Parker – 2002
Gary Neal – 2011
Kawhi Leonard – 2012

text: NBA All-Rookie Second Team

text:
Sean Elliott – 1990
Manu Ginóbili – 2003
DeJuan Blair – 2010

text: ABA Individual awards

text: ABA Rookie of the Year Award

text: Swen Nater – 1974

text: ABA Coach of the Year Award

text: Tom Nissalke – 1972

text: ABA Executive of the Year award

text: Jack Ankerson – 1974

text: ABA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award

text: John Beasley – 1969

text: All-ABA First Team

text:
Donnie Freeman – 1972
James Silas – 1976

text: All-ABA Second Team

text:
John Beasley – 1968, 1969
Cincinnatus Powell – 1968
Donnie Freeman – 1971
Swen Nater – 1974, 1975
George Gervin – 1975, 1976
James Silas – 1975

text: ABA All-Rookie Team

text:
Ron Boone - 1969
Joe Hamilton - 1971
James Silas - 1973
Swen Nater - 1974
Mark Olberding - 1976

text: NBA All-Star Weekend

text: NBA All-Star selections

text:
John Beasley – 1968–1970
Cliff Hagan – 1968
Glen Combs – 1970
Cincinnatus Powell – 1970
Donnie Freeman – 1971, 1972
Steve Jones – 1972
Rich Jones – 1973, 1974
Swen Nater – 1974, 1975
George Gervin – 1975–1985
James Silas – 1975, 1976
Larry Kenon – 1976, 1978, 1979
Billy Paultz – 1976
Artis Gilmore – 1983, 1986
Alvin Robertson – 1986–1988
David Robinson – 1990–1996, 1998, 2000, 2001
Sean Elliott – 1993, 1996
Tim Duncan – 1998, 2000–2011, 2013, 2015
Manu Ginóbili – 2005, 2011
Tony Parker – 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012–2014
LaMarcus Aldridge – 2016, 2018
Kawhi Leonard – 2016, 2017

text: NBA All-Star Game head coaches

text: Gregg Popovich – 2005, 2011, 2013, 2016

text: NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award

text:
George Gervin – 1980
Tim Duncan – 2000

text: Head coaches

text:
Years active
Name
Record (W–L)
Winning percentage
Playoff record
(W–L)
Playoff percentage
Playoff appearances
Division titles
Conference titles
NBA championships

1976–19801
Doug Moe
177–135
.567
9–13
.409
3
2
0
0

19801
Bob Bass
8–8
.500
1–2
.333
1
0
0
0

1980–1983
Stan Albeck
153–93
.622
13–14
.481
3
3
0
0

19832
Morris McHone
11–20
.355
—
—
0
0
0
0

19832–1984
Bob Bass
26–25
.510
—
—
0
0
0
0

1984–1986
Cotton Fitzsimmons
76–88
.463
2–6
.250
2
0
0
0

1986–1988
Bob Weiss
59–105
.360
0–3
.000
1
0
0
0

1988–19923
Larry Brown
153–131
.539
7–7
.500
2
2
0
0

19923
Bob Bass
26–18
.591
0–3
.000
1
0
0
0

19924
Jerry Tarkanian
9–11
.450
—
—
0
0
0
0

19924–1994
John Lucas
94–49
.657
6–8
.429
2
0
0
0

1994–19965
Bob Hill
124–58
.681
14–11
.560
2
2
0
0

19965–present
Gregg Popovich
1197–541
.689
166–106
.610
21
14
6
5

text: Notes:

text:
1 During the 1979–80 season, Doug Moe coached 66 regular season games. Moe was fired on March 1, 1980, and Bob Bass coached the remaining 16 regular season games as well as the playoffs.
2 During the 1983–84 season, Morris McHone coached 31 regular season games. McHone was fired on December 28, 1983, and Bob Bass coached the remaining 51 regular season games.
3 During the 1991–92 season, Larry Brown coached 38 regular season games. Brown was fired on January 21, 1992, and Bob Bass coached the remaining 44 regular season games as well as the playoffs.
4 During the 1992–93 season, Jerry Tarkanian coached 20 regular season games. Tarkanian was fired on December 18, 1992. Rex Hughes then coached one regular season game, and John Lucas coached the remaining 61 regular season games as well as the playoffs.
5 During the 1996–97 season, Bob Hill coached 18 regular season games. Hill was fired on December 10, 1996, and Gregg Popovich coached the remaining 64 regular season games.


document_title: Atmosphere of Earth

question_text: the major constituents of earth's atmosphere are

question_tokens: the major constituents of earth 's atmosphere are

root

text: Atmosphere of Earth

text: Composition

text: The three major constituents of Earth's atmosphere, are nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. Water vapor accounts for roughly 0.25% of the atmosphere by mass. The concentration of water vapor (a greenhouse gas) varies significantly from around 10 ppm by volume in the coldest portions of the atmosphere to as much as 5% by volume in hot, humid air masses, and concentrations of other atmospheric gases are typically quoted in terms of dry air (without water vapor).[5] The remaining gases are often referred to as trace gases,[6] among which are the greenhouse gases, principally carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Filtered air includes trace amounts of many other chemical compounds. Many substances of natural origin may be present in locally and seasonally variable small amounts as aerosols in an unfiltered air sample, including dust of mineral and organic composition, pollen and spores, sea spray, and volcanic ash. Various industrial pollutants also may be present as gases or aerosols, such as chlorine (elemental or in compounds), fluorine compounds and elemental mercury vapor. Sulfur compounds such as hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide (SO2) may be derived from natural sources or from industrial air pollution.

tag: p

text:
Major constituents of dry air, by volume[7]

Gas
Volume(A)

Name
Formula
in ppmv(B)
in %

Nitrogen
N2
780,840
78.084

Oxygen
O2
209,460
20.946

Argon
Ar
9,340
0.9340

Carbon dioxide
CO2
400
0.04[8]

Neon
Ne
18.18
0.001818

Helium
He
5.24
0.000524

Methane
CH4
1.79
0.000179

Not included in above dry atmosphere:

Water vapor(C)
H2O
10–50,000(D)
0.001%–5%(D)

notes:
(A) volume fraction is equal to mole fraction for ideal gas only,
    also see volume (thermodynamics)
(B) ppmv: parts per million by volume
(C) Water vapor is about 0.25% by mass over full atmosphere
(D) Water vapor strongly varies locally[5]

tag: table

text: The relative concentration of gasses remains constant until about 10,000 m (33,000 ft).[9]

text: Structure of the atmosphere

text: Principal layers

text: In general, air pressure and density decrease with altitude in the atmosphere. However, temperature has a more complicated profile with altitude, and may remain relatively constant or even increase with altitude in some regions (see the temperature section, below). Because the general pattern of the temperature/altitude profile is constant and measurable by means of instrumented balloon soundings, the temperature behavior provides a useful metric to distinguish atmospheric layers. In this way, Earth's atmosphere can be divided (called atmospheric stratification) into five main layers. Excluding the exosphere, the atmosphere has four primary layers, which are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere.[10] From highest to lowest, the five main layers are:

text:
Exosphere: 700 to 10,000 km (440 to 6,200 miles)
Thermosphere: 80 to 700 km (50 to 440 miles)[11]
Mesosphere: 50 to 80 km (31 to 50 miles)
Stratosphere: 12 to 50 km (7 to 31 miles)
Troposphere: 0 to 12 km (0 to 7 miles)[12]

tag: ul

text: Exosphere

text: The exosphere is the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere (i.e. the upper limit of the atmosphere). It extends from the exobase, which is located at the top of the thermosphere at an altitude of about 700 km above sea level, to about 10,000 km (6,200 mi; 33,000,000 ft) where it merges into the solar wind.

text: This layer is mainly composed of extremely low densities of hydrogen, helium and several heavier molecules including nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide closer to the exobase. The atoms and molecules are so far apart that they can travel hundreds of kilometers without colliding with one another. Thus, the exosphere no longer behaves like a gas, and the particles constantly escape into space. These free-moving particles follow ballistic trajectories and may migrate in and out of the magnetosphere or the solar wind.

text: The exosphere is located too far above Earth for any meteorological phenomena to be possible. However, the aurora borealis and aurora australis sometimes occur in the lower part of the exosphere, where they overlap into the thermosphere. The exosphere contains most of the satellites orbiting Earth.

text: Thermosphere

text: The thermosphere is the second-highest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It extends from the mesopause (which separates it from the mesosphere) at an altitude of about 80 km (50 mi; 260,000 ft) up to the thermopause at an altitude range of 500–1000 km (310–620 mi; 1,600,000–3,300,000 ft). The height of the thermopause varies considerably due to changes in solar activity.[11] Because the thermopause lies at the lower boundary of the exosphere, it is also referred to as the exobase. The lower part of the thermosphere, from 80 to 550 kilometres (50 to 342 mi) above Earth's surface, contains the ionosphere.

text: The temperature of the thermosphere gradually increases with height. Unlike the stratosphere beneath it, wherein a temperature inversion is due to the absorption of radiation by ozone, the inversion in the thermosphere occurs due to the extremely low density of its molecules. The temperature of this layer can rise as high as 1500 °C (2700 °F), though the gas molecules are so far apart that its temperature in the usual sense is not very meaningful. The air is so rarefied that an individual molecule (of oxygen, for example) travels an average of 1 kilometre (0.62 mi; 3300 ft) between collisions with other molecules.[13] Although the thermosphere has a high proportion of molecules with high energy, it would not feel hot to a human in direct contact, because its density is too low to conduct a significant amount of energy to or from the skin.

text: This layer is completely cloudless and free of water vapor. However, non-hydrometeorological phenomena such as the aurora borealis and aurora australis are occasionally seen in the thermosphere. The International Space Station orbits in this layer, between 350 and 420 km (220 and 260 mi).

text: Mesosphere

text: The mesosphere is the third highest layer of Earth's atmosphere, occupying the region above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere. It extends from the stratopause at an altitude of about 50 km (31 mi; 160,000 ft) to the mesopause at 80–85 km (50–53 mi; 260,000–280,000 ft) above sea level.

text: Temperatures drop with increasing altitude to the mesopause that marks the top of this middle layer of the atmosphere. It is the coldest place on Earth and has an average temperature around −85 °C (−120 °F; 190 K).[14][15]

text: Just below the mesopause, the air is so cold that even the very scarce water vapor at this altitude can be sublimated into polar-mesospheric noctilucent clouds. These are the highest clouds in the atmosphere and may be visible to the naked eye if sunlight reflects off them about an hour or two after sunset or a similar length of time before sunrise. They are most readily visible when the Sun is around 4 to 16 degrees below the horizon. Lightning-induced discharges known as transient luminous events (TLEs) occasionally form in the mesosphere above tropospheric thunderclouds. The mesosphere is also the layer where most meteors burn up upon atmospheric entrance. It is too high above Earth to be accessible to jet-powered aircraft and balloons, and too low to permit orbital spacecraft. The mesosphere is mainly accessed by sounding rockets and rocket-powered aircraft.

text: Stratosphere

text: The stratosphere is the second-lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It lies above the troposphere and is separated from it by the tropopause. This layer extends from the top of the troposphere at roughly 12 km (7.5 mi; 39,000 ft) above Earth's surface to the stratopause at an altitude of about 50 to 55 km (31 to 34 mi; 164,000 to 180,000 ft).

text: The atmospheric pressure at the top of the stratosphere is roughly 1/1000 the pressure at sea level. It contains the ozone layer, which is the part of Earth's atmosphere that contains relatively high concentrations of that gas. The stratosphere defines a layer in which temperatures rise with increasing altitude. This rise in temperature is caused by the absorption of ultraviolet radiation (UV) radiation from the Sun by the ozone layer, which restricts turbulence and mixing. Although the temperature may be −60 °C (−76 °F; 210 K) at the tropopause, the top of the stratosphere is much warmer, and may be near 0 °C.[16]

text: The stratospheric temperature profile creates very stable atmospheric conditions, so the stratosphere lacks the weather-producing air turbulence that is so prevalent in the troposphere. Consequently, the stratosphere is almost completely free of clouds and other forms of weather. However, polar stratospheric or nacreous clouds are occasionally seen in the lower part of this layer of the atmosphere where the air is coldest. The stratosphere is the highest layer that can be accessed by jet-powered aircraft.

text: Troposphere

text: The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It extends from Earth's surface to an average height of about 12 km, although this altitude varies from about 9 km (30,000 ft) at the poles to 17 km (56,000 ft) at the equator,[12] with some variation due to weather. The troposphere is bounded above by the tropopause, a boundary marked in most places by a temperature inversion (i.e. a layer of relatively warm air above a colder one), and in others by a zone which is isothermal with height.[17][18]

text: Although variations do occur, the temperature usually declines with increasing altitude in the troposphere because the troposphere is mostly heated through energy transfer from the surface. Thus, the lowest part of the troposphere (i.e. Earth's surface) is typically the warmest section of the troposphere. This promotes vertical mixing (hence the origin of its name in the Greek word τρόπος, tropos, meaning "turn"). The troposphere contains roughly 80% of the mass of Earth's atmosphere.[19] The troposphere is denser than all its overlying atmospheric layers because a larger atmospheric weight sits on top of the troposphere and causes it to be most severely compressed. Fifty percent of the total mass of the atmosphere is located in the lower 5.6 km (18,000 ft) of the troposphere.

text: Nearly all atmospheric water vapor or moisture is found in the troposphere, so it is the layer where most of Earth's weather takes place. It has basically all the weather-associated cloud genus types generated by active wind circulation, although very tall cumulonimbus thunder clouds can penetrate the tropopause from below and rise into the lower part of the stratosphere. Most conventional aviation activity takes place in the troposphere, and it is the only layer that can be accessed by propeller-driven aircraft.

text: Other layers

text: Within the five principal layers that are largely determined by temperature, several secondary layers may be distinguished by other properties:

text:
The ozone layer is contained within the stratosphere. In this layer ozone concentrations are about 2 to 8 parts per million, which is much higher than in the lower atmosphere but still very small compared to the main components of the atmosphere. It is mainly located in the lower portion of the stratosphere from about 15–35 km (9.3–21.7 mi; 49,000–115,000 ft), though the thickness varies seasonally and geographically. About 90% of the ozone in Earth's atmosphere is contained in the stratosphere.
The ionosphere is a region of the atmosphere that is ionized by solar radiation. It is responsible for auroras. During daytime hours, it stretches from 50 to 1,000 km (31 to 621 mi; 160,000 to 3,280,000 ft) and includes the mesosphere, thermosphere, and parts of the exosphere. However, ionization in the mesosphere largely ceases during the night, so auroras are normally seen only in the thermosphere and lower exosphere. The ionosphere forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere. It has practical importance because it influences, for example, radio propagation on Earth.
The homosphere and heterosphere are defined by whether the atmospheric gases are well mixed. The surface-based homosphere includes the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and the lowest part of the thermosphere, where the chemical composition of the atmosphere does not depend on molecular weight because the gases are mixed by turbulence.[21] This relatively homogeneous layer ends at the turbopause found at about 100 km (62 mi; 330,000 ft), the very edge of space itself as accepted by the FAI, which places it about 20 km (12 mi; 66,000 ft) above the mesopause.

text: The planetary boundary layer is the part of the troposphere that is closest to Earth's surface and is directly affected by it, mainly through turbulent diffusion. During the day the planetary boundary layer usually is well-mixed, whereas at night it becomes stably stratified with weak or intermittent mixing. The depth of the planetary boundary layer ranges from as little as about 100 metres (330 ft) on clear, calm nights to 3,000 m (9,800 ft) or more during the afternoon in dry regions.

text: The average temperature of the atmosphere at Earth's surface is 14 °C (57 °F; 287 K)[22] or 15 °C (59 °F; 288 K),[23] depending on the reference.[24][25][26]

text: Physical properties

text: Pressure and thickness

text: The average atmospheric pressure at sea level is defined by the International Standard Atmosphere as 101325 pascals (760.00 Torr; 14.6959 psi; 760.00 mmHg). This is sometimes referred to as a unit of standard atmospheres (atm). Total atmospheric mass is 5.1480×1018 kg (1.135×1019 lb),[28] about 2.5% less than would be inferred from the average sea level pressure and Earth's area of 51007.2 megahectares, this portion being displaced by Earth's mountainous terrain. Atmospheric pressure is the total weight of the air above unit area at the point where the pressure is measured. Thus air pressure varies with location and weather.

text: If the entire mass of the atmosphere had a uniform density from sea level, it would terminate abruptly at an altitude of 8.50 km (27,900 ft). It actually decreases exponentially with altitude, dropping by half every 5.6 km (18,000 ft) or by a factor of 1/e every 7.64 km (25,100 ft), the average scale height of the atmosphere below 70 km (43 mi; 230,000 ft). However, the atmosphere is more accurately modeled with a customized equation for each layer that takes gradients of temperature, molecular composition, solar radiation and gravity into account.

text: In summary, the mass of Earth's atmosphere is distributed approximately as follows:[29]

text:
50% is below 5.6 km (18,000 ft).
90% is below 16 km (52,000 ft).
99.99997% is below 100 km (62 mi; 330,000 ft), the Kármán line. By international convention, this marks the beginning of space where human travelers are considered astronauts.

text: By comparison, the summit of Mt. Everest is at 8,848 m (29,029 ft); commercial airliners typically cruise between 10 km (33,000 ft) and 13 km (43,000 ft) where the thinner air improves fuel economy; weather balloons reach 30.4 km (100,000 ft) and above; and the highest X-15 flight in 1963 reached 108.0 km (354,300 ft).

text: Even above the Kármán line, significant atmospheric effects such as auroras still occur. Meteors begin to glow in this region, though the larger ones may not burn up until they penetrate more deeply. The various layers of Earth's ionosphere, important to HF radio propagation, begin below 100 km and extend beyond 500 km. By comparison, the International Space Station and Space Shuttle typically orbit at 350–400 km, within the F-layer of the ionosphere where they encounter enough atmospheric drag to require reboosts every few months. Depending on solar activity, satellites can experience noticeable atmospheric drag at altitudes as high as 700–800 km.

text: Temperature and speed of sound

text: The division of the atmosphere into layers mostly by reference to temperature is discussed above. Temperature decreases with altitude starting at sea level, but variations in this trend begin above 11 km, where the temperature stabilizes through a large vertical distance through the rest of the troposphere. In the stratosphere, starting above about 20 km, the temperature increases with height, due to heating within the ozone layer caused by capture of significant ultraviolet radiation from the Sun by the dioxygen and ozone gas in this region. Still another region of increasing temperature with altitude occurs at very high altitudes, in the aptly-named thermosphere above 90 km.

text: Because in an ideal gas of constant composition the speed of sound depends only on temperature and not on the gas pressure or density, the speed of sound in the atmosphere with altitude takes on the form of the complicated temperature profile (see illustration to the right), and does not mirror altitudinal changes in density or pressure.

text: Density and mass

text: The density of air at sea level is about 1.2 kg/m3 (1.2 g/L, 0.0012 g/cm3). Density is not measured directly but is calculated from measurements of temperature, pressure and humidity using the equation of state for air (a form of the ideal gas law). Atmospheric density decreases as the altitude increases. This variation can be approximately modeled using the barometric formula. More sophisticated models are used to predict orbital decay of satellites.

text: The average mass of the atmosphere is about 5 quadrillion (5×1015) tonnes or 1/1,200,000 the mass of Earth. According to the American National Center for Atmospheric Research, "The total mean mass of the atmosphere is 5.1480×1018 kg with an annual range due to water vapor of 1.2 or 1.5×1015 kg, depending on whether surface pressure or water vapor data are used; somewhat smaller than the previous estimate. The mean mass of water vapor is estimated as 1.27×1016 kg and the dry air mass as 5.1352 ±0.0003×1018 kg."

text: Optical properties

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Solar radiation (or sunlight) is the energy Earth receives from the Sun. Earth also emits radiation back into space, but at longer wavelengths that we cannot see. Part of the incoming and emitted radiation is absorbed or reflected by the atmosphere. In May 2017, glints of light, seen as twinkling from an orbiting satellite a million miles away, were found to be reflected light from ice crystals in the atmosphere.[31][32]

text: Scattering

text: When light passes through Earth's atmosphere, photons interact with it through scattering. If the light does not interact with the atmosphere, it is called direct radiation and is what you see if you were to look directly at the Sun. Indirect radiation is light that has been scattered in the atmosphere. For example, on an overcast day when you cannot see your shadow there is no direct radiation reaching you, it has all been scattered. As another example, due to a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering, shorter (blue) wavelengths scatter more easily than longer (red) wavelengths. This is why the sky looks blue; you are seeing scattered blue light. This is also why sunsets are red. Because the Sun is close to the horizon, the Sun's rays pass through more atmosphere than normal to reach your eye. Much of the blue light has been scattered out, leaving the red light in a sunset.

text: Absorption

text: Different molecules absorb different wavelengths of radiation. For example, O2 and O3 absorb almost all wavelengths shorter than 300 nanometers. Water (H2O) absorbs many wavelengths above 700 nm. When a molecule absorbs a photon, it increases the energy of the molecule. This heats the atmosphere, but the atmosphere also cools by emitting radiation, as discussed below.

text: The combined absorption spectra of the gases in the atmosphere leave "windows" of low opacity, allowing the transmission of only certain bands of light. The optical window runs from around 300 nm (ultraviolet-C) up into the range humans can see, the visible spectrum (commonly called light), at roughly 400–700 nm and continues to the infrared to around 1100 nm. There are also infrared and radio windows that transmit some infrared and radio waves at longer wavelengths. For example, the radio window runs from about one centimeter to about eleven-meter waves.

text: Emission

text: Emission is the opposite of absorption, it is when an object emits radiation. Objects tend to emit amounts and wavelengths of radiation depending on their "black body" emission curves, therefore hotter objects tend to emit more radiation, with shorter wavelengths. Colder objects emit less radiation, with longer wavelengths. For example, the Sun is approximately 6,000 K (5,730 °C; 10,340 °F), its radiation peaks near 500 nm, and is visible to the human eye. Earth is approximately 290 K (17 °C; 62 °F), so its radiation peaks near 10,000 nm, and is much too long to be visible to humans.

text: Because of its temperature, the atmosphere emits infrared radiation. For example, on clear nights Earth's surface cools down faster than on cloudy nights. This is because clouds (H2O) are strong absorbers and emitters of infrared radiation. This is also why it becomes colder at night at higher elevations.

text: The greenhouse effect is directly related to this absorption and emission effect. Some gases in the atmosphere absorb and emit infrared radiation, but do not interact with sunlight in the visible spectrum. Common examples of these are CO2 and H2O.

text: Refractive index

text: The refractive index of air is close to, but just greater than 1. Systematic variations in refractive index can lead to the bending of light rays over long optical paths. One example is that, under some circumstances, observers onboard ships can see other vessels just over the horizon because light is refracted in the same direction as the curvature of Earth's surface.

text: The refractive index of air depends on temperature,[33] giving rise to refraction effects when the temperature gradient is large. An example of such effects is the mirage.

text: Circulation

text: Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of air through the troposphere, and the means (with ocean circulation) by which heat is distributed around Earth. The large-scale structure of the atmospheric circulation varies from year to year, but the basic structure remains fairly constant because it is determined by Earth's rotation rate and the difference in solar radiation between the equator and poles.

text: Evolution of Earth's atmosphere

text: Earliest atmosphere

text: The first atmosphere consisted of gases in the solar nebula, primarily hydrogen. There were probably simple hydrides such as those now found in the gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn), notably water vapor, methane and ammonia.[34]

text: Second atmosphere

text: Outgassing from volcanism, supplemented by gases produced during the late heavy bombardment of Earth by huge asteroids, produced the next atmosphere, consisting largely of nitrogen plus carbon dioxide and inert gases.[34] A major part of carbon-dioxide emissions dissolved in water and reacted with metals such as calcium and magnesium during weathering of crustal rocks to form carbonates that were deposited as sediments. Water-related sediments have been found that date from as early as 3.8 billion years ago.[35]

text: About 3.4 billion years ago, nitrogen formed the major part of the then stable "second atmosphere". The influence of life has to be taken into account rather soon in the history of the atmosphere, because hints of early life-forms appear as early as 3.5 billion years ago.[36] How Earth at that time maintained a climate warm enough for liquid water and life, if the early Sun put out 30% lower solar radiance than today, is a puzzle known as the "faint young Sun paradox".

text: The geological record however shows a continuous relatively warm surface during the complete early temperature record of Earth – with the exception of one cold glacial phase about 2.4 billion years ago. In the late Archean Eon an oxygen-containing atmosphere began to develop, apparently produced by photosynthesizing cyanobacteria (see Great Oxygenation Event), which have been found as stromatolite fossils from 2.7 billion years ago. The early basic carbon isotopy (isotope ratio proportions) strongly suggests conditions similar to the current, and that the fundamental features of the carbon cycle became established as early as 4 billion years ago.

text: Ancient sediments in the Gabon dating from between about 2,150 and 2,080 million years ago provide a record of Earth's dynamic oxygenation evolution. These fluctuations in oxygenation were likely driven by the Lomagundi carbon isotope excursion.[37]

text: Third atmosphere

text: The constant re-arrangement of continents by plate tectonics influences the long-term evolution of the atmosphere by transferring carbon dioxide to and from large continental carbonate stores. Free oxygen did not exist in the atmosphere until about 2.4 billion years ago during the Great Oxygenation Event and its appearance is indicated by the end of the banded iron formations.

text: Before this time, any oxygen produced by photosynthesis was consumed by oxidation of reduced materials, notably iron. Molecules of free oxygen did not start to accumulate in the atmosphere until the rate of production of oxygen began to exceed the availability of reducing materials that removed oxygen. This point signifies a shift from a reducing atmosphere to an oxidizing atmosphere. O2 showed major variations until reaching a steady state of more than 15% by the end of the Precambrian.[40] The following time span from 541 million years ago to the present day is the Phanerozoic Eon, during the earliest period of which, the Cambrian, oxygen-requiring metazoan life forms began to appear.

text: The amount of oxygen in the atmosphere has fluctuated over the last 600 million years, reaching a peak of about 30% around 280 million years ago, significantly higher than today's 21%. Two main processes govern changes in the atmosphere: Plants use carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, releasing oxygen. Breakdown of pyrite and volcanic eruptions release sulfur into the atmosphere, which oxidizes and hence reduces the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere. However, volcanic eruptions also release carbon dioxide, which plants can convert to oxygen. The exact cause of the variation of the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere is not known. Periods with much oxygen in the atmosphere are associated with rapid development of animals. Today's atmosphere contains 21% oxygen, which is great enough for this rapid development of animals.[41]

text: Air pollution

text: Air pollution is the introduction into the atmosphere of chemicals, particulate matter or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to organisms.[42] Stratospheric ozone depletion is caused by air pollution, chiefly from chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting substances.

text: The scientific consensus is that the anthropogenic greenhouse gases currently accumulating in the atmosphere are the main cause of global warming.[43]

text: Images from space

text: On October 19, 2015 NASA started a website containing daily images of the full sunlit side of Earth on http://epic.gsfc.nasa.gov/. The images are taken from the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) and show Earth as it rotates during a day.[44]