1994–95 San Antonio Spurs season

The 1994–95 San Antonio Spurs season was the 19th season for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association, and their 28th season as a franchise. During the off-season, the Spurs hired Bob Hill as their new head coach, re-acquired Sean Elliott after playing one year with the Detroit Pistons, re-signed Avery Johnson after one season with the Golden State Warriors, and signed free agents Chuck Person, and former All-Star forward Moses Malone. Early into the regular season, they signed free agent Doc Rivers, who was previously released by the New York Knicks.

Under Hill, and despite the return of Elliott and Johnson, along with the addition of Person, the Spurs struggled and played below .500 in winning percentage with a slow 7–9 start to the regular season, as Dennis Rodman served two suspensions early into the season. However, the team won 13 of their next 14 games, which included a seven-game winning streak in December, and a six-game winning streak between December and January. The Spurs posted an eight-game winning streak between January and February, and held a 30–15 record at the All-Star break. The team posted another eight-game winning streak between February and March, posted a 15-game winning streak between March and April, and then posted a six-game winning streak to close the season, winning 21 of their final 23 games. The Spurs won the Midwest Division title by finishing with a league-best 62–20 record, and earning the first seed in the Western Conference. It was also their best regular-season record in franchise history, surpassing the 56-win 1989–90 season, which would be surpassed eleven seasons later by the 2005–06 team (63–19), and then ten seasons later by the 2015–16 squad (67–15).

David Robinson averaged 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game, and was named the NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year; he was also named to the All-NBA First Team. In addition, Elliott averaged 18.1 points per game and contributed 136 three-point field goals, while Johnson provided the team with 13.4 points, 8.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game, Vinny Del Negro contributed 12.5 points per game, and Rodman, who only played just 49 games, averaged 7.1 points, and led the league with 16.8 rebounds per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team. Off the bench, Person played a sixth man role, averaging 10.8 points per game and leading the Spurs with 172 three-point field-goals, while J.R. Reid averaged 7.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, and Terry Cummings provided with 6.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, Robinson was selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team, while Person participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout. Both Robinson and Rodman were named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team; Robinson also finished in fourth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, while Rodman finished in fifth place, Johnson finished in sixth place in Most Improved Player voting, Person finished in third place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, and Hill finished in third place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1995 NBA playoffs, the Spurs faced off against the 8th–seeded Denver Nuggets, a team that featured All-Star center, and Defensive Player of the Year, Dikembe Mutombo, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Reggie Williams. The Spurs won the first two games over the Nuggets at home at the Alamodome, before winning Game 3 on the road, 99–95 at the McNichols Sports Arena to win the series in a three-game sweep.

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 5th–seeded Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Cedric Ceballos, second-year star Nick Van Exel, and Vlade Divac. The Spurs took a 3–1 series lead over the Lakers, before losing Game 5 at the Alamodome in overtime, 98–96. The Spurs won Game 6 over the Lakers on the road, 100–88 at the Great Western Forum to win the series in six games.

In the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs then faced off against the 6th–seeded, and defending NBA champion Houston Rockets, a team that featured All-Star center Hakeem Olajuwon, All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, and Robert Horry. Both teams lacked home-court advantage in the series, as the Spurs lost the first two games to the Rockets at the Alamodome, but managed to win the next two games on the road at The Summit, before losing Game 5 at the Alamodome, 111–90. The road team won every game in the series until the Rockets won Game 6 over the Spurs at The Summit, 100–95, as the Spurs lost the series in six games. The Rockets would go on to defeat the Orlando Magic in a four-game sweep in the 1995 NBA Finals, winning their second consecutive NBA championship.

The Spurs finished third in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 920,413 at the Alamodome during the regular season. Following the season, the controversial Rodman was traded to the Chicago Bulls after only two seasons with the Spurs, while Terry Cummings re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the Milwaukee Bucks, Willie Anderson was left unprotected in the 1995 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Toronto Raptors expansion team, and Malone, who only played just 17 games this season due to a ruptured tendon in his right leg, retired after nineteen seasons in the NBA.