Lakers–Spurs rivalry
Teams | |
---|---|
First meeting | December 3,1976 Lakers 114, Spurs 105 |
Latest meeting | February 23, 2024 Lakers 123, Spurs 118 |
Next meeting | TBA |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 244 |
All-time series | 129–115 (LAL) |
Regular season series | 95–93 (LAL) |
Postseason results | 34–22 (LAL) |
Longest win streak | SAS W8 |
Current win streak | LAL W1 |
Postseason history | |
|
The Lakers–Spurs rivalry is a
As of the end of the 2019–20 season, the Lakers are the only team with a winning overall record against San Antonio.[10]
Background
The Lakers were founded as the
The Spurs, meanwhile, were founded as the Dallas Chaparrals in the
Rivalry history
Although the Spurs and Lakers have played each other in the Western Conference since 1981, they weren't considered rivals until 1999, when the Spurs swept the Lakers 4–0, eventually winning their first NBA title.[14] They had met in the 1982, 1983, 1986, 1988, and 1995 NBA Playoffs. In both the 1982 and 1983 playoffs, the Gervin-led Spurs made the Western Conference Finals, but the Lakers of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar eliminated the Spurs each time, preventing Gervin from reaching the NBA Finals. The Lakers easily swept the Alvin Robertson-led Spurs in the first round of both the 1986 and 1988 playoffs. Then in 1995, the Robinson-led Spurs made the conference finals by eliminating the Lakers, but would lose to the Houston Rockets in that round.
The rivalry intensified with the Lakers' offseason hiring of former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson before the 1999–2000 season. Jackson had previously commented that the Spurs title in 1999 should come with an asterisk.[15] Jackson stated this because the title took place during a lockout-shortened season,[16] and the three-time defending champion Bulls team (which Jackson coached) was dismantled before it was able to defend its 1998 title.[17]
The following season the Lakers finished with the league's best record,[18] and the Spurs struggled down the stretch after Duncan suffered a knee injury. With Duncan out for the playoffs, the Spurs were defeated 3–1 by the Phoenix Suns, themselves missing Jason Kidd and Tom Gugliotta, in the first round.[19] The Lakers, meanwhile, defeated the Indiana Pacers 4–2 in the NBA Finals to win the club's first title since 1988. While the Lakers won the title, there was speculation that the Lakers would not have advanced to the Finals if they had faced the Spurs in the second round of the playoffs. In 2001, the Lakers, having swept the Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings, exacted revenge for their 1999 sweep by sweeping the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.[20] The series was very one-sided, with L.A. winning games by 39 and 29 points.[15] They then won their 2nd straight title over the Philadelphia 76ers 4–1.[20]
The teams faced off again in the 2002 Western Conference Semifinals. Again, the Lakers beat the Spurs. This time the Lakers won 4–1,
The next year, they played in the 2003 Western Conference Semifinals.[22] This time, the Spurs ended the Lakers' dynasty in 6 and went on to beat the back-to-back Eastern Conference champion Nets in the 2003 NBA Finals.[22] One of the series' crucial moments came when the Lakers' Robert Horry, a well known clutch shooter, missed a potential game-winning 3 in Game 5. With another title won, David Robinson retired after the season. Robert Horry would then sign the Spurs the following season.
In 2004, the teams met again in the Western Conference Semifinals. After the home team won the first 4 games to set the series at 2, the Lakers beat San Antonio on the road in a memorable Game 5. With the Spurs down 72–71 with 5.4 seconds left, Duncan was almost perfectly defended by Shaq and still made an off-balance fadeaway 20-footer to take a 73–72 lead with 0.4 seconds left. After a few timeouts, Derek Fisher received the inbounds pass from Gary Payton and hit a turn-around 18-footer while falling away. Instant replay showed the ball left Fisher's hands with 0.1 seconds left, thus the Lakers escaped with a 74–73 victory. The NBA denied a Spurs protest stating that the clock did not start in time. The Lakers went on to win the series, and advance to the NBA Finals where they lost to the Detroit Pistons.
O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in the following offseason, and the Lakers missed the playoffs in 2005. Meanwhile, the Spurs won their third NBA Championship over the defending champion Pistons in a long, hard-fought 7-game series. The rivalry became dormant, as the Bryant-led Lakers started anew with a younger nucleus that lost in the first round in 2006 and 2007. Meanwhile, the Spurs were defeated by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 Western Conference Semifinals 4–3, but rebounded in 2007 to win their 4th Title in 9 years.
During the 2007–08 season, Bryant and the rebuilt Lakers reemerged as a contender. With the added help of Pau Gasol, a second-half acquisition from the Memphis Grizzlies, the team received the #1 seed in the West. The Spurs received the #3 seed. They met again in the 2008 Western Conference Finals. In Game 1, the Lakers overcame a 20-point 3rd quarter deficit to win 89-85 en route to defeating the defending champions 4–1 and advance to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics.
In the 2008–09 and 2009-10 season, they did not meet in the playoffs. The Spurs were eliminated for the first time in the first round and second round by the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns respectively, while the Lakers went on to win the NBA Championship against the Orlando Magic in 2009 and the Boston Celtics in 2010.
The 2011 Playoffs was the first time since 2006 that neither appeared in the Western Conference Finals and for only the second time since 1999, neither team made the NBA Finals.
A new rivalry was formed with the arrival of
On Saturday February 5, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers went to San Antonio, Texas to play the San Antonio Spurs for Bryant's final game there. The Spurs honored Kobe Bryant with a 2½ minute video while the spotlight shone on Kobe, seated on the Lakers bench. The video showed highlight plays of Bryant, and interviews with Coach Greg Popovich, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, the Spurs players who have faced Kobe during his entire career. The Spurs won the game 106-102 and Kobe finished the game with 25 points and converted just 9 of his 28 shots.[24]
The rivalry flared once more with the arrival of LeBron James and Anthony Davis to the Lakers and DeMar DeRozan to the Spurs, a former Raptors player that was swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017-18 playoffs. James, as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat, has met the Spurs in the NBA Finals on three occasions, losing in 2007 and 2014 and winning in 2013. In 2019–20 NBA season, the Spurs missed the playoffs for the first time in 23 years, while the Lakers clinched the Playoffs and won the title that season.
Statistics
Los Angeles Lakers | San Antonio Spurs | |
---|---|---|
Total wins | 128 | 115 |
At Los Angeles Lakers | 74 | 48 |
At San Antonio Spurs | 54 | 67 |
Regular season wins | 94 | 93 |
At Los Angeles Lakers | 54 | 38 |
At San Antonio Spurs | 40 | 55 |
Playoff wins | 34 | 22 |
At Los Angeles Lakers | 20 | 10 |
At San Antonio Spurs | 14 | 12 |
See also
- National Basketball Association rivalries
- California-Texas rivalry
References
- ^ Rangel, Paul. "Lakers-Spurs: Who's the Team of the Decade?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ Dresie, Lee (2019-11-26). "Looking back at the Spurs vs. Lakers rivalry". Pounding The Rock. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ Martinez, Patrick. "Remembering the I-10 rivalry: Spurs vs. Lakers". The Paisano. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ "NBA at 75: When the Spurs end the Lakers' dynasty and start their own". FanSided. 2022-05-15. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ "The 10 most intense NBA rivalries". Men's Journal. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ Schmidt, Matthew (2020-04-11). "Spurs: San Antonio's Top 5 Rivals Of All Time, Ranked". ClutchPoints. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ "Decade's Best: NBA Rivalry". SLAM. 2009-12-25. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ Aparicio, Ricardo (April 23, 2004). "Glamour vs. Grit: The perfect NBA rivalry". InsideHoops.com. Retrieved April 14, 2007.
- ^ Turner, Gus (November 14, 2014). "Which Dynasty Ruled the West? The San Antonio Spurs vs. The Los Angeles Lakers". Complex. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
- ^ "NBA : Series records : San Antonio Spurs - select an opponent (sorted by all time win %)". mcubed.net. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ^ a b History of the Lakers, nba.com/lakers, accessed April 18, 2007.
- ^ Top 10 Teams in NBA History Archived 2013-05-02 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com/history, accessed April 17, 2007.
- ^ a b c San Antonio Spurs History, nba.com/spurs, accessed April 18, 2007.
- ^ San Antonio Spurs 1998-99 Game Log and Scores Archived 2006-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, databasebasketball.com, accessed April 17, 2007.
- ^ a b Deveney, Sean. Team 'tude: the Lakers might not be as good as they were the past three seasons, but they have rediscovered a swagger the Spurs know all too well Archived 2008-05-26 at the Wayback Machine, The Sporting News, May 12, 2003, accessed April 15, 2007.* Note article has several pages.
- ^ Stewart, Sean. Jackson vs. Riley - basketball coaches Phil Jackson and Pat Riley - Brief Article Archived 2007-10-19 at the Wayback Machine, The Sporting News, May 1, 2000, accessed April 18, 2007.
- ^ Associated Press. No asterisk will smudge this champion, June 8, 2000, accessed April 18, 2007.
- ^ 1999-00 NBA Standings, Stats and Awards Archived 2007-04-08 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com/history.com, accessed April 17, 2007.
- ^ 2000 Playoff Results Archived 2010-04-20 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com/history.com, accessed April 17, 2007.
- ^ a b 2001 Playoff Results Archived 2010-06-15 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com/history, accessed April 17, 2007.
- ^ a b 2002 Playoff Results Archived 2010-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com/history.com, accessed April 17, 2007.
- ^ a b 2003 Playoff Results Archived 2010-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com/history, accessed April 14, 2007.
- ^ "Kobe Bryant of Los Angeles Lakers probably tore Achilles, team says". 13 April 2013.
- ^ "Lone star setting: Kobe Bryant savours his last visit to a most formidable foe". ESPN.com. 7 February 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-07.