# 1976–77 San Antonio Spurs season

The 1976–77 NBA season was the Spurs first season in the NBA. Months earlier, the Spurs were part of the American Basketball Association (Six in Dallas and three in San Antonio). The ABA had ended its ninth and last campaign. Of the seven remaining ABA teams, four joined the NBA: the Denver Nuggets, New York Nets, Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs. The Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis agreed to take a cash settlement and cease operations. Immediately, the ABA players were dispersed across the new 22-team league. The other ABA teams from the prior season were all folded prior to the ABA–NBA merger: the Baltimore Claws, Utah Stars, San Diego Sails and Virginia Squires.
The Spurs made their debut on October 22 stunning the 76ers in Philadelphia by a score of 121–118. Afterwards, the Spurs would win just 1 of their next 7 games. In November, the Spurs would win 6 straight. By February the Spurs were 10 games over .500, and were the NBA's highest scoring team at 115 points per game. Despite the offensive flash, the Spurs also had the league's worst defense at 114 points per game as they struggled to finish in 3rd place in the Central Division with a record of 44–38. In the playoffs, the Spurs were swept in 2 straight by the defending world champion Boston Celtics.

## Offseason
### NBA draft

Neither the Spurs, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets or Denver Nuggets were allowed to participate in the 1976 NBA draft.

### ABA Dispersal Draft

The American Basketball Association merged with the NBA in 1976. Of the teams remaining in the ABA, four joined the NBA. The two teams, the Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis, which folded had their players assigned to a dispersal draft for draft purposes.
| Pick | Player | Nationality | NBA Team | ABA Team | Purchase Price |
| 10 | Louie Dampier (PG) | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Kentucky Colonels | $20,000 |

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Central Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Houston Rockets | 49 | 33 | .598 | – | 34–7 | 15–26 | 13–7 |
| x-Washington Bullets | 48 | 34 | .585 | 1 | 32–9 | 16–25 | 11–9 |
| x-San Antonio Spurs | 44 | 38 | .537 | 5 | 31–10 | 13–28 | 9–11 |
| x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 43 | 39 | .524 | 6 | 29–12 | 14–27 | 8–12 |
| New Orleans Jazz | 35 | 47 | .427 | 14 | 26–15 | 9–32 | 10–10 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 31 | 51 | .378 | 18 | 19–22 | 12–29 | 9–11 |
| # | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | z-Philadelphia 76ers | 50 | 32 | .610 | – |
| 2 | y-Houston Rockets | 49 | 33 | .598 | 1 |
| 3 | x-Washington Bullets | 48 | 34 | .585 | 2 |
| 4 | x-Boston Celtics | 44 | 38 | .537 | 6 |
| 5 | x-San Antonio Spurs | 44 | 38 | .537 | 6 |
| 6 | x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 43 | 39 | .524 | 7 |
| 7 | New York Knicks | 40 | 42 | .488 | 10 |
| 8 | New Orleans Jazz | 35 | 47 | .427 | 15 |
| 9 | Atlanta Hawks | 31 | 51 | .378 | 19 |
| 10 | Buffalo Braves | 30 | 52 | .366 | 20 |
| 11 | New York Nets | 22 | 60 | .268 | 28 |

### Record vs. opponents

1976–77 NBA records :
| Team | ATL | BOS | BUF | CHI | CLE | DEN | DET | GSW | HOU | IND | KCK | LAL | MIL | NOJ | NYK | NYN | PHI | PHO | POR | SAS | SEA | WAS |
| Atlanta | — | 0–4 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 |
| Boston | 4–0 | — | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 0–4 |
| Buffalo | 0–4 | 1–3 | — | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 0–4 |
| Chicago | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | — | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 |
| Cleveland | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | — | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 |
| Denver | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | — | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 |
| Detroit | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | — | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 |
| Golden State | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | — | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 |
| Houston | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | — | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 |
| Indiana | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | — | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 |
| Kansas City | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | — | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 |
| Los Angeles | 2–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | — | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 |
| Milwaukee | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | — | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 |
| New Orleans | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 |
| N.Y. Knicks | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | — | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–2 |
| N.Y. Nets | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | — | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 |
| Philadelphia | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | — | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 |
| Phoenix | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 |
| Portland | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | — | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 |
| San Antonio | 0–4 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | — | 3–1 | 2–2 |
| Seattle | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | — | 3–1 |
| Washington | 3–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | — |

### Game log
#### October

Record: 2–4; home: 1–1; road: 1–3
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record |
| 1 | October 22, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 121–118 | Philadelphia 76ers | 1–0 |
| 2 | October 23, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 98–117 | New York Knicks | 1–1 |
| 3 | October 26, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 114–122 | Atlanta Hawks | 1–2 |
| 4 | October 27, 1976 | Phoenix Suns | 106–115 | San Antonio Spurs | 2–2 |
| 5 | October 29, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 102–130 | Kansas City Kings | 2–3 |
| 6 | October 30, 1976 | Boston Celtics | 126–117 | San Antonio Spurs | 2–4 |

#### November

Record: 9–5; home: 8–0; road: 1–5
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record |
| 7 | November 3, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 97–113 | Indiana Pacers | 2–5 |
| 8 | November 5, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 119–127 | New Orleans Jazz | 2–6 |
| 9 | November 6, 1976 | Indiana Pacers | 94–113 | San Antonio Spurs | 3–6 |
| 10 | November 9, 1976 | Seattle SuperSonics | 114–138 | San Antonio Spurs | 4–6 |
| 11 | November 11, 1976 | New York Nets | 104–108 | San Antonio Spurs | 5–6 |
| 12 | November 13, 1976 | Portland Trail Blazers | 101–113 | San Antonio Spurs | 6–6 |
| 13 | November 16, 1976 | Buffalo Braves | 112–114 | San Antonio Spurs | 7–6 |
| 14 | November 18, 1976 | Kansas City Kings | 104–129 | San Antonio Spurs | 8–6 |
| 15 | November 20, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 103–109 | Washington Bullets | 8–7 |
| 16 | November 23, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 122–115 | Buffalo Braves | 9–7 |
| 17 | November 24, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 91–99 | New York Nets | 9–8 |
| 18 | November 26, 1976 | Golden State Warriors | 121–123 | San Antonio Spurs | 10–8 |
| 19 | November 27, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 89–75 | Houston Rockets | 10–9 |
| 20 | November 30, 1976 | Detroit Pistons | 129–130 | San Antonio Spurs | 11–9 |

#### December

Record: 7–7; home: 4–1; road: 3–6
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record |
| 21 | December 2, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 116–124 | Golden State Warriors | 11–10 |
| 22 | December 3, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 105–114 | Los Angeles Lakers | 11–11 |
| 23 | December 5, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 98–103 | Phoenix Suns | 11–12 |
| 24 | December 8, 1976 | Atlanta Hawks | 117–106 | San Antonio Spurs | 11–13 |
| 25 | December 10, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 136–120 | Milwaukee Bucks | 12–13 |
| 26 | December 11, 1976 | New Orleans Jazz | 106–121 | San Antonio Spurs | 13–13 |
| 27 | December 14, 1976 | New York Knicks | 98–111 | San Antonio Spurs | 14–13 |
| 28 | December 15, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 102–116 | Indiana Pacers | 14–14 |
| 29 | December 17, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 101–103 | Chicago Bulls | 14–15 |
| 30 | December 19, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 105–106 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 14–16 |
| 31 | December 21, 1976 | Golden State Warriors | 123–120 | San Antonio Spurs | 15–16 |
| 32 | December 23, 1976 | Washington Bullets | 116–118 | San Antonio Spurs | 16–16 |
| 33 | December 26, 1976 | San Antonio Spurs | 110–105 | Kansas City Kings | 17–16 |
| 34 | December 28, 1976 | Philadelphia 76ers | 116–127 | San Antonio Spurs | 18–16 |

## Playoffs

1977 playoff game log :
First Round: 0–2 (home: 0–1; road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
April 12
@ Boston
L 94–104
Kenon, Gervin (20)
Billy Paultz (10)
Louie Dampier (5)
Boston Garden 13,505
0–1
2
April 15
Boston
L 109–113
George Gervin (30)
three players tied (7)
Mike Gale (7)
HemisFair Arena 12,067
0–2 :
1977 schedule :

## Player statistics
### Ragular season

| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| George Gervin | SF | 82 | 82 | 2,705 | 454 | 238 | 105 | 104 | 1,895 | 33.0 | 5.5 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 23.1 |
| Billy Paultz | C | 82 | 82 | 2,694 | 687 | 223 | 55 | 173 | 1,280 | 32.9 | 8.4 | 2.7 | .7 | 2.1 | 15.6 |
| Mike Gale | SG | 82 | | 2,598 | 273 | 473 | 191 | 50 | 843 | 31.7 | 3.3 | 5.8 | 2.3 | .6 | 10.3 |
| Allan Bristow | SF | 82 | | 2,017 | 348 | 240 | 89 | 2 | 936 | 24.6 | 4.2 | 2.9 | 1.1 | .0 | 11.4 |
| Mark Olberding | PF | 82 | | 1,949 | 449 | 119 | 59 | 29 | 853 | 23.8 | 5.5 | 1.5 | .7 | .4 | 10.4 |
| Coby Dietrick | C | 82 | | 1,772 | 372 | 148 | 88 | 57 | 689 | 21.6 | 4.5 | 1.8 | 1.1 | .7 | 8.4 |
| Louie Dampier | PG | 80 | | 1,634 | 76 | 234 | 49 | 15 | 530 | 20.4 | 1.0 | 2.9 | .6 | .2 | 6.6 |
| Larry Kenon | PF | 78 | | 2,936 | 879 | 229 | 167 | 60 | 1,705 | 37.6 | 11.3 | 2.9 | 2.1 | .8 | 21.9 |
| Mack Calvin$^†$ | PG | 35 | | 606 | 31 | 104 | 23 | 1 | 309 | 17.3 | .9 | 3.0 | .7 | .0 | 8.8 |
| George Karl | PG | 29 | | 251 | 17 | 46 | 10 | 0 | 79 | 8.7 | .6 | 1.6 | .3 | .0 | 2.7 |
| Henry Ward | SG | 27 | | 171 | 33 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 83 | 6.3 | 1.2 | .2 | .2 | .2 | 3.1 |
| James Silas | PG | 22 | | 356 | 32 | 50 | 13 | 3 | 209 | 16.2 | 1.5 | 2.3 | .6 | .1 | 9.5 |
| Louie Nelson | SG | 4 | | 57 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 14.3 | 1.8 | .8 | .5 | .0 | 4.5 |
| Mike D'Antoni | SG | 2 | | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | 1.5 |
* $^†$ Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Spurs only.

### Playoffs

| Player | POS | GP | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Larry Kenon | PF | 2 | 79 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 34 | 39.5 | 7.5 | 3.0 | 2.5 | .5 | 17.0 |
| Billy Paultz | C | 2 | 74 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 34 | 37.0 | 8.5 | 2.5 | 1.0 | .5 | 17.0 |
| Mike Gale | SG | 2 | 67 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 22 | 33.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 11.0 |
| Coby Dietrick | C | 2 | 64 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 32.0 | 4.5 | 2.5 | .5 | .0 | 13.0 |
| George Gervin | SF | 2 | 62 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 50 | 31.0 | 5.5 | 1.5 | .5 | 1.0 | 25.0 |
| Louie Dampier | PG | 2 | 62 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 31.0 | 1.5 | 4.5 | .5 | .5 | 6.0 |
| Mark Olberding | PF | 2 | 42 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 21.0 | 3.5 | 1.0 | .0 | .5 | 6.5 |
| Allan Bristow | SF | 2 | 28 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 14.0 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 1.0 | .0 | 4.0 |
| Henry Ward | SG | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 4.0 |
| George Karl | PG | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |

## Awards and records

* George Gervin, All-NBA Second Team