Question: What was the nickname of the former All-star who San Antonio Spurs before the 1996-97 season ?

The 1973–74 Virginia Squires season was the 4th season of the Squires in the American Basketball Association.  The team finished 6th in points scored at 106.3 points per game and 9th in points allowed at 111.3 points per game.  The team was 15–27 midway through the season, but they went 13–29 in the second half of the season.  Their biggest losing streak was 6 games, with their highest winning streak being 3 games, done twice.  Despite this, they clinched the fourth and final playoff spot by 7 games.  The Squires lost to Dr. J and the New York Nets in the Semifinals in 5 games.  The money troubles that had troubled the franchise meant that the Squires were forced to trade away pivotal players of the franchise in order to provide short term stability.  Julius Erving (along with Willie Sojourner) was traded to the New York Nets for George Carter and cash before the season started.  Swen Nater was traded on November 21, 1973 to the San Antonio Spurs.  The night of the All-Star Game, it was announced that the Squires sold George Gervin to the San Antonio Spurs for $225,000.  Gervin's last game with the team was on February 1, but a court battle delayed his play with the Spurs, though it was all settled in favor of the Spurs by March 3.  This was the last season the Squires made the playoffs as they went into a tailspin for the next two season, losing over 60 games each season. <SEP> The 1996–97 NBA season was the Spurs' 21st season in the National Basketball Association, and 30th season as a franchise.  However, without All-Star center David Robinson, who played just six games due to back and foot injuries, and Chuck Person, who was out for the entire season with an offseason back injury, the Spurs struggled losing 13 of their first 15 games in November.  After 18 games, head coach Bob Hill was fired and replaced with General Manager Gregg Popovich.  During the offseason, the Spurs signed free agent and former All-Star Dominique Wilkins, who played in Greece last season, while re-signing free agent Vernon Maxwell.  Wilkins appeared in 63 games and led the team with 18.2 points per game.  However, it would not be nearly enough as the Spurs finished sixth in the Midwest Division with an awful 20–62 record. <SEP> The 2016–17 San Antonio Spurs season was the 50th season of the franchise, 41st in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 44th in the San Antonio area.  It was the first season since the 1996–97 season without Tim Duncan, who retired on July 11, 2016.  With the elimination of the Detroit Red Wings from the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs on March 28, 2017, the San Antonio Spurs now hold the longest active playoff streak in any of the major North American professional sports leagues with 20 consecutive NBA Playoffs appearances. <SEP> Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American retired professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).  In 2006, Wilkins was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.  Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, and is widely viewed as one of the best dunkers in NBA history, earning the nickname The Human Highlight Film.