Open Thread: Five “did you know these guys played for the Spurs?”

Sep 29, 2022 - 11:00 AM

As we prepare to close out our 50 for 50 series (and we all know who will take the top spot), I wanted to throw in a list of guys that many of know as coaches, assistant coaches, and general managers that some of you may not know once donned a Spurs jersey.

1. Mike D’ Antoni

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Gotta start with Mr. Pringles. The bane of the Spurs existence for much of the last decade could be attributed to the Houston Rockets and James Harden and the 3-point-focused offense.

Well, Mike D’Antoni has been at the forefront of the movement. We all saw it when he was pulling the same shenanigans in Phoenix back in mid-aughts. If we’re being fair, the Spurs are probably more a bane on Coach D’Antoni than he is on us. Either way, it’s highly probable no Spurs fan has ever rooted for this guy, save two games back in October of 1976.

2. John Lucas

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Some elder Spurs fans may remember John Lucas as San Antonio’s head coach from 1992-1994. But few may recall that 1976’s top draft pick ended up in San Antonio for a lone 1983-1984 season as point guard.

3. George Karl

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George Karl played for one team and one team only- the San Antonio Spurs. From 1973-1978, Karl played as a starting point guard next to a shooting guard named George Gervin. After the ABA/NBA merger, Karl lost his playing time and chose to retire, making an immediate transition to assistant coaching in San Antonio. He continued coaching until 2016, just one shy of the 2,000 mark.

4. Sean Marks

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Most fans know Sean Marks was on the sideline in 2014 picking up an NBA championship ring as an assistant coach on Popovich’s staff. What some may not know is he picked up a ring sitting on the sideline as a player in 2005 as part of Pop’s roster. In recent years, Marks took all his institutional knowledge to Brooklyn as General manager of the Nets.

5. Ime Udoka

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It may be the wrong moment to tout a head coach who has found himself in an unfavorable light, but before being the head coach of the Boston Celtics he was a Spurs assistant coach. Coincidentally, he served as an assistant along with Sean Marks, later both were in Brooklyn (along with Tiago Splitter, Patty Mills, LaMarcus Aldridge...Marks just siphoned Spurs wherever he could). Before all of that, Ime had two stints with the Spurs. The first from 2007-2009 and then again during the 2010-2011 season.

Next up: Okay, it’s Timmy-time

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