1980-81 San Antonio Spurs
[edit] The Offseason
As a result of that lackluster showing, the Spurs made a couple of key moves before the 1980-81 season. Larry Kenon was shipped to the Chicago Bulls, Dave Corzine came over from the Washington Bullets, George Johnson was picked up as a free agent, and Reggie Johnson, a 6-foot-9 forward from the University of Tennessee, was selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. In addition, the franchise brought in Stan Albeck as its new head coach. Meanwhile, the Spurs jumped over to the Midwest Division of the Western Conference, joining Houston, Kansas City, Denver, Utah, and the expansion Dallas Mavericks.
[edit] Regular-Season Highlights
All the pieces quickly fell into place. San Antonio jumped out to a 10-2 start. In late December a San Antonio tradition was born when the club handed out 10,000 free posters that featured the Spurs' front line as the "Bruise Brothers." The crew of George Johnson, Dave Corzine, Kevin Restani, Paul Griffin, Mark Olberding, and Reggie Johnson deserved the moniker. The 1980-81 team led the NBA in rebounds and blocked shots, and was third in personal fouls. George Johnson led the league in blocked shots with 3.39 per game.
San Antonio breezed to its third division title in four years, with a 52-30 record. Kansas City and Houston tied for second, a distant 12 games back. But the Spurs were unable to get by the Rockets in the Western Conference Semifinals. Houston took three games from San Antonio at the HemisFair Arena, including the deciding Game 7, which Houston won by a 105-100 tally.
An era of sorts came to an end the following offseason when the Spurs traded James Silas to Cleveland. Silas was the last of the remaining Spurs to have played with the old Dallas Chaparrals. The emergence of Johnny Moore made the trade possible. Moore, a second-year point guard, took over the starting spot and went on to lead the league in assists with 9.6 per game. He wasn't the only Spurs league leader during the 1981-82 campaign. After finishing third in scoring the season before, Gervin regained the top spot by averaging 32.3 points per game.
Halfway through the season the Spurs made an important acquisition-they traded Ron Brewer and George Johnson to Cleveland for the high-scoring, 6-foot-7 Mike Mitchell. In his first season with the Spurs, Mitchell averaged 21.0 points.
