Tag: George Gervin

ESPN’s Uni Watch ranks Spurs 2nd in NBA, 16th overall

As if the Spurs haven’t enjoyed enough success over the years, they’ve earned recognition from ESPN’s Uni Watch blog for looking good while doing it. The Silver and Black’s uniforms are and among North American professional sports franchises, according to Uni Watch’s Power Rankings. Paul Lukas writes:

The Raiders aren’t the only team that knows how to wear silver and black. In addition to the killer colors, the Spurs are also among the few NBA teams that have successfully incorporated a graphic image into their chest typography — a small element that goes a long way. Kinda wish they’d go back to the scoop-neck collar instead of the V-neck, but that’s a minor complaint.

It’s a very well-deserved spot for a simple, elegant uniform with just a hint of style thanks to the aforementioned graphic image. Which, as we’ve , isn’t always easy to pull off.

Not that the Spurs haven’t had any missteps along the way. There were those walking-TV-dinner silver alternates, and the ridiculous that only underscored doubts about the Spurs’ manhood during their many playoff prat falls in the 1990s.

But for the most part, it’s hard to beat not only the colors, which they were wearing long before black became such a ubiquitous presence in pro sports, but the clean execution, especially with the new logo. My personal favorite are these dating back to the days of George Gervin.

Ice earns honorary degree from EMU

Hall of Fame Spurs player George Gervin was awarded an honorary doctorate of education degree from Eastern Michigan University at the school’s most recent commencement ceremonies earlier this week.

Gervin attended Eastern Michigan for two season while heplayed there in 1971-72. He was recognized for his commitment to serving youth in San Antonio through various efforts. 

“I am truly humbled and honored to be the recipient of the honorary doctorate of education from my alma mater, Eastern Michigan University,” said Gervin, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in May of 1996.

And it sounds like officials at his old school were just as happy for Gervin to be honored. 

“It was great to have George Gervin back on Eastern’s campus,” Eastern Michigan University president Susan Martin said. ”His commencement address to students conveyed powerful and important themes about education being a lifelong process, the importance of family, and the value of giving back and volunteering to help your community. We respect the amazing skills he brought to the basketball court here at Eastern and in San Antonio, but even more importantly we admire the efforts of George and his wife, Joyce, to help children and families in San Antonio to better their lives and achieve their dreams.”

It’s a great honor for one of  the most iconic  players in the Spurs’ rich history.

Most memorable Spurs moments countdown starts Monday

It might be Sean Elliott’s Memorial Day Miracle.

Or the times that lottery balls decided the history of the franchise, leading to an eventual string of  title victories.

It might be the time when Manu Ginobili caught a bat or when George Gervin and David Robinson won scoring championships on the final day of the season.

Or it might have been when Avery Johnson’s shot settled a championship, Elliott returned from a kidney transplant or James Silas came back to have his jersey become the first in team history to be retired.

The Spurs’ 38-year history in San Antonio is stacked with a rich trove of memorable moments during a rich history that has seen the Silver and Black claim four NBA titles and emerge as one of the NBA’s most enduringly successful franchises.

Most fans likely would have difficulty whittling that history down to a workable list of the most memorable moments in franchise history.

After working all summer in settling our group, Spurs Nation.com is ready to rank the 30 most memorable memories since the team came to San Antonio in 1973.

We’ll have them all from the most thrilling victories and crushing defeats. And we’ll have a little fun to as we rank the “OMG” moments that have shaped the team over the years. We’re aiming to revisit those memories when Spurs fans still remember where  they were when they initially experienced them.

Look for the release of one moment each day beginning on Monday. It will be a regular feature each day over the next six weeks as we count down to the top memory in mid-November. 

And before we start, we’re a little curious about Spurs Nation and its collective memories.  Which moments do you most readily remember?

Feel free to comment as we release our list over the next few weeks as we relive the rich history of San Antonio’s first big-league franchise.