The Spurs have most wins in the NBA since 2000 despite a terrible last five years
The San Antonio Spurs did a lot of losing to get Victor Wembanyama. After the Spurs’ dynasty collapsed following the Kawhi Leonard trade in 2018, San Antonio consistently traded their top players at the peak of their value so they wouldn’t get caught on the treadmill of mediocrity. The Spurs traded Derrick White to the Boston Celtics, Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks, and DeMar DeRozan to the Chicago Bulls as they hunted for a new franchise star. Their foresight was eventually rewarded in the 2023 NBA Draft lottery by winning the rights to Wemby.
Wembanyama’s rookie season was so electric that it feels like only a matter of time before the Spurs start another dynasty. In reality, the Spurs haven’t been good in a long time. Here are San Antonio’s win totals over the last five seasons, starting in 2019-2020: 32 wins, 33 wins, 34 wins, 22 wins, and 22 wins. The Spurs have the second worst record in the NBA over that five-season timespan with 143 wins — only the Detroit Pistons (94 wins) have been worse.
What’s remarkable is that despite being so bad the last five seasons, the Spurs still have more wins than any NBA franchise since 2000.
Here’s a look at the NBA’s win leaders since 2000. Only one franchise has won more than 60 percent of its games, and that’s the Spurs. Their 63.4 percent winning percentages towers over the No. 2 Dallas Mavericks at 59.6 percent. Here’s the full list via Stathead:
Hat tip to NBA Reddit for the stat. Don’t ever let anyone tell you the Spurs weren’t a dynasty just because they never won back-to-back titles.
The Spurs won five championships behind Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich: 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014. Only the Los Angeles Lakers have more titles over that timespan with six. During the dynasty years, the Spurs did an amazing job of constantly finding new talent to build around. As David Robinson aged out, Duncan came in. Tony Parker and Manu Ginóbili were the perfect co-stars, and Kawhi Leonard carried the torch until he demanded a trade.
Wembanyama now carries the San Antonio legacy, and there’s no better player in the NBA to build around. The Spurs are flush with future draft picks and pick swaps. They aren’t a great team yet, but they don’t seem in a rush to get there either after a quiet offseason. The Spurs can be patient with Wembanyama because the results speak for themselves. Even after a terrible last five years, San Antonio are still the NBA’s best since 2000.
