2018–19 San Antonio Spurs season

The 2018–19 San Antonio Spurs season was the 52nd season in the history of the franchise, and the 43rd in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the 46th in the San Antonio area.^[1]

The Spurs finished the season with a 48–34 record and earned the seventh seed in the Western Conference playoffs.^[2] The team set an NBA record with its 22nd consecutive playoff appearance. In the first round of the playoffs, the Spurs lost to the Denver Nuggets in seven games.^[3] Their elimination marked the start of a six-season playoff drought for the Spurs until they clinched a postseason appearance in the 2025–26 season.

Season synopsis

During the 2018 offseason, star forward Kawhi Leonard requested a trade. Sources state Leonard was growing unhappy with how the organization treated him following his rehabilitation from a quad injury.^[4] He and Danny Green were traded to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Pöltl, and a 2019 protected first-round pick on July 18, 2018.

The 2018–19 season was the first season since 2000–01 in which point guard Tony Parker was not on the team. After 17 years with the Spurs, he signed with the Charlotte Hornets in the off-season. It was also the first season since the 2001–02 season without Manu Ginóbili, who retired from the NBA on August 27, 2018, officially ending what was the Spurs' "Big Three" era.^[5] The departures of Parker, Danny Green, and Kawhi Leonard, and the retirement of Ginóbili, left Patty Mills as the longest-tenured Spur on the roster. Mills and Marco Belinelli were the last remaining players on the team who had played for the Spurs' 2014 championship team. On March 28, 2019, the Spurs retired Ginóbili's number 20 jersey.

LaMarcus Aldridge became the only Spurs player to be an all-star this season. Aldridge placed 13th in total points scored and 14th in total rebounds, making him the one of only three players league-wide who placed in the top-15 for both stats. Additionally, Aldridge led the league in total two-point field goal attempts with 674.^[6]

The Spurs were defeated in the first round of the NBA Playoffs by the Denver Nuggets in a close 7-game series. Head Coach Gregg Popovich stated that the season was one of outperforming expectations, and that it was one of the more enjoyable seasons of his career as a coach.^[7] This was the first season of Popovich and Derozan's partnership, growing into an iconic friendship.^[8]

Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School / club team
1	18	Lonnie Walker	SG	United States	Miami
2	49	Chimezie Metu	PF	United States	USC

Roster

2018–19 San Antonio Spurs roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From C 12 LaMarcus Aldridge 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1985–07–19 Texas SG 18 Marco Belinelli 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1986–03–25 Italy PF 42 Dāvis Bertāns 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1992–11–12 Latvia SF 33 Dante Cunningham 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1987–04–22 Villanova SG 10 DeMar DeRozan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1989–08–07 USC C 14 Drew Eubanks (TW) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1997–02–01 Oregon State PG 11 Bryn Forbes 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1993–07–23 Michigan State PF 22 Rudy Gay 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1986–08–17 Connecticut PF 7 Chimezie Metu 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1997–03–22 USC PG 8 Patty Mills 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1988–08–11 Saint Mary's SF 26 Ben Moore (TW) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1995–05–13 SMU PF 28 Donatas Motiejūnas 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1990-09-20 Lithuania SG 5 Dejounte Murray  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1996–09–19 Washington C 25 Jakob Pöltl 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1995–10–15 Utah SF 3 Quincy Pondexter 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1988–03–10 Washington SG 1 Lonnie Walker 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1998–12–14 Miami (FL) SG 4 Derrick White 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1994–07–02 Colorado

Head coach Gregg Popovich Assistant(s) Chip Engelland Becky Hammon Will Hardy Ettore Messina Ime Udoka Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate (TW) Two-way affiliate player Injured Roster Updated: 2019–04–04

Standings

Game log

Playoffs

Player statistics

Transactions

Free agency

Re-signed

Player	Signed
Dāvis Bertāns[13]	4-year contract worth $14.5 million
Rudy Gay[14]	1-year contract worth $10 million
Bryn Forbes[15]	2-year contract worth $6 million

Additions

Player	Signed	Former team
Marco Belinelli[16]	2-year contract worth $12 million	Philadelphia 76ers
Dante Cunningham[17]	1-year contract worth $2.5 million	Brooklyn Nets
Quincy Pondexter[18]	1-year contract worth $2.1 million	Chicago Bulls

Subtractions

Player	Reason left	New team
Joffrey Lauvergne[19]	Unrestricted free agent	Fenerbahçe Beko
Kyle Anderson[20]	Restricted free agent	Memphis Grizzlies
Tony Parker[21]	Unrestricted free agent	Charlotte Hornets
Brandon Paul[22]	Waived	Zhejiang Golden Bulls
Manu Ginóbili[5]	Retired	—N/a

References