1992–93 San Antonio Spurs season

The 1992–93 NBA season was the 17th season for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association, and their 26th season as a franchise. During the off-season, the Spurs acquired Dale Ellis from the Milwaukee Bucks, signed free agents Vinny Del Negro and undrafted rookie guard Lloyd Daniels, and re-signed Avery Johnson after a brief stint with the Houston Rockets. However, prior to the start of the season, Terry Cummings suffered a serious knee injury during a pick-up game, and only played in the final eight games of the regular season.

Under new head coach, former University of Nevada, Las Vegas coach Jerry Tarkanian, the Spurs struggled with a 9–11 start to the regular season. Tarkanian was fired, then after playing one game under assistant Rex Hughes, the team hired John Lucas II as their new coach. At mid-season, the team traded Sidney Green to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for J.R. Reid. Under Lucas, the Spurs would play solid basketball posting a 10-game winning streak in January, then winning eight straight games in February, as they held a 34–15 record at the All-Star break. However, they would play below .500 basketball for the remainder of the season, finishing in second place in the Midwest Division with a 49–33 record, and earning the #5 seed in the Western Conference.

David Robinson averaged 23.4 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 3.2 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, while Sean Elliott finished second on the team in scoring averaging 17.2 points per game, and Ellis provided them with 16.7 points per game and led the Spurs with 119 three-point field goals. In addition, Antoine Carr averaged 13.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while Reid provided with 9.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in 66 games after the trade, Daniels contributed 9.1 points per game off the bench, Johnson contributed 8.7 points and 7.5 assists per game, and Del Negro averaged 7.4 points and 4.0 assists per game.

Robinson and Elliott were both selected for the 1993 NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, Utah; Robinson also finished in sixth place in Most Valuable Player voting, and tied in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, while Lucas finished in sixth place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the 1993 NBA playoffs, the Spurs defeated the 4th-seeded Portland Trail Blazers three games to one in the Western Conference First Round, but lost in six games to regular season MVP Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Semi-finals. The Suns would reach the 1993 NBA Finals, but would lose to the 2-time defending champion Chicago Bulls in six games. It was also the Spurs' final year playing at the HemisFair Arena.

Following the season, Elliott was traded to the Detroit Pistons, and Johnson signed as a free agent with the Golden State Warriors.