Presently the team is in the Western Conference of the NBA and plays in the Southwest Division. Originally they were part of the American Basketball Association and are one of only four of those teams to still be playing in the league. The two leagues merged for the 1976-1977 season and the Spurs came to the NBA then.

Overall the organization has been one of the most successful. Since the merger they have won 17 division titles which is more than any other team. They have also made the playoffs every year since 1997. The team also has four NBA championships, which are more than every team except the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Chicago Bulls.

There have been six former players that are now inducted in the NBA Hall of Fame, George Gervin, Artis Gilmore, Moses Malone, David Robinson, Dennis Rodman, and Dominique Wilkins. Although all of the players listed here played for the team at some time, not all of them had their top years while playing in San Antonio. Wilkins and Malone each only played one year for them toward the end of their careers.

George Gervin was the original San Antonio Spurs superstar. He played for them during the ABA-NBA merger time and was a perennial league leader in points scored. His scoring battle with David Thompson in the 1977-1978 season is one of the best of all-time. Thompson played an early game and scored 73 points to take the scoring lead, Gervin needed 58 points during the night game to regain the scoring lead. That night Gervin scored 63 points to win the title.

David Robinson was the Spur’s star during the 1990′s. As a graduate from the Naval Academy he served a Navy enlistment time prior to joining the league. In 1989 thanks to Robinson, Sean Elliott, and Terry Cummings the team enjoyed the biggest turnaround in league history up until that point.

After an injury filled year in 1996 the team got the first draft pick for 1997 and selected Tim Duncan. With Duncan playing and the injured players back the team once again had the biggest turnaround in league history and powered back into the playoffs. Tim Duncan is still a fixture on the Spurs team and has been a spearhead for their attack since then.

There has been a large influx of international players to the NBA recently and the Spurs are part of that. Two of their top players were drafted from international ranks, Manu Ginoboli and Tony Parker. Along with Duncan they have formed the core of the team that has won recent championships in 2003, 2005, and 2007.

The San Antonio Spurs have been a powerful NBA team since the merger with the ABA. They have six former players that were elected into the NBA Hall of Fame. They have the fourth most championships of all teams in the league.

The first characteristic of a true Heat fan is knowing the history of the team and it’s successes. They know the year that the team was founded, and who the coach was. They even know who all the coaches were after him. They memorize who the players were and are. They know where each player came from, and what he has done in his career.

They surely know who the rivalries are with and how many times they have beaten them. They know how many times the Heat have won championships. They can even remember the season record for each of the seasons that they have spectated.

The second characteristic of real Miami fan is getting emotional about the team’s success. A tear comes to their eye if the team doesn’t make it to the playoffs. They cringe when their team misses a shot. They scream to their players when they think that they could be doing better.

They are the last ones to stop cheering when Miami wins a game. They cross their fingers when the Miami’s players are shooting free throws. They scream and shout as the other team’s players take their shots. They cheer their own player’s names and complement their every scoring shot.

The third characteristic of a true fan is going to almost every game, and wearing the team colors. They sit as close to the front row as possible, and they bring their whole family. They know every cheer and chant, and start chants when they can. They know where the best and cheapest food in the stadium is located. They count season tickets as a priceless commodity. They are there for their team to support them during wins and losses.

When they go to a game they wear their team apparel. A real fan not only has a jersey, but a wardrobe of their branded clothing. They have everything from t-shirts and shorts, to underwear and socks. They might even have a framed and signed jersey from the Miami’s star player of the time. They dress their children in the team clothing, and put them to bed on team brand sheets. Their cars have Heat brand stickers, and flags that they show proudly.

While a fraud of a fan makes claims, a real fan is there supporting their team. They are in the stands at every game. They are cheering passionately with their family and friends by their sides. They wear their team colors with pride and would never give up on the team. They know everything their is to know about the history and the players. The support of the true fans is what drives the success of the Miami Heat.

The franchise began in 1947 when two Minnesota businessmen purchased The Gems, a disbanded basketball team, from Detroit. The group, which was to be moved to the state’s capital, was christened the Lakers after Minnesota’s “Land Of A Thousand Lakes” motto. The team led the league during their first season in Minneapolis with a forty three to seventeen record thanks to their two star players, Jim Pollard and Herm Schaefer.

The next year, the Lakers changed leagues and won their first championship. By 1950, the team had earned another championship and their second division title. A match against the Fort Wayne Pistons that season became legendary among fans of both teams for being the lowest scoring game in NBA history.

Towards the end of their time in Minnesota the team was subject to a streak of losing records. The 1959 season saw them with their worst record ever and a minor plane crash out of St. Louis. The Lakers then became the NBA’s very first West Coast team when their owner at the time, Bob Short, made the decision to relocate them to Los Angeles. Their first season in California was one marked with dramatic improvements and, despite a losing record, the team earned a spot at the NBA Finals.

It was around this time that the team began their decade long rivalry with the Boston Celtics. The Lakers won fifty four games during their 1961 season, advanced to the finals, but were beaten by the Celtics by just three points. They won fifty three games the next year and again advanced to the Finals but, once again, lost to Boston after six games. Unfortunately, this pattern of losing to the East Coast team began a yearly occurrence.

Between 1979 and 1989 the team experienced record highs. The era is typically referred to as “Showtime” by fans and columnists. The Laker’s stars Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson helped lead their team to five NBA titles but lost in the Finals in which they were matched up to the Celtics.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired from basketball in June of 1989 after twenty long years of playing it professionally. Just a few seasons later, after being diagnosed with HIV, Magic Johnson announced his retirement from the sport as well. These changes to the Laker’s makeup were partly responsible for the temporary dry spell that followed.

During the off-season of 1996, the team traded for a seventeen year old basketball prodigy named Kobe Bryant and signed a free agent named Shaquille O’Neal. The next season proved to be the team’s and the franchise’s best ever start but it was the hiring of Phil Jackson as the new coach that was considered the team’s best move. Jackson led the struggling team on to win a string of NBA titles and, for many of them, they finally overtook the Celtics.

The Bulls were defeated in the second round of the playoffs by the Atlanta Hawks their first year making it out an opening round playoff series. The following season they made it to the conference finals, but where defeated by the Golden State Warriors. After this promising season, things quickly took a turn for the worst. In the 75-76 season they had their worst season since entering the league only winning 24 games.

For the next few years, the Bulls would be pretty much irrelevant. Between the years of 75-84, they only managed to make the playoffs two times. During this period they lost some of their key players to injury and retirement.

Chicago also went through numerous coaching changes during these hard times. Jerry Sloan became the head coach in the 79-80 season, but was fired a couple years later. Paul Westhead coached the team for one season, and then Doug Collins took over for a few years. In 1989, Doug Collins was fired despite making it to the conference finals. Phil Jackson was hired to take over after Collins was let go, it turned out to be a remarkable move for the Bulls.

In the mid-80s things began to look good again for the team. Although, they had a horrible 83-84 season, this horrible season made them eligible for the third pick in the draft 1984 draft where they drafted Michael Jordan. The Portland Trailblazers are probably still kicking themselves for that one.

Michael Jordan became a force to be reckoned with the second he stepped foot on the court in 1984. His extraordinary play helped him to win the Rookie of the year award and earn himself a spot on the all-star team. More importantly, Jordan helped Chicago return to a play-off team once again.

It was evident that Jordan was great, but he could not carry the team to the next level by himself. Over the next few years they began to acquire players to compliment Jordan. They added Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright, and eventually Dennis Rodman. With these compliment of players to surround Jordan and future Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson at the helms, the Chicago Bulls became unstoppable.

The Bulls won their first NBA Championship in 1991. They continued to dominate the NBA throughout the 90s. Chicago went on to win three titles in a row between 91-93 seasons. When Michael Jordan retired due to the death of his father, they made the playoffs but were unable to win one without him. Jordan returned to the NBA in 1995 and the Bulls took over once again winning another three titles in three years. The 95-96 season proved to be the best year for them when they recorded a phenomenal 72-10 record. To this day this record still stands, and probably will not be broken any time soon.

The team has won 17 National Basketball Association championships and along the way have been home to some of the greatest names in the history of the sport. Red Auerbach was the legendary coach who ushered the club into the winning ways. By bringing in players such as Bob Cousy, Tommy Heinsohn and Bill Russell, the Boston Celtics captured the first of their world championships in 1956.

In 1959, Auerbach added in KC Jones, and the franchise went on an unprecedented run of eight consecutive titles, and in six of those championships they beat the Minneapolis Lakers . The rivalry between the Celtics and Lakers continues to this day as one of the greatest in all of sports even though the Lakers have relocated from Minneapolis to Los Angeles.

Auerbach retired from coaching after the 1966 season and Russell took over as player-coach, making Russell the first African-American coach in any sport. Russell himself retired from playing after the 1969 season, and with his move to the sidelines full-time it ended a streak of 11 championships over a 13-year span.

There was a bit of a dip in 1970, as the team tried to come to terms with not having Russell in the lineup, and they lost more than games than they won for the first time in 20 years. But there was soon a rebound to the glory by bringing on players like Dave Cowens, Paul Silas and Jo Jo White. After near misses in the early part of the decade, the Celtics finally returned to the winners circle in 1974, winning their 12th world title.

In 1979, Boston was joined by a young Larry Bird, making his pro debut out of Indiana State University, and starting a career that would end with him being one of the greatest players in all of the basketball history. He was joined soon after by Robert Parrish and Kevin McHale, and the dynasty of the Celtics again was reborn, beginning with yet another championship in 1981.

There was another championship in the spring of 1984, and again in 1986, capping off maybe one of the greatest seasons in history. During the 1985-1986 season, Boston won 40 of 41 home games, won 67 of 82 games overall, and rolled past the Houston Rockets for yet another championship, the 16th title in franchise history.

There have been tough times though. In 1986, University of Maryland star Len Bias was drafted with the top selection. But Bias never played in the NBA, as he died soon after the draft, of a cocaine overdose. And rising star Reggie Lewis died of a heart attack while playing in a pickup game during the off-season, following the 1993 playoff run.

The list of star players and legendary coaches goes on and on. But maybe one of the greatest names never made a shot and never diagrammed a play. Boston was also the home for many years to Johnny Most, the radio play by play announcer for the team, who announced their games from 1953 to 1990. He was forced to retire in October, 1990 due to health concerns, and he passed away three years later, of a heart attack.