Wembanyama leads Spurs by Suns to end 6-season playoff drought, stirring memories of historic run
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson held his head high through several dismal seasons, promising fans it would not always be so bleak. That vow was fulfilled in dramatic fashion on Thursday night as San Antonio rallied in the final minute to beat the Phoenix Suns 101-100 and clinch its first playoff berth since 2019. Victor Wembanyama’s 17-foot, pullup jumper with a second left ended a six-season postseason drought as the Spurs secured a top-six finish in the Western Conference.
“When you're building something, it doesn’t happen overnight,” Johnson said. “It’s not something that you get all these players and then you just say, ‘Oh, damn, we good. ’ It took some time and it took some development.
It took some growing up and those type of things. And slowly but surely we here. ” San Antonio (52-18) is three games behind Oklahoma City (55-15) for the West's No.
1 seed. A return to the postseason has stirred memories of the Spurs' historic run when they won five NBA championships while matching a league record with 22 straight postseason appearances beginning in 1998. The run was fueled by Hall of Famers David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, but the Spurs' fortunes changed as they retired.
San Antonio finished 22-60 in 2022-23 and in 2023-24, coming one win shy of matching a franchise record for futility in back-to-back seasons. The first resulted in the Spurs earning the No. 1 pick, which they used to select Wembanyama in 2023.