The ABA disbanded after the 1976 season. Four of its teams (Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets, and San Antonio Spurs) were absorbed into the NBA in the ABA-NBA merger, and the remainder, including Artis Gilmore's Kentucky Colonels, folded. As a result Gilmore went into the special 1976 ABA dispersal draft, and was chosen first overall by the Chicago Bulls, where he earned four All-Star selections before being traded to the Spurs in 1982.

Before his very first Spurs game, power forward Dennis Rodman shaved his hair and dyed it blonde, which was followed up by stints with red, purple, green, and blue hair--a look inspired by the film Demolition Man. Enigmatic and individualistic, Rodman caught the public eye with his ever-changing hair color, tattoos, body piercings, multiple verbal and physical assaults on officials, frequent ejections, and his tumultuous lifestyle.

George Gervin averaged at least 14 points per game in all 14 of his ABA and NBA seasons, and finished with an NBA career average of 26.2 points per game. He was a four-time NBA scoring champion, including 1979-80 when he set a franchise record with 2,585 points.

Alvin Robertson won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1985-86 when he set a franchise record with 301 steals. He currently holds the top career steals-per-game average in the NBA, with 2.71 per contest over 779 career games.

On February 24, 1981, George T. Johnson dominated young center Joe Barry Carroll of the Golden State Warriors, racking up an NBA-record 11 blocked shots in just one half.

In 1992-1993, Rex Hughes was hired to serve as an Assistant Coach under Jerry Tarkanian with the San Antonio Spurs. However, just 20 games into the season at 9-11, Tarkanian was fired. Hughes was undefeated as interim Head Coach with a perfect 1-0 record before John Lucas II was hired to replace him.

In 2007-08, Manu Ginóbili came off the bench to average 19.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He was awarded the 2008 Sixth Man of the Year Award, winning 123 out of 124 first place votes.

In a December 26, 1976 game against the Kansas City Kings at Kemper Arena, which San Antonio won 110-105, power forward Larry Kenon set an NBA record with eleven steals. He also recorded 29 points and 15 rebounds for a rare points-rebounds-steals triple-double.

In his only season with the Spurs (1985-86), Steve Johnson led the league in field goal percentage at 0.632 -- one of the highest in NBA history.

On April 15, 1984, point guard John Lucas racked up 14 assists in just one quarter against the Denver Nuggets.