The Villains bracket continues, as we try to find the biggest villain in Spurs history. We’ve already covered Spurs Killers and Dirty Players. This time we’ll discuss the most bittersweet region: Former Spurs. We’ll look at players who once wore Silver and Black but, through their actions or their words, earned the ire of the fans that once rooted for their success.
For this exercise, we’ll focus exclusively on the basketball side of things and not their personal lives or legal troubles, so some names
you expected to see will likely be missing.
Now Let’s look at the field, and don’t forget to vote!
1. Kawhi Leonard vs. 8. Marcus Morris
Unsurprisingly, The Nephew gets the top seed. You know the story. Leonard was fantastic for the Spurs in the first years of his career, reinvigorating an aging team and helping the Silver and Black raise their fifth banner. Then he got injured in the playoffs in 2016 by fellow Spurs villain Zaza Pachulia, and nothing was the same.
A quadriceps injury limited Leonard the following year, and he distrusted the team’s medical personnel who cleared him. He went to rehab in New York and avoided people from the franchise, actually hiding when they tried to check up on him. The rumors from his camp started flying, and they painted the Spurs in a bad light. As the relationship got worse, and with the help of Uncle Dennis Robertson, he forced his way out in the messiest way possible after suiting up for just nine games in 2017/18.
Despite the terrible ending, Kawhi at least had some great moments with the franchise. His first-round opponent never wore the jersey. Technically, he was never officially a Spur, and the fact that he used that technicality is what makes him a villain.
Morris agreed to terms with the Spurs before the 2019/20 season. Shams Charania announced the news, and it looked like it was a done deal that would be finalized shortly after. It never happened, as Morris reneged on the deal to join the Knicks instead.
The betrayal left the franchise in a precarious position, because after agreeing to terms with Morris using the mid-level exception, the front office engineered a trade sending out Davis Bertans, who had been helpful in the regular season, and bringing in DeMarre Carroll while opening a roster spot. Once Morris backed out, they found themselves without Bertans and with no mid-level exception target late in the offseason, and had to settle for Trey Lyles.
The 2019/20 was not going to win a title no matter what but was made worse by Morris getting cold feet and not honoring his word.
2. Stephen Jackson vs. 7. Dennis Rodman
Another once-beloved and successful Spur who has done his best to lose every ounce of goodwill with the fanbase as a high seed. Jackson found his place as a starter for the 2023 title team, making big plays in the postseason, but unfortunately, he refused to sign a lucrative extension with the Spurs, hoping to get more money as a free agent.
Still, the fans loved Jackson and were happy when he found his way back in 2012. Jack was in the tail end of his career but still contributed in the playoffs. The next year, however, things took a turn. Jackson really struggled and saw his minutes reduced. Jackson wasn’t happy about it. To solve things, Gregg Popovich called him into a meeting in which he asked him to accept that he was not better than Manu Ginobili, but Jackson refused to do it and was unceremoniously cut. He retired a year later and has spent his entire career as a podcaster criticizing the Spurs every chance he gets.
A quick look at the numbers and the accolades would suggest Rodman’s Spurs years were good. He led the league in rebounding and made All-Defensive teams. The problems, as they typically did with him, didn’t have to do with his skills but his attitude.
Rodman clashed with then-coach Bob Hill, whom he never respected, and general manager Gregg Popovich, whom he later claimed hated him. He routinely skipped shootarounds and didn’t pay attention in huddles. Rodman started his second season suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and was benched in Game 5 of the 1995 Conference Finals after arriving late to practice. It was such a horrendous culture fit that even the normally diplomatic David Robinson actually said he was glad Rodman got traded.
What made it all hurt more was that Rodman went on to help the Bulls win the titles the Spurs hoped he’d help The Admiral win.
3. Robert Horry vs. 6. Derek Anderson
Just like Leonard and Jackson, Robert Horry was once an integral part of title teams in San Antonio, and just like them, he has gone out of his way to squander the love and respect his success earned him from the fanbase. Ever since retiring, he has taken every opportunity to downplay the excellence of Tim Duncan, once saying that Hakeem Olajuwon was “20 times better” than The Big Fundamental and criticizing his work ethic. In the same segment, he took shots at Manu Ginobili.
He recently said Victor Wembanyama is not a top five player in the league, and not close to other greats. There have been other comments over the years about his teammates. At this point, it’s just clear he has no love for the franchise.
Horry’s opponent in this round is someone who broke fans’ hearts not with his words but with his actions. Anderson had a terrific 2000/01 season with the Spurs. The guard started all 82 games and was the team’s second-leading scorer behind Tim Duncan. Despite playoff struggles and an injury, the Spurs wanted to bring the 27-year-old back to help an aging San Antonio core continue to contend. They offered the journeyman a six-year deal, but Anderson wasn’t happy with how long it took for the team to negotiate with him and refused it, verbally agreeing to a deal with the Trail Blazers instead and leaving the Spurs with no choice but to trade him for an aging Steve Smith.
Things didn’t work out for Anderson in Portland, so there’s a case to be made that the Spurs dodged a bullet, but at the time it felt like Anderson let his pride ruin what could have been a great partnership.
4. Richard Jefferson vs. 5. Dejounte Murray
Jefferson’s Spurs tenure could be kindly described as just unfortunate. The team thought he’d be the 3-and-D wing San Antonio needed, and he simply wasn’t. The experience of watching Jefferson, however, was extremely unenjoyable.
Jefferson was a disappointment and looked so out of place that Gregg Popovich personally supervised his workouts in the summer of 2010, hoping to make things work. They didn’t, and Jefferson became an overpaid specialist who couldn’t really be trusted in big moments. The Spurs had to actually attach a first-rounder to get him off the books on a trade. What makes it all worse is that even though the Spurs unarguably extended his career by helping him transition from volume scorer to role player, he has seemingly taken shots at the franchise in his post-retirement media career.
Dejounte Murray’s tenure was completely different. He was a late first-round pick who exceeded expectations, and there was genuine fan excitement about the duo of Murray and Derrick White becoming the backcourt of the future. Unfortunately, the Spurs were never particularly good with Murray, and when the Hawks came in with a trade offer that was too good to pass up, they accepted it. Murray didn’t handle things well after, taking to social media to describe how happy he was with being traded, then bashing the organization while arguing with fans, saying the Spurs were “gonna be losing for the next 15 years.”
Those words came close to the trade, and Murray was an emotional guy, so they could have been excused had he not doubled down later. On Stephen Jackson’s podcast, he said the Spurs tried to “break him” and participated in Jackson’s favorite hobby: bashing Tony Parker, whom Murray accused of not mentoring him.
