I moved to San Antonio (technically back to San Antonio) from New York in the summer 2013. The Spurs had just been upset in the Finals. I immediately plunged into my fandom and embraced the team I grew up adoring.
Somewhere over the next couple of years, the Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers. When they did, Bill Land and Sean Elliott announced that with that win, the Spurs had a winning record against all 29 NBA teams. Even over the next decade when the Spurs faced some losing seasons, they have
still managed to maintain that feat.
But what I didn’t know was Tony Parker is the only player in NBA history to retire while maintaining a winning record against every team in the league.
I noticed in the comments section of this post, some fans mentioned that they thought Tim Duncan also accomplished a winning record with every team. While that may be true, Duncan only has a winning record against 29 of the 30 teams in the NBA. Keep in mind Parker spent his final season with the Charlotte Hornets who beat the Spurs in both meetings that year. That means he got the best of all 30!
So while Duncan and Manu Ginobili have winning records against the 29 teams not named the San Antonio Spurs, Parker swept the league.
And he’s the only one.
Or is he?
When I searched “What former NBA players have winning records against every team?” a second name came up.
Kawhi Leonard.
*The above post stipulates that Parker is the only player to retire with a record over 30 teams. Leonard is still an active player…in theory…for now…we assume.
According to StatMuse, Kawhi does also have a better record against all 30 NBA teams. He is the only active player with superstars like LeBron James (29), Stephen Curry (28), and Kevin Durant (28) a few teams shy.
But if anyone gets an honorable mention for Tony Parker’s and Kawhi Leonard’s accomplishment, it is Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Gregg Popovich, and the myriad players and assistant coaches who made the Spurs such a dominant force.
Without them, neither Parker’s nor Leonard’s career could have shined as they did in the time they spent in San Antonio.
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