The tradition of retiring a number in the sporting world is the equivalent of lifetime achievement award. The ritual can be traced back to 1934. Cities celebrate their own by adorning their coliseum with the player’s jersey to hang for all to see. Year after year, fans old and new see the history of their team’s greatness cataloged through the addition of new members as their leading players complete their careers on court and head toward immortality.
In this series, we will discuss the numbers that have been retired by the Spurs. To date, there have been eight men whose impact on the culture of San Antonio has become so permanent that their personality and style of play is part of the Spurs lexicon.