2002/03: After splitting their first 2 games on the road the Spurs christened the SBC Center in style on November 1st by beating the Toronto Raptors 91-72. The Spurs would not get off to a flying start as they had a 19-13 record heading into January, which had them 7 games out of first place in the Midwest Division. In January the Spurs began to gel and seemed prepped to make a run, when they were forced to embark on a 9-game road trip from January 25th to February 16th while the rodeo was in town. However, it would be hardly a bump in he road for the charging Spurs who won 8 of the 9 and began to climb their way to first place. The Spurs would go on to erase their 7-game deficit and finish the season in a flatfooted tie with the Dallas Mavericks for the best record in the NBA. Thanks to a tiebreaker the Spurs would win their 3rd straight Division title as Tim Duncan claimed his second straight NBA MVP. In the playoffs the top seeded Spurs got off to a shaky start as they dropped Game 1 of the first round to the Phoenix Suns in overtime 96-95 on a stunning 3 pointer by Stephon Marbury at the buzzer. The Spurs would recover to win the next 2, but watched a big lead slip away in Game 4 as the Suns evened the series at 2. The Spurs would recover again and would win the next 2 games to set up a showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Spurs would get the early jump on the 3-time defending champions by winning the first 2 games at the SBC Center. However, as the series shifted to LA the Lakers held court and even the series at 2 games apiece. Facing a must win at home in Game 5 the Spurs built a big lead, but watched in horror as the Lakers chipped away. With time winding down the Spurs once 30-point lead was down to 2 when Lakers clutch shooter Robert Horry was left wide open from 3-point range. However, the shot would rim out and the Spurs held on to a 96-94 win. In Game 6 in LA the Spurs would put an end to the Lakers Championship run with an impressive 110-82 win that left no doubt who the team to beat was now. In a Lone Star showdown in the Western Conference Finals the Spurs would get off to a shaky start as the Dallas Mavericks took Game 1 at the SBC Center 113-110 from the free throw line. The Spurs would quickly recover, and would take the next 3 games including both games in Dallas to establish a 3-1 series lead. However, with a chance to close things out in Game 5 at home the Spurs were outscored 29-10 in the 4th Quarter as the Mavs forced a 6th game back in Dallas with a 103-91 win. However, in Dallas for Game 6 the Spurs would have a reversal of fortunes on their way to the NBA Finals as the outscored the Mavericks 34-9, thanks to a 3-point outburst from Steve Kerr in the 4th Quarter to overcome a 69-56 deficit and advance to the NBA Finals with a 90-78 win. Facing the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals the Spurs got off to a strong start winning Game 1 at home easily 101-89. Game 2 would be a defensive struggle as the Spurs late rally would fall short in a Nets 87-85 win. The Spurs would quickly rebound by taking Game 3 in New Jersey 84-79. After losing another defensive struggle 77-76 in Game 4 the Spurs regained control of the series with a solid 93-83 win. With a chance to close things out at home in Game 6 the Spurs found themselves in another defensive struggle as they entered the 4th Quarter trailing 63-56. However the Spurs would start the 4th Quarter with a 19-0 run and would never look back as Tim Duncan nearly recorded a quadruple double with 21points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists, and 8 blocked shots to lock up Finals MVP honors as the Spurs won their second NBA Championship with an 88-77 win. The Championship would serve as the perfect ending to David Robinson's career as he sailed off after a solid 13-year Hall of Fame career.
2004/05: After their disappointing second round collapse the Spurs looked to regain the NBA crow, and would get off to a quick start posting a 12-3 record in November. The Spurs would stay hot through December as they established a 25-6 record entering the New Year. The Spurs would, be near the top in the Western Conference all season battling the Phoenix Suns for the best record in the NBA. Just as it appeared the Spurs would cruise toward the playoffs their season suddenly hit a bump in the road when Tim Duncan went down in a March 20th loss to the Detroit Pistons with a sprained ankle. The rest of the way the Spurs would limp home winning 9 of their last 17 as they held on to the Southwest Division by just 1 game with a 59-23 record. However, by the time the playoffs rolled around Duncan was ready to return. The Spurs playoff run would get off to a rocky start as they dropped Game 1 to the Denver Nuggets 93-87. The Spurs would quickly turn things around as they would road back to win the next 4 games to win the series in 5, while Duncan got stronger as the series went on scoring 39 points in a key overtime win in Game 4. In the 2nd round against the Seattle Supersonics the Spurs would get off to a fast start winning the first 2 games at home by double digits. With a shot to take a commanding 3-0 series lead, Tim Duncan missed a final shot at the buzzer as the Sonics held on for a 92-91 win. The Sonics would also win Game 4 to send the series back to San Antonio tied at 2 games apiece. In Game 5 faced with seeing another meltdown the Spurs looked toward Manu Ginobili who took over with a game high 39 points in leading the Spurs to a solid 103-90 win. The Spurs would go on to capture the series in 6 games win a 98-96 win in Seattle to close it out. In the Western Conference Finals the Spurs would face the Phoenix Suns, and take control early, winning the first 2 games on the road. They would stay hot as the series came home winning Game 3 to take a 3-0 series lead. However, with a chance to close things out at home the Spurs saw the Suns hang on for a 111-106 win in Game 4. Back in Phoenix for Game 5 Tim Duncan would take over leading the Spurs in points with 31 and 15 rebounds as the Spurs won the West with a 101-95 win.  In the NBA Finals the Spurs would face the defending Champion Detroit Pistons. The first 2 games in San Antonio were all Spurs as Manu Ginobili led the way with 26 and 27 points, in blow out wins by the Spurs. However, as the series shifted to Detroit the Spurs were the ones who were blowout losing Games 3 and 4 big margins as the Pistons evened the series. Faced with a 3rd straight loss in Detroit the Spurs would play much tougher in Game 5 which would become a classic as they game went into overtime. After scoring 0 points in the first half Robert Horry was the hot hand in the second half and that would continue into overtime as he nailed a clutch 3-point shot with 5 second reaming to give the Spurs a dramatic 96-95 win. However with a chance to close things out back at home in Game 6 the Spurs would lose 95-86 setting up the first NBA Finals Game 7 in 11 years. With the whole world watching Game 7 in San Antonio the game was a white-knuckler as the game went back and forth and was tied 57-57 after 3 Quarters. In the 4th Quarter it would be Tim Duncan time as he had his best game of the series with 25 points as the Spurs pulled away late to win their 3rd NBA Title in 7 years with an 81-74 win in Game 7 as Duncan was once again named Finals MVP.