The San Antonio Spurs are mainly known for their draft expertise. Top draft picks include Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard. Heck, the Spurs' draft prowess can be traced all the way back to David Robinson.
And of course, there's great anticipation for their latest draft pick, No. 1 overall Victor Wembanyama. He's considered the best draft prospect since LeBron James.
But while the Spurs have primarily built their winners through the draft, they have also sprinkled some really good free-agent signings into the mix. With free agency season nearly here, Spurs fans are hoping for San Antonio to make some signings build around their young core talent.
Let's take a look at how the Spurs have been able to build winning teams in the past. Here are the top-five free-agent signings in San Antonio's franchise history.
5. Robert Horry
Robert Horry signed with the Spurs during the summer of 2004 after spending the previous 6 1/2 seasons with the rival Los Angeles Lakers. While Horry was clearly past his prime by the time he joined San Antonio, he still made a tremendous impact, particularly in Game 5 of the 2005 NBA Finals when he hit a game-winning 3-pointer against the Detroit Pistons to give the Spurs a 3-2 lead in the series.
Horry made a career out of hitting clutch shots prior to even arriving in Texas, but that shot propelled San Antonio to its third championship and remains one of the biggest shots — if not the biggest — in Spurs history. Overall, Horry spent five seasons in San Antonio, helping the Spurs win a pair of titles.
However, his relationship with the Spurs and their fans has soured in recent years as Horry has taken verbal jabs at some Spurs teammates. This included blaming Manu Ginobili for not winning NBA titles in all five of Horry's seasons with the Spurs and saying Tim Duncan's work ethic didn't compare to Horry's former teammate Hakeem Olajuwon.
4. Avery Johnson
Avery Johnson actually had three stints with the Spurs. He initially joined the club in January 1991, signing off of waivers. He was waived by San Antonio the following year, linked up with the Houston Rockets and then signed back with the Spurs that ensuing offseason.
After spending all of the 1992-93 campaign in San Antonio, Johnson joined the Denver Nuggets for the 1993-94 season and then signed back with the Spurs in the offseason. Johnson found a home in San Antonio during his third go-around with the team, spending his next seven years with the Spurs and helping them win their first championship in 1999.
Johnson was a key veteran leader on that '99 San Antonio squad that featured a young (but still dominant) Duncan, and he also was a solid floor general and pesky defender throughout his entire tenure with the Spurs. Avery Johnson also was one of the greatest HBCU men's basketball players of all time.
3. Danny Green
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The Spurs picked Danny Green up off of the scrap heap in November 2010, signing him after he was waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He only played in eight games that season, but the following year, Green earned himself a full-time role in San Antonio and flashed his sharpshooting capabilities, hitting 43.6 percent of his 3-pointers.
Green proceeded to shoot over 40 percent from distance for four straight years from 2011 through 2014, lighting it up in the playoffs and helping the Spurs hang another banner in 2014.
But Green, who spent eight years in San Antonio before being traded to the Toronto Raptors along with Kawhi Leonard during the summer of 2018, was more than just a shooter. He was (and still is) also a terrific perimeter defender and was many times given the toughest defensive assignment. Green is actually known for being one of the top James Harden defenders in the NBA except when they were teammates on the Philadelphia 76ers, of course.
2. LaMarcus Aldridge
Spurs and LaMarcus Aldridge reach buyout agreement.
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— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 25, 2021
The Spurs signed LaMarcus Aldridge during the summer of 2015, giving them an impressive roster that helped San Antonio win 67 games during the 2015-16 campaign.
The Spurs ultimately bowed out in the second round of the playoffs that year, but Aldridge has been a consistent mainstay on the roster ever since. He developed a 3-point shot and also improved his defense significantly since his days with the Portland Trail Blazers.
No, Aldridge has never been able to deliver a title to San Antonio, but if Kawhi Leonard had not sprained his ankle during the 2017 Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors, who knows what could have happened.
Aldridge has never been a superstar, but his consistency is certainly something at which to marvel. He is, by far, the highest-profile free-agent signing in Spurs history. His time with San Antonio came to a close when the Spurs bought him out in March of 2021.
1. Bruce Bowen
No one did defense quite like Bruce Bowen 😤
Take a look back at @Bowen12's incredible NBA story in "The Rash," a brand new Ring of the Rowel Docuseries episode out now! 🎥 https://t.co/IbL5jEvvnJ pic.twitter.com/erwV7dZLpa
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 30, 2023
Aldridge may have been the biggest headline, but there is no doubt who was actually the best Spurs free-agent signing ever. That title goes to Bruce Bowen, who joined San Antonio during the summer of 2001 and became such a force that his No. 12 is now hanging in the rafters of the AT&T Center (he then granted Aldridge permission to wear his No. 12 in a gesture of respect).
Nothing about Bowen's game was pretty. Outside of his corner 3-pointer, his offensive game was incredibly limited, and he was far from a premier athlete.
However, Bowen was one of the best perimeter defenders the game has ever seen, combining length, strength and toughness with unbridled veteran savvy to regularly frustrate even the best wing scorers in the league. And he did all this despite Bowen battling mental health issues.
Bowen spent eight seasons with the Spurs, helping them win three championships. And who could forget his stifling defense on LeBron James during the 2007 NBA Finals?
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