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The Spurs–Suns rivalry is an NBA rivalry between the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns. It began in the 1990s, when the San Antonio Spurs were led by "The Admiral", David Robinson, and the Phoenix Suns were propelled by a number of players, including Dan Majerle, Kevin Johnson, and Tom Chambers. The rivalry continued into the next decade with Tim Duncan leading the Spurs, and with Steve Nash leading the Suns. The rivalry has also allegedly prevented Spurs coach Gregg Popovich from coaching the USA Basketball team in the 2008 Summer Olympics. ==1990s== The Spurs and Suns first met in the first round of the 1992 NBA Playoffs. The Suns established a record of 53-29 garnering fourth seed in the Western Conference, while the Spurs, owning a 47-35 record, clinched the fifth seed. However, with their captain, David Robinson, injured the Spurs were shorthanded and the Suns swept this series in three games. The two teams would meet again the next year in the 1993 Western Conference Semifinals. The Suns had a new look having acquired former Celtic Danny Ainge. They also traded Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang, and Tim Perry to the Philadelphia 76ers for Charles Barkley, who was the season's Most Valuable Player. The Suns also compiled a league-best 62-20 record and clinched both the Pacific Division title and the top seed in the Western Conference. The Spurs finished the regular season with a 49-33 record and the fifth seed. The Suns managed to reach the Conference Semifinals by beating the Los Angeles Lakers in a five-game series after having lost the first two games. The Spurs ousted the defending Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers. The semifinal series lasted six games with the Suns prevailing over the Spurs again when Barkley hit a game-winner in Game 6. The Suns would proceed to win the Western Conference championship and face the Chicago Bulls in the 1993 NBA Finals. Three years later the two rivals met again. The Spurs finished that year with a record of 59-23, the Midwest Division title, and the second seed in the Western Conference. The Suns, in contrast, just made the playoffs with a 41-41 record and the seventh seed. The Spurs won the first two games at home and won the second of two games at Phoenix, winning the series 3-1. The Spurs would go on to face the Utah Jazz. Their season over, the Suns would trade Barkley to the Houston Rockets for Sam Cassell, Robert Horry, Mark Bryant, and Chucky Brown. During the 1997 offseason, the Spurs, who finished with the third worst record in the league (David Robinson and Sean Elliott had both suffered injuries which kept them out of the lineup for extended periods) won the 1997 NBA Draft Lottery and, in the subsequent draft, selected consensus All-American Tim Duncan from Wake Forest University. In 1998 the Spurs met Suns in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs. The Suns were seeded number 4 and the Spurs seeded number 5. The Spurs would win the series 3-1 in Tim Duncan's rookie year. The Spurs would lose to Utah 4-1 in the Western Conference Semifinals. This marked another major turning point in the rivalry as the Spurs would win three of the next four playoff matchups against the Suns. The Spurs and Suns have met 10 times in the playoffs. All of these meetings occurred from 1992 onwards. The Spurs have won 6 series and the Suns have won 4. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Spurs–Suns rivalry」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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