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This season marks the Spurs' fiftieth year of roots in San Antonio. In the five decades of the NBA's upheavals, insistence on team culture and stability has always been the label of the San Antonio Spurs, and the key to displaying these qualities lies in the generations of Spurs players. In addition to the three epoch-making superstars George Gervin, David Robinson and Tim Duncan, the Spurs are also known for developing and discovering international players ahead of the curve, a model that has made them one of the most successful teams in NBA history. As we begin the countdown to the new season, we'll look back at the Silver and Black Army's top 50 stars in history. Every day countdown, we launch a big 50.
He was the Spurs' first three-point contest champion, known for his drifting shooting stance, and the first Italian to win an NBA championship
32nd overall: Marco Belinelli
There are no shortage of excellent three-point shooters on the Spurs' five-time championship-winning teams: Jaylen Jackson and Steve Cole in '99, Stephen Jackson and Cole in '03, Robert Holly and Brent Barry in '05, and Michael Finley and Barry in '07, but none of them are crazy with the shooters on the 2014 championship-winning team. For the first time that year, the Spurs had three shooters who hit more than 120 three-pointers of the season (Danny Green, Patti Mills and Marco Belinelli), and they all shot more than 40 percent. The one with the highest shooting percentage was Belinelli, who also won the first three-point contest in team history that year.
Born in the Apennine Peninsula, Belinelli began playing in the professional league for italy's traditional giants Bologna at the age of 16, and in 2004 he reached the Champions League final with the team, but unfortunately lost to Tevevy Maccabi. In 2005, the 19-year-old Belinelli helped the team win the league title. He was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 18th pick in the first round of the 2007 Draft, and scored 37 points in the first game of the Summer League, shooting 5-of-7 from three-point range and averaging 22.8 points in four Summer League games. Despite a good start, the Warriors had just finished the Black Eight saga the year before, with a host of outside firepower such as Stephen Jackson, Baron Davis, Al Harrington, Matt Barnes, Petrus and Azubük, leaving too few opportunities for the Italian rookie. After two uneventful seasons, he was traded to the Raptors.
Despite having fellow countryman and champion Andre Banhniani in Toronto, Belinelli still had few chances, averaging less than 20 minutes per game and scoring 7.1 points, and was traded again in the offseason to New Orleans. With Chris Paul around him, he found the feeling, shooting 41.4 percent from three-point range, becoming the team's three-point king with 134 three-pointers, and sitting on the starting line while tasting the playoffs for the first time. He renewed his contract with the Hornets at the end of the season, and his second year in New Orleans remained steady, averaging 11.8 points per game, continuing to lead the team in terms of three-point shooting and shooting percentage, but as Paul left Los Angeles, the Hornets, who had fallen to the bottom of the record, chose to rebuild and sent him to Chicago.
In the 12-13 season, the Bulls who just lost Derrick Rose still have Good Hands such as Joakim Noah, Lul Dun, Boozer, And Cinrich, especially Noah gradually showing the style of the inner hub. Although no longer an absolute starter, in the Bulls' system of emphasizing the whole and passing, Belinelli's no-ball running and key ball ability has been greatly improved, and he has repeatedly staged or quasi-kills against opponents such as the Celtics, Pistons, and Nets. One season for the Bulls allowed Belinelli to complete the transformation from an ordinary pitcher to a key shooter. On July 11, 2013, he signed with the San Antonio Spurs on a free-term basis, beginning the most glorious part of his career.
After losing the championship last season, the Spurs let go of gary Neal, a key goalscorer on the outside, and signed Belinelli. The Italian quickly proved that the team choice was completely correct, compared to the more nervous Neil, Belinelli is not only not inferior in shooting, but also has an overwhelming advantage in no-ball running and overall tactical coordination, 13-14 Spurs played a flowing attack, and the Italian is undoubtedly an important part. Not only did he average 11.2 points per game, becoming the Spurs' second-place scorer on the bench (behind Manu), but he also threw a career-high 43 percent three-pointer (first on the team). On All-Star Weekend during the season, he beat Bradley Beale through overtime to become the first three-point champion in Spurs history.
On June 16, 2014, the Spurs won at home to the Heat, and Belinelli became the first Italian player to win the NBA championship, and became the first pair of "father-son" players to lift the championship trophy with Ginobili (just kidding, he once said that he respected Manu as a father, so he had the nickname "son" in the jam). This year, Belinelli not only reached the peak of his career on three-point shooting, but also reached a personal peak in rebounding, assists, shooting percentage and true shooting percentage. In the ensuing 14-15 season, his performance slipped and his stats declined. At the end of the season, the Spurs needed to make room to sign Aldridge, and the successful Belinelli chose to sign the biggest three-year, 19 million contract with the Kings.
For many veterans, Sacramento was a difficult part of their careers, as was Belinelli, who was lost in the King's chaotic system, shooting, three-point shooting and true shooting rate all fell to career lows (38.6%, 30.6% and 45.7%). At the end of the season, he was sent to Charlotte and later to Atlanta and Philadelphia. Around "The Great" Embiid, Belinelli regained his point of presence at the Spurs and became an important outside firepower for the 76ers in the second half of the season and in the playoffs. At the end of the 18-19 season, he chose to return to San Antonio, signing a two-year contract with the team. Compared with the championship winning team 5 years ago, the Spurs at this time have no face, except for coach Popovich and teammate Mills, who have no familiar faces, and he and the latter, plus Brin Forbes and Davidson Bertans, form the "four cannon kings" in the fans' mouth.
The "Four Cannon Kings" have all surpassed a hundred three-point shooting in the season, setting a new record in team history, and they also helped the Spurs become the team with the highest three-point shooting rate in the league that season. But apparently it was a combination of "kill a thousand, self-inflicted eight hundred" that had no advantage in defensive ends and on-the-rim, and the Spurs lost seven games to the Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs. The 19-20 season was Belinelli's final season for the Spurs and his NBA, when the Spurs' record of consecutive playoffs was ended, and his playing time and scoring fell to the lowest level since his rookie season. At the end of the season, although there are still NBA teams willing to sign him, the Italians still choose to return to Bologna, the "place where the dream began". In 2021, Bologna beat rival Milan Olympia in the finals to win a 20-year absence, the 16th title in the team's history.
Compared with his good NBA career, Belinelli's performance in the international arena was relatively flat, he made his debut for the Italian national team at the 2006 Men's Basketball World Championships, he averaged 13.5 points per game, the team's top scorer, of which the 25 points against the United States was his highlight moment, but unfortunately The Italian team only ranked ninth and failed to reach the quarterfinals. He also participated in four European Championships in 2007 (15.5 points per game), 2011 (12 points per game), 2015 (16.3 points per game) and 2017 (17.9 points per game), but italy's overall strength is not small compared to the top European teams such as Spain, France, Serbia, Greece, Lithuania and Slovenia, and has never reached the final four.
Belinelli played for the Spurs for four years, playing 278 games (the team he played the most), averaging 9.6 points per game and shooting 38.9 percent from three-point range. As a shooter, his shooting percentage is not top notch, and his production is not amazing, but his shooting at key moments and those difficult drift shots, especially in the 2013-14 season, have won him an important place in the minds of Spurs fans.
Next issue: He got five championship rings as a player, two of which he got with the Spurs; He has four more rings as a coach, and his coaching career seems to be far from over...
(Text/Mu Yan 1199)