Sean Elliott

Elliott was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs as the third pick in the first round of the 1989 NBA draft under Coach Larry Brown. The 1989–1990 season was also the first for Elliott's teammate David Robinson, who played as the team's superstar. Elliot started in 69 of 81 games for the season, averaging 10 points a game, and the Spurs made the playoffs where they swept the Denver Nuggets in the first round before falling to the eventual Western Conference Champion Portland Trail Blazers in 7 games. Elliott increased his scoring average to 12.7 during the postseason.

In the following season, Elliott started in all 82 games, increasing his scoring to 15.9 points a game, and the Spurs led by Robinson won 55 games, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Golden State Warriors in four games. Elliott once again increased his scoring output in the playoffs, and the Spurs looked forward to improving. The 1991–1992 season was be a tumultuous one for the team, with Brown stepping down as coach after a 21–17 start, replaced by Bob Bass. The Spurs still managed to win 47 games with Elliott starting in all 82 games and averaging 16.3 points, but San Antonio were swept in the first round by the Phoenix Suns. Like in his first two years, Elliott increased his scoring in the playoffs to 19.7 points a game for the three game series.

Coaching changes once again destabilized the Spurs' season, before John Lucas II took over the team, leading them to 49 wins with a 39–22 record after the team opened the season with a record of 10–11. Elliott played in 70 games, and once again placed second in scoring on the team to Robinson with 17.2 points a game, including a career-high 41 points against the Dallas Mavericks on December 18, 1992. He was named to play in the 1993 NBA All-Star Game along with Robinson. In the playoffs, San Antonio defeated Portland 3 games to 1, before facing the number one seeded Suns in the conference semifinal. After losing the first two games in Phoenix, the Spurs responded with consecutive games at home, as Elliott scored 17 points in game 3 and 19 points in game 4. The Suns, led by superstar Charles Barkley managed to wrap up the series in the next two games. Elliot averaged 15.8 points per game in the playoffs.

Elliott spent the 1993–94 season with the Detroit Pistons after being traded for Dennis Rodman in a multi-player deal. The Pistons had previously been a championship-contending team, and were still led by veterans such as Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars, but struggled with injuries throughout the season. After Elliott struggled with the Pistons, the Pistons attempted to trade him to the eventual champion Houston Rockets in February 1994 in exchange for Robert Horry, Matt Bullard, and two second-round draft choices; however, the trade fell through when Elliott failed his physical.[3][4][5] After the trade was voided, Elliott held a press conference and announced that he had a kidney problem.[6] Elliott remained in Detroit for the rest of the season and started in a total 73 games, averaging 12.1 points a game. Following the end of the season, he was traded back to the Spurs for the draft rights of Bill Curley.

In the 1994–1995 season, the Spurs—now coached by Bob Hill—won 62 games led by Elliott and Robinson, who won that year's NBA Most Valuable Player Award. The Spurs clinched the top seed in the western conference, and swept the Denver Nuggets in the first round before facing the young Los Angeles Lakers in the semifinals. The Lakers pushed San Antonio to a 6th game in Los Angeles, where the Spurs won. Elliott scored 26 points, his high for the playoffs, in the series-clinching game. The Spurs had reached the conference finals, where they faced Houston. Despite having home court advantage, the Spurs lost the first two games at home, and won two games before falling to the more experienced Rockets in 6 games. Elliott averaged 17.3 points a game in the playoffs.

The 1995–1996 season was a personal best for Elliott, as he averaged 20 points a game, a career high, in 77 games. Elliott also made a career-high 161 three-pointers on the season, and played in the 1996 NBA All-Star Game, scoring 13 points in 22 minutes. The Spurs once again came up short in the playoffs, defeating Phoenix in the first round before losing to the Utah Jazz in 6 games, with Elliott's scoring averaging falling to 15.5 points a game. The following season proved a disaster for the Spurs, as Robinson played in only 6 games due to a season-ending injury, while Elliott also suffered injuries that limited him to 39 games. The team was taken over by new coach Gregg Popovich, and their lottery status in the 1996–1997 season led to the drafting of Tim Duncan in the NBA draft following the season. Injuries limited Elliott again to just 36 games in the 1997–1998 season, but the Spurs improved to 56 wins led by Duncan and Robinson, before losing to Utah in the conference semifinals.

The 1998–1999 season was shortened to 50 games as a result of a league lockout, but the Spurs won 37 of the games for the west's best record led by Duncan and Robinson, with Elliott starting in all 50 games with an average of 11.2 points a game. The Spurs entered the playoffs with a dominating defensive attack bolstered by the big man duo of Duncan and Robinson, and they first defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 3-1 in the first round. San Antonio won a 4-game sweep of the much improved Los Angeles Lakers, led by superstars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. Next up were the Portland Trail Blazers, another resurgent squad, in the conference finals. The Spurs won game 1 on their home floor, and in game 2 the Trail Blazers held a 2-point lead with 9 seconds left to play in regulation. Elliott received a pass nearly stolen by Blazer Stacey Augmon in the corner, before Elliott caught the ball within an inch of the sideline (narrowly avoiding going out of bounds). He managed to stay on his tiptoes rather than planting his feet, before releasing a 21-foot three-point attempt just over the outstretched arms of 6 foot 11 forward Rasheed Wallace. The shot went in, giving the Spurs a 1-point lead and the eventual victory. The shot was later named "Memorial Day Miracle" because of its improbability and the date on which it was made. Elliott finished the game with 22 points. and shifted the momentum of the series to the Spurs, who swept Portland. The Spurs had finally made the NBA Finals, facing the surprising New York Knicks, who had managed to make the Finals despite being the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference but who were missing star center Patrick Ewing. San Antonio dominated the Knicks in the first two games, and while the Knicks managed to win game 3, the Spurs combination of Duncan, Robinson and effective play by veterans such as Elliott (14 points in game 4), Avery Johnson and Jaren Jackson proved too much for the Knicks. The Spurs won game 5 in Madison Square Garden to wrap up the series and win their first NBA Championship. Elliott averaged 11.9 points in 17 games in the playoffs while shooting 40 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

Shortly after the championship run, Elliott announced that he had a kidney disease known as focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, that his kidney function was worsening, and that he would require a transplant as soon as a matching donor became available.[7] Elliott also disclosed that he had been aware of his kidney ailment since 1993.[8] He underwent surgery on August 16 of that year, receiving a kidney from his older brother, Noel.

On March 13, 2000, in a game against the Atlanta Hawks, Elliott became the first player to return to the NBA after a kidney transplant. He played in only 19 games in the 2000 season, and San Antonio failed to repeat as champions. Elliott started in 34 of 52 games in the 2000–2001 season; the Spurs held the best record in the league, but lost to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

Elliott announced his retirement in 2001. He finished his career averaging 14.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. Elliott is the fifth all-time franchise leader in three-point field goals made (563) and fourth for three-point attempts (1,485).