The Big Three was a trio of National Basketball Association players for the San Antonio Spurs from 2002 to 2016, which consisted of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginóbili. They would win four NBA championships (2003, 2005, 2007, 2014) during that time-span. Duncan and Ginóbili retired after the 2015–16 season and the 2017–18 season, respectively. Parker, after playing one season with the Charlotte Hornets, retired after the 2018–19 season. The Big Three is one of the most decorated and successful trios in NBA history, having won 575 regular season games and 126 postseason games together; they won fifty games in each season that the trio played together, and they won sixty games in a season five times. Each member of the trio has had their jersey retired by the Spurs and all three have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Pre-"Big Three"
Tim Duncan
Before being selected number one overall by the San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan played college basketball for four years at Wake Forest. He was a two-time Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Men's Basketball Player of the Year, three-time NABC Defensive Player of the Year, and MVP of the 1996 ACC tournament. Duncan also won numerous national player of the year awards for his senior season at Wake Forest and was a two-time consensus first-team All-American. In 1996, Duncan led the ACC in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocked shots, becoming the first player in ACC history to do so. Wake Forest had a 97–31 record during his four years there. Duncan left Wake Forest as the all-time NCAA rebounding leader at the time. Duncan is one of only ten players to leave college with more than 2,000 career points and 1,500 career rebounds. He was also the first player in NCAA history to reach 1,500 points, 1,000 rebounds, 400 blocked shots and 200 assists., usabasketball.com. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
The Spurs had an array of talent that collided with a fateful stroke of injury. In the 1996–97 NBA season, general manager Gregg Popovich (hired for the position in 1994 after having served as an assistant from 1988 to 1992) fired head coach Bob Hill after the team was 3–15 to start the year, one that saw David Robinson play six games before breaking his foot. Popovich, appointing himself as head coach, would lead them to a 20–62 record for dead last in the NBA, which resulted in them having the first overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft. With first overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft, the Spurs selected Duncan, joining David Robinson to form a frontcourt known as the "Twin Towers". The "Twin Towers" won two NBA titles during their six seasons together—in 1999 and 2003—with Duncan winning NBA Finals MVP both times. Duncan also was named NBA MVP during his final two seasons with David Robinson and was named to the All-NBA First Team in each of his six seasons. The "Twin Towers" were named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated in 2003.
Tony Parker
Tony Parker played two years with Paris Basket Racing prior to being selected 28th overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2001 NBA draft. Parker began his rookie season playing as the backup point guard to Antonio Daniels, eventually become the starting point guard for the San Antonio Spurs that season and played in 77 regular-season games, averaging 9.2 points, 4.3 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in 29.4 minutes per game in his rookie season. Parker led the Spurs in assists and steals during his rookie season and was named to the All-Rookie First team that season.Tony Parker Info Page – Bio , nba.com, Retrieved June 17, 2007Tony Parker Bio , jockbio.com, Retrieved January 28, 2008
Manu Ginóbili
Manu Ginóbili played seven seasons internationally before joining the San Antonio Spurs. He started his professional career with the Andino Sports Club of the Argentine basketball league before being traded to his hometown team, Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca where he played for two seasons.Manu Ginoboli Info Page – Bio , nba.com. Retrieved June 17, 2007. Ginóbili then played his next four seasons in Italy. The first two seasons were with Basket Viola Reggio Calabria, where he, along with Brent Scott, Brian Oliver, and Sydney Johnson helped the team to promotion from the Italian 2nd Division to the Italian 1st Division. Manu Ginóbili was drafted 57th overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 1999 NBA draft, but played three more seasons in Italy before joining the Spurs. He played his final two seasons in Italy for Kinder Bologna, where they were able to make it to the 2001 Italian Championship, the 2001 and 2002 Italian Cups; and the 2001 Euroleague, where he was named the EuroLeague Final Four MVP. He also won the Italian League MVP Award in 2000–01 and 2001–02 and was selected to three Italian League All-Star Games during his career in Italy.
"Big Three"
2002–03 season: 2nd Championship The signing of Manu Ginóbili during the 2002–03 season started the moniker of the "Big Three". During their first season together the trio averaged a combined 47 points with Tim Duncan leading the way averaging 23.3 points, along with Tony Parker's 15.5 points and Manu Ginóbili's 7.7 points. As the trio continued, so did their contributions to the team. Parker jumped from nine points a game to averaging 15.5 while playing in all 82 games (the first of three seasons where he would play eighty games). Before the season, David Robinson announced he was planning to retire at the end of the season, signifying a transition from the "Twin Towers", a nickname given to the duo of Duncan and Robinson. Together, alongside role players like Bruce Bowen and Steve Kerr, the Spurs won an NBA-best 60–22 record and home-court advantage throughout the entire playoffs. In their first series, the Spurs defeated the Phoenix Suns in six games, setting up a second-round match-up with the Los Angeles Lakers. Having lost their last two postseason games to the Lakers, the Spurs were looking to avenge their previous losses against the Lakers. In Game 6, Duncan posted 37 points and 16 rebounds, as the Spurs won with a 110–82 victory and winning the series. Following the game, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said: "I thought in Game 5 and Game 6, he [Duncan] was astounding in his focus. He pulled everyone along these last two games." After moving past the Lakers, the Spurs defeated the Dallas Mavericks in a six-game series in the Western Conference Finals to advance to the 2003 NBA Finals against the New Jersey Nets. The Spurs were able to close out the series in Game 6 off the back of Duncan, who recorded a triple-double, securing the franchise's second title in four years. Duncan was a notable performer throughout the series, averaging 28 points and 16 rebounds, and was subsequently named Finals MVP. Following the NBA Finals victory, Duncan said: "We were all confident that something would happen, that we would turn the game to our favor, and it did." Duncan also expressed sadness over the impending retirement of his friend and teammate David Robinson.
2003–04 season: Derek Fisher's shot Despite changes to the team, the Spurs were consistent enough to go 57–25 on the year, finishing one game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves for the Midwest Division title and the best record in the Western Conference. Their strong regular season play secured them a trip to the NBA Playoffs and a first-round match-up with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Spurs promptly swept the Grizzlies and advanced to a fourth consecutive conference semifinal match-up with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Spurs and the Lakers split the first four games of the series with the home team winning every game. In Game 5, Duncan continued to play in the series, making a jump shot with 0.4 seconds remaining to give the Spurs a 73–72 lead. However, with a fraction of a second left on the clock, Derek Fisher hit a buzzer-beater to give the Lakers a 74–73 win. The Spurs lost Game 6 to the Lakers, 88–76 and were eliminated from the playoffs.
2004–05 season: 3rd Championship The following season, the Spurs, now playing in the Southwest Division, handily won the division title with a 59–23 record, securing the second seed in the Western Conference. The Spurs began the playoffs by defeating the Denver Nuggets in five games, with each of the trio being key contributors in the series. In the conference semifinal series against the Seattle SuperSonics, the Spurs split the first four games of the series. In Game 5, Ginóbili returned to the starting lineup and posted a playoff career-high 39 points. His effort was enough to help the Spurs to a 103–90 victory over the SuperSonics, putting them one game away from the Western Conference Finals.Ginobili Starts, Spurs a Game Away From Finishing Sonics May 17, 2005, Retrieved July 20, 2016 In Game 6, Duncan delivered in yet another pivotal moment, making a shot with 0.5 seconds left to break the game's tied score and lead the Spurs to a 98–96 victory. The Spurs then advanced to a match-up with the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals.Last-Second Heroics Send Spurs to Conference Finals May 19, 2005, Retrieved July 20, 2016 In the series, Duncan, Ginóbili, and Parker averaged 27.4 points, 22.2 points, and 20.4 points, respectively. Bolstered by excellent performances from their three stars, the Spurs jumped out to a 3–0 lead in the series. In Games 3 and 4, the trio scored combined totals of 80 and 69 points. After losing Game 4 111–106, the trio delivered another performance; in Game 5, they scored a combined 68 points to help defeat the Suns and advance to the 2005 NBA Finals.Spurs Finish Off Suns; Heading Back to The Finals June 1, 2005, Retrieved July 20, 2016 In the Finals, they would face the defending champion Detroit Pistons. In a series where only one game had a team score 100 points and see five games where a team scored 79 or less, the Spurs would grind out a seven-game series that saw them win the first two games only to have Detroit match them going into Game 5. A late shot by Robert Horry helped win that game 96–95 to leave them one win away. Detroit won the sixth game 95–86 to set up Game 7. San Antonio trailed by one going into halftime; with seven minutes left in the third quarter, the Pistons led by nine points. However, the Spurs used the rest of the quarter to dig themselves out of the hole, and the score was tied at the start of the fourth quarter, with Duncan scoring ten points in that time. The Spurs would pull away late to win 81–74. Duncan averaged 20.6 points per game and 14.1 rebounds per game in the Finals, the best among both teams while being named Finals MVP; the victory marked the second NBA Championship of the "Big Three" era.
2005–06 season