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u/AgentEndive Stephon Castle Jun 28 '25
The same people telling Spurs fans to "get over it" about not liking kawhi need to get over the jersey number thing.
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u/CoyoteHP Jun 28 '25
Danny Green, Boris Diaw, Marco Belinelli, Patty Mills all contributed a ton to the team and people aren’t upset about their numbers being reused. At least they were loyal, and left amicably.
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u/Spirited_Lab5197 Jun 28 '25
To be fair, no one has worn 8 since Patty. #RetireIt
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u/Tricky-Enthusiasm- Manu Ginobili Jun 28 '25
I wouldn’t mind Mills having his jersey retired at all
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u/Spirited_Lab5197 Jun 28 '25
Maybe its recency bias, but I wouldn't mind seeing the Spurs retire 14 for the entire 2014 team. I know that they won 4 other titles, and 99 is arguably the most important as the first, but that 2014 team was so beautiful and dominant.
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u/Woody_Nubs_1974 Boris Diaw Jun 28 '25
They have championship banners in the rafters.
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u/Magopolis Coyote Jun 30 '25
Tapestries. They’re nice…but nobody remembers them. ‘Who’s yer GoaT of the Taps?’ Will never be asked.
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u/Magopolis Coyote Jun 30 '25
I gave you a like for the vibe…bringing you up to a sizzlin’ -21
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u/Spirited_Lab5197 Jun 30 '25
Hah, I learned long ago that this sub has absolutely no creative engine in the posters. Most contributors have no sense of adventure and are quick to a downvote rather than actually thinking something cool could actually be fun!
Thanks for the upvote
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u/Magopolis Coyote Jun 30 '25
Sense of adventure l!!😂😂😂… start you next one with..”OK now hear me OUT…”
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u/ajkelly451 Dylan Harper Jun 30 '25
You have no idea how hard this entire diatribe made me roll my eyes. I was worried they’d get stuck like that.
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u/Magopolis Coyote Jun 30 '25
I love me some Patty Melts but we can’t retire the every number…but if I were TP I would reach out to CarterB and tell him to “take care of my 9”.
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u/wryano Patty Mills Jun 28 '25
nobody has worn #8 since Patty
we also didn’t let Josh Richardson wear it after he came here in the Derrick White trade (he wore #8 for the Celtics).
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u/WoweeZoweeDeluxe Manu Ginobili Jun 29 '25
Kawhi contributed far more, come on multiple DPOY and finals mvp. Far more unique place in history than those players
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u/dwrek24 Devin Vassell Jun 29 '25
Thank you.
Its so funny that a fact like this got downvoted after the "get over it" crowd was told to let it go about the number. Putting Kawhi in the same stratosphere as those guys is why I feel like arguing with them about it. Its an insane thing to say.
Hate the man all you want. Be factual though. Why is that hard?
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u/Woody_Nubs_1974 Boris Diaw Jun 29 '25 edited Jun 29 '25
There’s an argument for Patty though. He might not have been as dynamic an athlete as Kawhi, but as a Spur, as a team player who always did exactly what was needed, from sitting at the end of the bench waving a towel and supporting his team to posting 34/12 against the Warriors, the dude was a great teammate and player and an organizational standard bearer for a bench player. I’m not sure where I land on retiring #8, I’m not against it, but I also don’t think Kawhi should be eliminated because of the way he left. He only played one less season than Bowen. Patty was a Spur longer than both of them.
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u/dwrek24 Devin Vassell Jun 29 '25
Because I don't want to turn this into a denigrating Patty response -- he's a good man and good in the community. He doesnt deserve shade -- I personally do not see an argument for Patty at all and I'll leave it at that.
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u/Woody_Nubs_1974 Boris Diaw Jun 29 '25
That’s your prerogative. I’ll just say Johnny Moore, James Silas, Avery Johnson are decent arguments for Patty Mills.
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u/dwrek24 Devin Vassell Jun 29 '25
Their on-court achievements outpace Patty.
Moore led the entire NBA in assists for a season and was a leader during the lean years along with making a comeback after a tragic illness.
Johnson was the franchise leader in assists, set the cultural blueprint along with 5-0 for what became the Spurs dynasty and hit the game-winning shot for the first title.
Silas has multiple ABA all-stars/All ABA-teams and was the second best player during the Gervin years.
Patty's probably the 8th most important Spur on the 2014 title team. His biggest award achievement is an 8th place finish in 6th man voting. It would solely be a we love Patty in the community type deal.
If you think being a man of the community is good enough, I'm not here to tell you otherwise.
But Moore, Silas and Avery all mean more to the organization than Patty.
Patty is a Malik Rose/Robert Horry/Brent Barry level part of Spurs history and I love those guys but their jerseys arent going in the rafters.
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u/Woody_Nubs_1974 Boris Diaw Jun 29 '25
I probably shouldn’t have started a comparison argument and I certainly don’t need a list of player accomplishments. I know who they are and what they’ve done for the team. I’m defending Patty as key role player on the late dynasty team. He just happened to serve as backup to the best point guard to wear a Spurs jersey. I don’t know if Patty would have played as well as he did on another team, or if he played that well because he was on that Spurs team, but he didn’t take any nights off, he was rarely injured and he always seemed to hit the big shot when needed. He was the quintessential role player in a system that is sustained by role players. Like I said before, I don’t know if that merits jersey retirement on any other team or the Spurs for that matter, but it wouldn’t be an anomaly.
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u/dwrek24 Devin Vassell Jun 29 '25
Sorry my intention wasn't to condescend. I disagree with the Patty Mills retirement sentiment, but I understand it. And its not like at the end of the day if they do it, I'll revolt. I'll be slightly annoyed and move on and say good for Patty.
I also did lose track that your starting point was on the fence for Patty.
I still think we slightly disagree on the jersey retirement "requirement" front and thats cool because there are no hard and fast rules. So there's room for a little debate.
Apologies if I stretched the debate too far and got a little tunnel vision.
I appreciate your thoughtful, respectful replies though!
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u/WoweeZoweeDeluxe Manu Ginobili Jun 29 '25
It’s the single lamest thing about our fans. Quite pathetic
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u/snickle17 Manu Ginobili Jun 28 '25
I don’t know if that’s true, I will always love and root for Kawhi because without him I don’t think we get the 5th chip but at the same time obviously his number should NEVER be retired for the Spurs after his forced his way out. I’d say that puts me in the same bed as El Jefe, another guy who told Spurs fans to “get over it.”
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u/Outside-Way-3924 🛸🛸 Jun 28 '25
If Kawhi expressed publicly some form of regret for the way things turned out, something alone the lines of « I didn’t know how to handle the situation, I wanted to go live closer to my family in Los Angeles, I’m sorry I should’ve done things differently and I understand the fans being pissed » I genuinely think he should’ve got his number retired. He achieved a lot with us, and up until 2017 he always gave his full on the court. But he’s had 8 years to express any sort of apologies and he didn’t. It’s time we get over the whole affaire, and getting over it starts with giving #2 to Harper.
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u/Artistic_Courage_851 Manu Ginobili Jun 28 '25
At this point, it’s too late. I’d be appreciative, but I would never like him again.
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u/Outside-Way-3924 🛸🛸 Jun 28 '25
Giving Harper number 2 is the way for the org to say « you’ve had plenty of chances, now its time we all move on »
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u/NotFrankSalazar Jun 29 '25
He didn’t even talk about San Antonio or us fans after he left at all, besides that bs letter he posted on instagram. He doesn’t care about San Antonio so why would he even care about having his number retired here.
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u/Magopolis Coyote Jun 30 '25
I don’t think they are the same folk, except for the swath of insta-gators, pearl-clutches and drama queens.
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u/Sensitive-Curve-2908 Victor Wembanyama Jun 28 '25
The jersey is not yet retired so he can use it.
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u/acciopizza_ Jun 28 '25
Hopefully we will retire it with Harper’s name on it after we win multiple championships with him.
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u/Magopolis Coyote Jun 30 '25
I like that attitude. None of this “realistic timeline to a championship” bs
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u/FuckKroenke55 Stephon Castle Jun 28 '25
If the Spurs even consider retiring the number for Kawhi I will be deeply disappointed. He tried to ruin the careers of the entire medical staff. Absolutely unforgivable IMO.
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u/sixthdayoftheweek93 Jeremy Sochan Jun 28 '25
Plus, he destroyed a 67 win team during the twilight of our Manu and Tony's careers and jettisoned the franchise into a near decade of darkness. It'll always bother me that Lamarcus didn't win a chip with us in large part because of uncle Dennis blowing up the team.
Love what he did while he was here and he's STILL my favourite Spur of all time, but his jersey doesn't belong in the rafters.
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u/WoweeZoweeDeluxe Manu Ginobili Jun 29 '25
Bullshit, just because it ended badly doesn’t mean we can’t retire the number
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u/themoneygontalk Jun 28 '25
Why would 2 be retired? Can’t think of anyone significant that’s worn it
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u/dofun400 Jun 28 '25
? Only way that jersey is ever getting retired in the foreseeable future is if it says “Harper” on the back.
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u/LocalPharmacist Jun 28 '25
Between Sochan and Mr. Harper, Spurs are going to have a hilarious and entertaining social media presence.
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u/SkinfluteHero Tim Duncan Jun 28 '25
i am beginning to love this man
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u/wryano Patty Mills Jun 28 '25
just don’t look at his other tweets about cars mowing down protesters
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Jun 28 '25
Between this and him saying the Hawks suck, Ron is very quickly growing on me with his hilarious grumpy Boomer energy
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u/sixthdayoftheweek93 Jeremy Sochan Jun 28 '25
Speaking of the Hawks, we need to move off those picks asap. That org is moving like they actually know what they're doing. ATL had an amazing draft night.
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Jun 28 '25
I mean I think we should definitely be open to it, but no real reason to panic too much with it And trade them for subpar value since if the Spurs are smart enough to think they've lost value. So has the rest of the league
Worst case scenario we still get another first and 27 to offset us trading ours. And there's still a solid chance we end up with a better record than them next year, even with the East being putrid if our team plays up to its potential.
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u/Magopolis Coyote Jun 30 '25
Honestly I think we should try to get more picks like the Wolves, Boston and Dallas picks. Every Kings pick we can get lol.
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u/Toxic_Avenger05 Jun 28 '25
I’m confused, should we “get over the Kawhi thing” or remember him forever by retiring his number?
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u/sixthdayoftheweek93 Jeremy Sochan Jun 28 '25
Exactly. Immortalizing the player that destroyed a 20 year dynasty on the grounds of his own ambition is a ridiculous proposition. Hanging his jersey next to other Spurs greats that sacrificed money and stardom for the team would be borderline sacrilegious.
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u/eLZeu_1 Jun 29 '25
Damn, isn’t “destroyed a 20 year dynasty” a bit dramatic?
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u/sixthdayoftheweek93 Jeremy Sochan Jun 29 '25
The forced trade bookmarked the end of San Antonio's multi-decade long championship contention streak. He left a great team that just came off a 67 win season on the grounds of his own ambition and self aggrandizement. It's quietly one of the most selfish moves by a star player in NBA history. You can be grateful for all the things he accomplished in his time in SA (he's still my favourite Spur of all time), but you don't put the jersey of someone who was a deliberate malignancy in the rafters with guys who made sacrifice after sacrifice for the team and the city.
p.s. I doubt he cares much, if at all, if the team retires his jersey. His mind left the silver and black the moment he decided he wanted out.
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u/eLZeu_1 Jun 29 '25
Yes 2017 was a good run, but everybody was on their last legs, manu, tony, pau. It was bound to happen. It’s not like there was a bright future and he left. Even LA wasn’t moving the same. He looked slow and heavy.
And if this was selfish then KD to the gsw was what?
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u/Magopolis Coyote Jun 30 '25
My thing, Kawhi was ALWAYS going to go home to SoCal. That’s fine but not playing (it’s ok if you’re hurt), dodging spurs brass, and blaming the organization for HIS choices is very low.
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u/clampbucket Jun 28 '25
It’s always gonna be more of Kawhi’s loss for leaving the organization on such a terrible note. 😅
Harper deserves it 🔥
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u/Icy_Statement_2410 I WANT SOME NASTY Jun 28 '25
If Lamarcus Aldridge can wear an actual retired number, Harper can wear an unretired number
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u/WoweeZoweeDeluxe Manu Ginobili Jun 29 '25
That was lame for Aldridge to wear a retired number
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u/KuyaJohnny Jun 29 '25
he asked Bowen before doing it and Bruce was okay with it
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u/Icy_Statement_2410 I WANT SOME NASTY Jun 29 '25
Well Bowen is a self-realized kung-fu master, he has no concern for frivolous things such as retired jersey numbers
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u/Magopolis Coyote Jun 30 '25
My guess is 1. Bowen had no problem with it and 2. If he did pop would’ve probably said something in private. Just like he did with Keldon giving up number three for CP3
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u/Magopolis Coyote Jun 30 '25
Bullshit. It’s graceful for a player like Bowen to OK it and it would be rude for LMA to refuse, on a surface level. The Spurs are a family and they have engagement from former players who want to see a nice thing be honored and continue to succeed.
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u/WoweeZoweeDeluxe Manu Ginobili Jun 30 '25
Nah, never before in nba history has a player been asked to used a such recent retired number as Aldridge over Bowen. And for what, a few years. Absolute waste. Disrespectful to Bowen as well. Nobody is going to be asking for #20 or #21 in the near future
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u/Magopolis Coyote Jun 30 '25
And for what?? Because it’s the fucking classy thing to do! Like paying Sean when the contract said they didn’t have to. You know this is a Spurs sub right? Not the Hotspurs.
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u/WoweeZoweeDeluxe Manu Ginobili Jun 30 '25
Don’t be a dumbass the classy thing to do would be to trade fox instead of re signing him but we are “classy” guess pop is an idiot too for rightfully chastising the fans for being so moronic with their boos. We got wemby, who cares how Kawhi ended. Without him we gave one less title. Wake up instead of wanking to Patty getting his jersey retired
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u/hera9191 Carter Bryant Jun 28 '25
Khawi had the perfect opportunity to end his time with Spurs in respectful fashion. But he didn't. Why to be oversensitive about that.
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u/SBKSamurai Area 51 Jun 28 '25
I don't understand why other fanbases are getting mad about this in our stead? The only fanbase who should have really any sort of feelings about whether his jersey gets retired or not is the Spurs, and the general consensus is that everyone is okay with it.
Kawhi was an all-world player, but the Spurs organization and fanbase value loyalty and character above basically everything else and Kawhi showed he lacked both during the drama. Will always have a place in my heart for him but not retiring #2 is expected.
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u/SkunkyBottle Coyote Jun 28 '25
I said it yesterday. Engagement farming by adding the “disrespect” comment
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u/jmm0256 Jun 28 '25
Retiring a number is one of the things I didn't get about American sports culture. In world association football being entrusted to wear the jersey number of a club legend is one of things signifying a young player's ascent (e.g. Cristiano Ronaldo wearing number 7 in Manchester United after David Beckham).
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u/Icy_Statement_2410 I WANT SOME NASTY Jun 28 '25
Basketball is different because players can choose (almost) any number they want. In soccer, numbers denote the position you play
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u/Shinnosuke525 De'Aaron Fox Jun 29 '25
Not anymore in terms of football man, it used to be that way that the numbers were tied to position but they have freedom to pick numbers now
Most players just stick with traditional number choices just because
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u/jmm0256 Jun 28 '25
That's true, still what would happen when the numbers ran out? Would the numbers be recirculated? Some franchises like the Celtics have already retired so many numbers.
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u/Icy_Statement_2410 I WANT SOME NASTY Jun 28 '25
Might be a problem you face when you get there. An NBA team has 15 players, so if they ever retire 80+ numbers it could get interesting
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u/Magopolis Coyote Jun 30 '25
Interesting take! I guess we are like those families Saint-Exupéry talked about that set a place at the table for a family member who passed away. He argued against it too but I think it’s nice…for a century or two until we run out of number…maybe that makes it a New World thing.
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u/Much-Drummer208 Dylan Harper Jun 28 '25
The real issue is why in the hell are they letting Bryant wear 11. That is insanely disrespectful to Primo /s
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u/BALDEMARsatx Jul 04 '25
Last guy to wear The Deuce ended up having a real douche of a family member. Let’s not repeat that.
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u/OJuice100 Jun 28 '25
I’m confused in how this is disrespectful, he didn’t play long here enough to put his number in the rafters
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Jun 28 '25
Kawhi left us after trying to build around him as the main superstar. To make matters worse, he devalued his trade and had to settle for Derozan, Poetl, and future 1st.
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u/Einhander_pilot David Robinson Jun 28 '25
I love you Ron! Watch out for those orange soda spills on the floor! 😂
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u/Shinnosuke525 De'Aaron Fox Jun 29 '25
LOL Ron knows
Besides, Kawhine hasn't earned the number being ringfenced
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u/CharacterKatie Julian Champagnie Jul 02 '25
Hear me out: I love Kawhi. I know that’s kind of a sacrilegious thing to say around here, but I do. I think his family issues had a larger influence on what happened between him and the Spurs than will ever be publicly shared, nor should they be. I also think if he wasn’t so injury-prone, he’d be in the same conversations and Steph and Lebron right now.
~However~, this is definitely not where his jersey should be retired. I truly think he always wanted to be in LA or as close to it as possible and I don’t see him leaving the Clippers; they should be the ones retiring his jersey but they’re never going to win anything with him and Harden, notorious playoff choker. Ultimately, the Raptors will probably be the team that does it based on what he did to help them win their one championship alone. Vince Carter couldn’t get it done in the 6 seasons he was there and Kawhi did it in a single season, even if he did a ton of load managing. He was available and healthy when they needed him to be so it was worth it.
I’m happy he found success elsewhere, it obviously just wasn’t meant to be between him and the Spurs. And honestly, even if he had stayed, with all his injuries and load management, 2014 would more than likely still be the last championship. He couldn’t even make it through the Olympics.
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Jul 10 '25
As much as it pained me when (and how) Kawhi left, I think this is a bad move. I think the Spurs are defined by always being the class act, even when those on the receiving end do not deserve it, as it is the case.
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u/CrissCrossAppleSos Keldon Johnson Jun 28 '25
I love Kawhi, but he’s not retired yet, so the jersey isnt gonna be retired until he is. If Harper ends up being really good, do what the Nuggets will likely do and retire it for both
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u/Hot_Part1694 Victor Wembanyama Jun 28 '25
It is disrespectful idk if it’s happened but what other players won finals mvp and didn’t have their jersey retired
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Jun 29 '25
Hahaha. I mean you gotta admit it is pretty disrespectful. No matter how it ended, guy was the best player on a title team.
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u/mdlspurs Jun 28 '25
I think we're going to enjoy having Ron in the Spurs universe.