1999 Spurs: Where are they now?

Sometimes it seems like yesterday, other times it’s a lifetime ago, but it has officially been nine years since the Spurs won their last championship, so I thought now would be as good a time as any to take a look back at the rosters of all five championship teams to see where those players are now and what they have been up to.

Any players who appeared on more than one championship roster will be referred back their first article to avoid repetition. (For example, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Steve Kerr, and Malik Rose will all be referred back here in the 2003 article, etc.) Without further ado, we’re starting things off with the Spurs’ 1999 championship team.

Antonio Daniels (#33) — Despite having not played in San Antonio since 2002, Daniels has long been a fan favorite and still spends plenty of time in the Spurs community. After journeying around the league before retiring in 2011, he was a sports analyst for Fox Sports Oklahoma covering the Thunder beginning in 2015, then in 2019 he switched over to Fox Sports New Orleans to cover the Pelicans alongside former Spurs broadcaster Joel Myers, where he remains today.

Tim Duncan (#21) — Gee, I don’t know. He must have fallen off the face of the Earth — okay just kidding. Not only is Timmy the best player in franchise history and the only one to be a part of all five of their championship teams, but he continues to quietly remain a part of the organization even in retirement, showing up at most practices to mentor the young players and even adding assistant coach to his resume for the 2019-20 season. He also owns his own custom vehicle business in San Antonio, Black Jack Speed Shop.

Mario Elie (#17) — Joining the Spurs after winning two championships in Houston, Elie played a huge role in bringing his hardnosed mentality to San Antonio before retiring in 2001. Since then, he has held six different assistant coaching positions in the NBA, beginning with the Spurs in 2003-04 and ending with the Orlando Magic in 2015-16, which is his last listed place of employment (and a couple of years ago, Jeph Duarte had a hilarious theory for why his coaching career ended there).

Sean Elliott (#32) — Not much needs to be said here. Perhaps no former player has remained a part of the Spurs organization as much as Elliott. After a few years as an analyst for NBC, ABC Sports and ESPN following his retirement, he joined the Spurs’ broadcast team in 2005, where he has remained ever since. He’s also an advocate for kidney disease awareness and is often the host for any major Spurs event, such as jersey retirement ceremonies, championship parades, and other special occasions (like Victor Wembanyama and Sidy Cissoko’s welcome event on the River Walk).

Andrew Gaze (#10) — The Spurs had an Australian long before the Foreign Legion came around. Gaze jumped between Australia and the Euros most of his career, with his two NBA stints being with the Washington Bullets in 1994 and Spurs in 1999. He then returned to Australia, where he played for the remainder of his career, and has since had a lucrative coaching career there, currently leading the Melbourne Tigers in the NBL.

Jaren Jackson (#2) — Since retiring in 2001, JJ Sr. has held many jobs coaching at the collegiate and G League levels and just returned to San Antonio as an assistant coach at the University of the Incarnate Word this year. In one of the best moments last season as the Spurs honored former players at every home game, they made sure their night of honoring Jackson came when they were playing the Memphis Grizzles and his son, Jaren Jackson Jr, who ran out onto the court to hug his dad during the tribute and waived his #2 Spurs jersey after the game.

Avery Johnson (#6) — Although he has made the rounds as a head coach since retiring, including for the rival Dallas Mavericks, Brooklyn Nets, and University of Alabama, the Little General will always be a Spur at heart. He has also served a couple of stints in the media, previously for ESPN and currently for CBS as an NBA and college basketball analyst. The Spur in him came out recently when he shut down a panelist who claimed it was “boring” for the league for Wemby to land in San Antonio. Once a Spur, always a Spur.

Steve Kerr (#4) — Perhaps living the highest profile life since retirement of all Spurs on this list, Kerr has done it all. He started his post-retirement career as an analyst for TNT before joining the Phoenix Suns’ front office first as a consultant in 2004 and later as General Manager and President of Basketball Operations in 2007. He then left that job to become the head coach of the Golden State Warriors in 2014, and I think we all know how that has gone for him (hint: he’s still there).

Jerome Kersey (#25) — Unfortunately, Kersey is a Spur who is no longer with us, as he passed away suddenly in 2015 at the age of 52, just days after knee surgery. Related or not, it was determined that a blood clot had traveled to his lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism. Prior to his untimely death, he had served as an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers under Terry Porter in 2005 and remained part of the organization up until his death. R.I.P.

Gerard King (#54) — It’s pretty impossible to find much information on King. An undrafted rookie in 1999, King played two more seasons for the Washington Wizards, and that was the extent of his NBA career. For whatever reason, researching him mainly unearths stuff about Spanish football player Gerard Piqué, so if anyone knows anything about King’s post-playing career, feel free to let me know in the comments, and I’ll update it here and give you credit.

Will Perdue (#41) — Acquired for Dennis Rodman, Perdue joins Kerr as another player who got his fourth ring with the Spurs after winning three with Michael Jordan’s Bulls. He is currently an in-studio analyst for NBC Sports Chicago, where he provides pre- and postgame analysis for Bulls games. (In other words, he’s like their Matt Bonner.)

David Robinson (#50) — Despite doing nothing else in the basketball field since retiring, the Admiral’s post-playing resume is extensive. While he remains a large part of the Spurs organization both socially and as a minority owner, almost the entirety of his time has been spent on his charitable efforts, from the Carver Academy to the formation of the Admiral Capitol Group (which helps fund the academy): a private equity firm “whose mission is to invest in opportunities that can provide both financial and social returns”. ACG also partnered with Living Cities to form the Admiral Center, a non-profit created to support other athletes with philanthropic initiatives. Is there a better human being on the planet?

Malik Rose (#31) — One of the few “young” players on this roster along with Duncan, Rose remained with the Spurs until 2005 (if Spurs fans ever hated Pop, it was when he traded Rose) and remains a fan favorite to this day. His post-playing resume is extensive, beginning with broadcasting jobs with the Knicks, Austin Torros and Philadelphia 76ers. He then served as manager of basketball operations for the Atlanta Hawks, general manager of their G League affiliate (the Erie Bayhawks), and assistant general manager for the Detroit Pistons. If that wasn’t enough, he became the vice president of basketball operations for the NBA in 2020 and Head of Basketball Operations for the G League in 2022. Busy enough?

Brandon Williams (#11) — This is the one player from the picture above I couldn’t have named even with hints. 1999 was one of just three seasons Williams spent in the NBA, while most of his playing career was spent in the CBA, but he has gone on to have a lucrative career off the court. He got his law degree from Rutgers in 2012 and has served as general manager of the Delaware 87ers (the 76ers’ G League affiliate), chief of staff for the 76ers, and assistant general manager for the Sacramento Kings.

Well, that took longer than I thought! Fortunately the other editions will be a bit shorter due to more player overlap, but it’s still fun to learn where everyone is today. Be sure to check back soon for the 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014 editions!