The 1973-74 Spurs were controlled and deliberate on offense, and extremely stingy on defense. This became apparent early in the season on October 20th, when the Spurs beat the Indiana Pacers 92-66. The 66-point output by Indiana was an ABA record low. Two weeks later, on November 3rd, the Spurs limited the Denver Rockets to 72 points. Over the course of that first season, the Spurs held their opponents below the 100-point level 49 times -- another ABA record.
During that first season, several off-court events changed the course of Spurs' history.
First, on November 21, 1973, the Spurs acquired rookie center Swen Nater from the cash-starved Virginia Squires. Earl Foreman, the Squires' owner, accepted $300,000 and a future draft pick for Nater. Nater fit right into the Spurs' lineup and provided a huge lift under the boards. He made the West All-Star team that year, scoring 29 points and grabbing 22 rebounds in the 1974 ABA All-Star Game (played, ironically, in Norfolk Virginia). He was also the consensus winner of the ABA Rookie of the Year award.
Second, ABA Commissioner Storen upheld the Spurs' protest of a home loss to Indiana on November 14. This ruling grabbed the attention of all the basketball fans in San Antonio. On December 2, 1973, Spurs fans went wild over a special basketball "doubleheader" at the HemisFair Arena. The December 1973 ABA Fan Club Newsletter described it this way:
The third significant event that season was San Antonio's acquisition of its all-time best player, George "Ice" Gervin, from the Squires. In January, Earl Foreman was once again in need of cash to run his Virginia franchise. Having already purchased Nater from Foreman in November, Spurs Treasurer Angelo Drossos was interested in acquiring another star player. Drossos offered to loan $225,000 to Foreman, with Gervin as the collateral. If Foreman failed to pay off the $225,000 by February, Gervin would belong to San Antonio. Naturally, Foreman failed to repay the $225,000, and Gervin's contract became the property of the Spurs.