Spurs add former 2-time All-Star to Mitch Johnson's staff
In rounding out their basketball staff, the San Antonio Spurs announced the addition of a former two-time NBA All-Star who was on the other side of the franchise's toughest ever defeat. A guest coach for their Summer League team, Rashard Lewis, joins the Spurs player development staff.
Lewis previously served as an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons during the 2022-23 season. The Pineville, Louisiana native bypassed college on his way to the NBA, where he appeared in 1,049 games, starting 842, with the Seattle SuperSonics, Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards, and Miami Heat. Lewis averaged 14.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.1 steals over the course of his 16-year NBA career, earning All-Star nods in 2005 and 2009.
Through his playing days, Lewis came across the Spurs in a number of their high-profile playoff series.
Rashard Lewis joins the Spurs following history against them
Largely because the NBA altered playoff formats five seasons into Tim Duncan's two-decade-long career, only once during the 'Big Fundamental's' legendary run did the Spurs take part in a winner-take-all Game 5 in the first round of the playoffs. Lewis played a pivotal role for the Seattle SuperSonics team they faced in 2002. Though he wasn't one hundred percent for the series, Lewis helped the Sonics win Game 2 before Duncan missed Game 4 as he was mourning his father. San Antonio handily won the decisive Game 5 at home.
Lewis and the Spurs met again on the way to the Silver and Black's 2005 championship. Like in 2002, Lewis didn't play in every game, missing the last three of a second-round series Duncan and company won in six games on a buzzer-beating lay-in by Manu Ginobili off a pass from the 'Big Fundamental.'
Though he helped the Orlando Magic to the Finals in 2009, Lewis wouldn't meet the Spurs again in the playoffs until 2013. A veteran addition to a Miami Heat core led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, both of Lewis' seasons in South Florida ended with battles against Gregg Popovich's teams in the NBA Finals. Though he played sparingly, Lewis won the first NBA championship of his career in 2013 thanks, in huge part, to Ray Allen's game-tying 3-pointer late in a Game 6 the Spurs led by five points with under 30 seconds remaining on the clock. Tony Parker and company would have clinched their fifth title with a victory that night. San Antonio avenged the heartbreaking loss the next year.
While this marks Lewis' first go-round with the Spurs, it's far from his only tie to the Lone Star State. He finished high school in Houston, where he was named 1998 Texas Mr. Basketball and was a McDonald's All-American before being selected 32nd overall by Seattle in the 1998 NBA Draft directly out of high school.
Rashard Lewis is part of the new-look Spurs staff
Lewis joins Sean Sweeney, Corliss Williamson, Scott King, Tim Martin, Jimmy Baron, Josh Brannon, Andrew Weatherman, and Madison Clower as coaches the organization has either hired or promoted this off-season. They'll assist Mitch Johnson, who'll begin his first full season as an NBA head coach following Hall of Famer Popovich's retirement as the result of a stroke.
Johnson took over five games into last year as the Spurs went 34-28 after having gone 22-60 in 2023-2024.
Related: Spurs CEO breaks silence amid new arena negotiations
Related: Key piece of 2014 Spurs title team officially retires from basketball
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