San Antonio Spurs Clinch NBA Record 20th-Straight Winning Season

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The San Antonio Spurs earned their 42nd victory of the season in Monday's 110-106 affair against the Indiana Pacers. The win guaranteed the club would finish over .500 for a 20th consecutive season, breaking a tie with the Utah Jazz for the most consecutive winning seasons in NBA history, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Coincidentally, the last time the Spurs finished with a record of .500 or worse came in the 1996-97 campaign, the year that coach Gregg Popovich took the head position in the middle of the season. The franchise has appeared in the playoffs in each of Popovich's 19 full seasons as head coach and has won four NBA championships over that span.

Thanks in part to a core group of players—most notably Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili—and to a legendary coach instructing the team, the franchise hasn't had a down season. The most valuable player has shifted in recent seasons to 2011 first-round selection Kawhi Leonard, but the team hasn't taken a noticeable step back following Duncan's retirement after last season.

The Spurs own the second-best record in the NBA so far this season, trailing just the Golden State Warriors (46-9) in the Western Conference standings. Monday's victory moved the club another 0.5 games ahead of the Houston Rockets for the second spot. It also drew them within another game of the Warriors following their loss to the Denver Nuggets.

San Antonio has one more game remaining prior to the All-Star break but is well on its way to another successful campaign and postseason appearance in 2016-17.

Videos you might like