Spurs Villain Tournament, Sweet 16: Killers and “Dirty” Players

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Spurs Villain Tournament, Sweet 16: Killers and “Dirty” Players

HOUSTON - MAY 28: Hakeen Olajuwon #34 of the Houston Rockets and David Robinson #50 of the San Antonio Spurs battle for position in Game Four of the Western Conference Finals during the 1995 NBA Playoffs at The Summit on May 28, 1995 in Houston. The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Houston Rockets 103-81. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1995 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

Marilyn Dubinski

Fri, September 4, 2026 at 4:45 PM UTC ·

6 min read

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We've gotten through the first round of our quest to determine who the biggest Spurs Villain of all time is, and today, we move on to round two, beginning with the "on-court" side of the bracket (yes, there is a method to the madness). This includes Spurs Killers (players who dominated playoff series and/or made devastating shots or plays that will haunt our minds for all eternity) and Dirty Players (players who committed dirty plays against the Spurs, injured or attempted to injure a Spur, and we will never forgive them).

First, let's take a quick look back at the results from Round 1, where both brackets saw upsets in the 4 vs. 5 seeds, but otherwise the favorites won by heavy margins:

It's not too surprising to see the 2026 Knicks killers pass up Serge Ibaka in Spurs Killers considering it was the Finals (as opposed to the Conference Finals) and more recent by 12-14 years. On the Dirty Players side, Kevin Garnett's notoriety, over-the-top trash talk — which allegedly included mocking Tim Duncan's deceased mother — and physical, bordering on dirty style of play just barely beat out an admittedly singular but consequential dirty play by Juwan Howard.

So those are the two upsets, and now we move on to the next round to see who will advance to the Elite 8. (And we apologize for having polls in two places, both here and in The Feed. We know it's confusing, but embedding Feed polls is the only way to have polls in the main articles for now. They are still the exact same poll, so you can only vote once regardless of where.)

Round 2: Spurs Killers

1. Derek Fisher vs. 5. Jalen Brunson & OG Anunoby

This is another case where recency bias and/or playoff round may or may not play a role, but if you weren't around to experience the 2000's Spurs, you have no idea the damage Fisher did to all our psyche back in the day. It was the peak of the Spurs/Lakers rivalry in an era of dynasties, and even though both Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant eventually won 5 championships, Lakers fans never let us forget that they repeated and we didn't, which according to them meant the Spurs "weren't a real dynasty".

And Fisher — a mere role player who could barely be considered average — almost single handedly caused two of those failed repeats. His 0.4 shot and Brent Barry no-call foul were both extremely lucky and came when the Spurs were trying to defend championships, not win a first one with a very green, inexperienced roster, which was the case this year. The way the Knicks humiliated the Spurs was certainly painful, but honestly the Spurs shot themselves in the foot more than anything. At least that's how I feel, but you may feel entirely different, and that's okay! Vote with your heart.

2. Ray Allen vs. 3. Hakeem Olajuwon

I admitted in round 1 that The Shot remains the play that haunts my mind the most (I even remember the nightmares I had that night), while I admittedly was only 9 years old in 1995 and didn't watch The Dream destroy The Admiral. To not let recency bias get in my own way here, let's consider the consequences. While Ray Allen's shot will never stop gracing our social media timelines or NBA commercials, at least it led to The Redemption in 2014: arguably one of the most impressive and satisfying championships in both Spurs and NBA history.

On the other hand, you can legitimately assert that Olajuwon's destruction of David Robinson in the 1995 Playoffs damaged the latter's legacy, knocking Robinson down a peg in all-time rankings for having never won a championship as the best player on his team. But, on the other-other hand, one was in the Finals and took away a championship, the other was the Conference Finals. It all comes down to the voter to decide.

Round 2: "Dirty" Players

1. Zaza Pachulia vs. 5. Kevin Garnett

Now we move on to dirty players, and this one is a case of physical vs. mental. Pachulia committed one of the two most infamous dirty plays against the Spurs in modern history when he slid under Kawhi Leonard on a closeout in 2017, ending his season (and, indirectly, his time on the Spurs' good side) and any hopes they had in the Conference Finals against the Warriors. He even forced the NBA to make a new rule that recklessly or intentionally interfering with a player's landing zone on a three-point attempt is subject to video review and could be upgraded to a flagrant 1 or 2 foul.

As for Garnett, his playbook was more about getting under players' skin with over-the-top trash talk and shenanigans, sometimes crossing red lines like he did with Tim Duncan's mother, but he admittedly doesn't have a record of physically trying to hurt anyone (at least on the Spurs). Although, you might call stuff like yelling directly into and even touching someone's face being too "up close and personal" for comfort. (I bet Timmy had to get a towel after that.)

2. Karl Malone vs. 3. Eduardo Najera

And here is the player who committed the other of the two most infamous dirty plays against the Spurs in modern history, when Malone elbowed Robinson directly in the temple, knocking him out cold and sending him to the hospital. (Somehow, Robinson was called for the foul and Malone wasn't, I guess there was no video review back in 1998.) I remember watching that play live as a kid, and it traumatized me a bit. But that wasn't all! He also whacked Duncan in the face a few weeks later and kicked him in the head another time. Possibly the dirtiest player in NBA history had no trouble living up to his reputation against the Spurs.

His opponent, Eduardo Najera, also has a history of multiple incidents against the Spurs. While his first incident in Game 1 of the 2003 WCF wasn't necessarily a dirty play — Malik Rose hit his head on his knee, leaving him spazzing on the floor for a moment and resulting in a concussion scare — Rose grew more frustrated with Najera's too-physical play throughout the series and got visibly frustrated with him in Game 6. And more infamously, there was the 2010 playoffs, when Najera got ejected for dangerously pulling Manu Ginobili, who already had a broken nose, down to the ground and received a flagrant 1 for poking Tony Parker in eyes , resulting in the glare of death from Pop.

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