San Antonio Spurs: Biggest Spurs Villain of All Time champion revealed
By Josh Paredes
Last week, I organized a 16-candidate tournament and seeded them into a bracket-style tournament to determine the ultimate San Antonio Spurs villain. Our readers decided each round of the tournament on our Twitter page with 24-hour polls. To read about all the candidates and follow the rounds and results from the beginning, click here.
The seeds were arranged by two conferences, a black and a silver conference, with the order breaking down as follows:
Black Conference Seeds
1. Zaza Pachulia
2. Uncle Dennis
3. Shaquille O’Neal
4. Phil Jackson
5. Joey Crawford
6. Mark Cuban
7. Richard Jefferson
8. Draymond Green
Silver Conference Seeds
1. Kawhi Leonard
2. Karl Malone
3. Kevin Garnett
4. Ray Allen
5. Derek Fisher
6. Charles Barkley
7. Jason Terry
8. Stephen Jackson
When all the dust settled, only two remained to form a much-anticipated final. In a family affair, Kawhi Leonard took on his uncle Dennis Robertson to decide once and for all who Spurs fans hold the biggest grudge against.
The San Antonio Spurs haven’t been the same since the departure of Kawhi Leonard, which isn’t shocking considering his level of stardom. While the organization has been relatively drama-free over the last 20-plus years, their ugly separation with Leonard forced many to choose a side when it comes to which camp botched the situation.
There’s no doubt that both sides could have done things better, but the history and culture of the Spurs lead me to give them the benefit of the doubt against a single player and his uncle/agent. That being said, there can only be one winner of the tournament. Without further delay, here’s how the final turned out:
Uncle Dennis (58.2%) defeats Kawhi Leonard (41.8%)
The results are in, and Dennis Robertson came away with the victory. The details of the entire Kawhi fiasco were always murky and ever-changing. Still, there’s little doubt that Leonard’s uncle played a significant role in forcing his nephew out of San Antonio.
Ultimately, the fact that Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs to vanquish LeBron James and the Miami Heat in 2014 has to hold some stock among the fanbase, as well as his overall time with the Silver and Black.
They say time heals all wounds, but the fact that Kawhi still made the finals shows that more time might be needed before he’s completely forgiven in San Antonio. For now, he finishes as the runner-up to the biggest Spurs villain of all-time, Dennis Robertson.