Ranking 7 Worst Spurs starters of the Big 3 era

4. Rasho Nesterovic

David Robinson retired after winning his second championship in 2003, and the Spurs were eager to sign a replacement. Nesterovic just had a breakout season for the Timberwolves playing next to Kevin Garnett where he averaged 11.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 30.4 minutes per game. The 27-year-old should have been in the middle of his prime, and the Spurs rewarded him with a six-year deal worth $42 million.

He was a starter for the majority of his three years in San Antonio, but Nesterovic’s production immediately declined, and it kept going down. In 2004, he averaged 8.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in 28.7 minutes per game. Nesterovic started every game the Spurs played that season, but his minutes slipped from there, including taking a massive tumble in the playoffs after that first year.

San Antonio won the championship in 2005, but Nesterovic played just 7.6 minutes per game in the postseason. He missed the final two games of the Seattle and Phoenix series before not getting off the bench for the last three games of the NBA Finals. When things mattered most, Rasho Nesterovic barely got on the floor.

It was a regrettable signing by the San Antonio Spurs, but they were able to trade him to the Raptors in 2006 for Matt Bonner, Eric Williams, and one second-round draft pick. The Spurs won the title the following year as Toronto was bounced in the first round of the playoffs.