<P> The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas . The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division . The team plays its home games at the AT&T Center in San Antonio . </P> <P> The Spurs are one of four former American Basketball Association (ABA) teams to remain intact in the NBA after the 1976 ABA--NBA merger and the only former ABA team to have won an NBA championship . The Spurs' five NBA championships are the fourth most in history (tied with the Golden State Warriors) behind only the Boston Celtics (17), Los Angeles Lakers (16), and Chicago Bulls (6). The Spurs currently rank first among active franchises for the highest winning percentage in NBA history, and have a winning head - to - head regular season record against every active NBA franchise . </P> <P> In their 40 NBA seasons since 1976--77, the Spurs have won 22 division titles . They have made the playoffs in 27 of the last 28 seasons (since 1989--90) and have only missed the playoffs four times since entering the NBA; they have not missed the playoffs in the 20 seasons since Tim Duncan was drafted by the Spurs in 1997 . With their 50th win in the 2016--17 season, the Spurs extended their record for most consecutive 50 - win seasons to 18 (the Spurs did not win 50 games in the strike - shortened 1998--99 season, which lasted only 50 games). Since the 1997--98 season, the Spurs have had 20 consecutive seasons with a winning percentage of . 610 or greater during the regular season, which is also an NBA record . The team's success during this period coincides with the tenure of current head coach Gregg Popovich, who had been the team's general manager before replacing Bob Hill as coach in 1996 . </P> <P> The Spurs are the city's only team in any of the four major U.S. professional sports leagues and the only major - league team in the city's history to have lasted more than five years . Spurs players are active members of the San Antonio community, and many former Spurs are still active in San Antonio including David Robinson with the Carver Academy and George Gervin with the George Gervin Youth Center . </P>

How many times have the spurs made the playoffs