After spending 12 years in the NBA, 11 of which on the San Antonio Spurs, Sean Elliott has been hesitant to officially retire. He wanted to keep all of his options open, including the option of returning to the court. However with his current career taking off, Elliott has decided to end all of the doubts.
"I thought maybe that one year that I did the Spurs' broadcasting that I might come back," recounted Elliott. "I finished that season and I was a little banged up. If I took a year off maybe I could come back, but things have kind of progressed for me in television. RC asked me when I was going to retire and I told him to make it retroactive. I did retire, I just haven't announced anything."
Elliott will always be heralded as one of the franchise's greats. He'll be remembered not only for his outstanding play on the court but also for his heroic comeback from a kidney transplant. To help all of San Antonio remember, the Spurs will retire Elliott's jersey in a ceremony next season.
"It's an honor and it'd make me extremely proud," Elliott said, grinning widely. "It really would. What more could you accomplish in this franchise?"
As it turns out, Elliott almost tried to accomplish more this past season. With the extent of Devin Brown's rib injury unknown late in the season, the Spurs contacted Elliott to see if he had any more in the tank.
"The reason they called me is they had looked at a lot of guys and threw out a bunch of names," said Elliott. "Pop told me that his thinking was if I was healthy enough and I was in good shape, why not? Because I know the system and what they are trying to accomplish defensively and offensively. Whereas if you bring in a new guy you have to show him the ropes and hope he's able to fit in with all the pieces you already have."
Although Elliott has kept himself in excellent shape, his body wasn't ready for the rigors of professional basketball. With the quick recovery of Brown's ribs, the Spurs ended up not needing reinforcement. But if called upon, Elliott would have seriously considered the opportunity.
"I had interest more out of loyalty to the Spurs. If they called me to help them I wanted to do anything that I could to help them. But the reality is I needed a solid six months to be in that kind of shape."
As the Spurs would later find out, maybe they could have used a certain small forward out of Arizona. Up two games to none against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Spurs derailed and were defeated in their next four outings. Although not in uniform, Elliott lived the highs-and-lows with his former team.
"When Tim hit that shot our house erupted," said Elliott. "We went absolutely crazy. The kids were throwing high fives and we're hugging each other. Then two or three minutes later we were dejected. It was just silence, you could hear the crickets chirping. It affected us for a couple days. I was driving the kids to school the next morning and they were quiet.
"It's been bitter. I know that those guys are upset about it and I know it's going to haunt them for awhile. I would have loved to see them knock off the Lakers and really solidify several things. Tim's place as one of the greatest players of all-time would have been solidified beating four Hall of Famers. I think Pop's place as being one of the better coaches in this league."
While league pundits and so-called experts persist in suggesting that the Spurs need a second superstar to team with Tim Duncan, Elliott sees a different picture.
"You look years ago when the Houston Rockets won their first championship, they had one guy -- Hakeem Olajuwon," commented Elliott, who was a part of the 1995 squad that fell to the Rockets in the Western Conference Finals. "All the rest of the guys, yeah they were good players and maybe a few of them made the All-Star team here or there but I wouldn't say they were superstars.
"You look at last year's team. Tim was the only All-Star on that team. David was on his last legs. You didn't really have two superstars. David wasn't a superstar last year, he was more of a role player. I really believe they were the team to beat this year, and that shot shouldn't have counted and it probably should have gone to game seven. So I really believe that this team can continue to win championships with just Tim."
In 1999, Elliott saw firsthand how a team with a sole superstar could win it all. With Duncan taking the role of a superstar, Elliott and his teammates played complementary roles all the way to a championship.
"I don't think they need Tracy McGrady. There's something to be said for guys who like having the basketball a lot and like to shoot the ball a lot. Is that going to be the thing that gets you over the hump? I don't know. I like the way this team progressed this year. There was a bunch of new people. I thought the coaching staff did an outstanding job.
"Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, those guys are going to mature a little bit more. They're going to be better players next year and the year after that. And Tim's going to continue to get better. So I don't know if there are a lot of moves that need to be made, especially bringing in another guy who you may have to change your offense around and change your style."
Though not known whether the Spurs will attempt to lure a superstar to San Antonio, it is known that they'll have at least one new teammate next season. Hanging high in the SBC Center next to Gervin 44, Silas 13, Moore 00 and Robinson 50 will be Elliott's number 32.
