San Antonio Spurs Retiring Bruce Bowen’s Jersey

Bruce Bowen, the man that only a San Antonio Spurs fan could ever love, is getting his jersey raised to the rafters. Per the team website: “The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they will retire Bruce Bowen’s No. 12 jersey on Wednesday, March 21 when the Spurs host the Minnesota Timberwolves. Bowen’s No. 12 jersey will join James Silas’ No. 13, George Gervin’s No. 44, Johnny Moore’s No. 00, David Robinson’s No. 50, Sean Elliott’s No. 32 and Avery Johnson’s No. 6 in the rafters in the AT&T Center. ‘Bruce Bowen was the premier perimeter defender in the NBA for close to a decade,’ said Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich. ‘His success is proof that hard work and determination do, in fact, pay off. Statistics are meaningless when talking about his importance to this franchise. The simple fact is the Spurs don’t win NBA Championships in 2003, 2005 and 2007 without Bruce Bowen.’ Bowen joined the Spurs on July 31, 2001. He spent nine seasons (2001-09) in San Antonio and appeared in 630 games, one of just eight players to appear in 600-plus games with the Spurs. Bowen started in every game he played in for the Silver and Black, averaging 6.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 31.2 minutes. The 6-7 guard out of Cal State Fullerton earned a spot on the NBA’s All-Defensive Team in eight of his nine seasons with the Spurs (was a second team selection in 2001, 2002 and 2003 before earning first team honors in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008). Bowen is one of five swingmen in NBA history to earn All-Defensive Team honors in eight-or-more straight seasons joining Scottie Pippen (10 straight from 1991-00), Bobby Jones (nine straight from 1977-85), John Havlicek (eight straight from 1969-76) and Michael Cooper (eight straight from 1981-88) […] Bowen ranks second on the Spurs all-time leaders list in three-pointers made (661) and attempted (1,632). He shot 40.5 percent from downtown during his nine seasons with the Silver and Black which ranks seventh all-time.”