The Spurs entered the Draft with their two original picks. They used the 20th overall pick to select James Anderson, junior guard from Oklahoma State. Anderson had been named the Big 12 Player of the Year and a Second Team All-American by the Associated Press, averaging 22.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals in 33 games. With the 49th pick the Spurs chose Ryan Richards, a 6-11 forward from England. The Spurs went on to sign Anderson on July 23.
Entering the offseason, four Spurs players were unrestricted free agents: Keith Bogans, Matt Bonner, Ian Mahinmi and Roger Mason. Additionally, Richard Jefferson exercised the early termination option on the final year of his contract and he too became an unrestricted free agent. Jefferson, however, re-signed with the Spurs to a less remunerative but longer deal shortly after. The Spurs also re-signed Bonner, which was considered a top priority by general manager R.C. Buford, while Bogans, Mahinmi and Mason signed with the Chicago Bulls, the Dallas Mavericks and the New York Knicks respectively. Following his performances as a member of their Summer League squad in July, when he led the team in scoring, the Spurs signed free agentGary Neal. The 6-6 guard had gone undrafted in the 2007 NBA draft and spent the next three season playing in Europe.
Pre-season
The Spurs announced their training camp roster on September 27, one day before the start of the training camp itself. The 18-man roster included the additions of Marcus Cousin, Thomas Gardner, Bobby Simmons and the Spurs 2008 draft pick James Gist. The Spurs also announced an addition to their coaching staff, as former Spurs player Jacque Vaughn was named an assistant coach. Kirk Penney joined the training camp on September 28, while Gardner was waived two days later, leaving the roster size unaffected.
Regular season
Playoffs
After finishing the season as the #1 seed in the West, the San Antonio Spurs faced the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs. Little did everyone know how dangerous Memphis was in the postseason. The Spurs were forced to play game 1 without Manu Ginobili, as he sat out with a sprained elbow. As a result, Memphis won game 1, stealing home court advantage from the Spurs. The Spurs then rebounded in game 2 with a win. However, things deteriorated as the series shifted to Memphis for the Spurs, as the Grizzlies took both games 3 and 4, putting San Antonio on the brink of getting knocked out in the first round. Game 5 shifted back to San Antonio. A memorable moment for this game was when Gary Neal hit a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to end the game, forcing overtime, in which San Antonio got a needed win for game 5. However, game 6 went back to Memphis, and the Spurs faced their demise by being knocked in the first round in six games. This is the second time in NBA history that a #8 seed knocks off a #1 seed in a seven-game format.
