By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-02-07 13:39:24
安杰洛·德罗索斯 (Angelo Drossos，最右)，20世纪70年代和80年代马刺队的大股东兼总裁，与妻子莉莉 (Lillie，左起)、儿子约翰 (John) 和女儿黛比 (Debbie)。1973年马刺队的首场ABA常规赛中，约翰·德罗索斯担任球童；上周四在达拉斯，他现场见证了球队的第4000场NBA比赛。
约翰·德罗索斯 (John Drossos) 在上周经历了一场跨越时空、首尾呼应的难忘体验。
1973年10月10日，当马刺队作为ABA成员在圣安东尼奥进行首场常规赛时，10岁的德罗索斯是场边的一名球童。而上周四晚上，当马刺在达拉斯进行队史第4000场NBA常规赛时，他再次出现在现场——这一次，他是一位63岁的球迷，坐在客队替补席后方的座位上。
“当（马刺首席执行官）R.C.布福德 (R.C. Buford) 给我发短信说这是第4000场比赛时，我想起了很多人，”德罗索斯说道。
名单上的首位便是他的父亲，前马刺队大股东兼球队总裁安杰洛·德罗索斯 (Angelo Drossos)。
“包括我父亲在内，没人能在最疯狂的梦里预想到，在马刺1973年于圣安东尼奥起步后，会发生接下来的这一切，”德罗索斯感慨道。
安杰洛是一位来自圣安东尼奥的股票经纪人和精明的谈判者，他与汽车大亨B.J.“红”麦克康姆斯 (B.J. “Red” McCombs) 领导的当地财团在1973年将达拉斯丛林狼队 (Dallas Chaparrals) 迁至圣安东尼奥。球队更名为“马刺队”，在半球体育馆 (HemisFair Arena) 进行了首场常规赛，当时仅有5879名观众到场，而该场馆可容纳10070人。
从那个不起眼的起点开始，马刺队已成长为全球顶尖的职业体育特许经营球队之一，曾五次夺得NBA总冠军。如今，他们正以法国天才维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 为核心，憧憬着更多的冠军奖杯。
安杰洛没能亲眼目睹任何一座总冠军奖杯。他于1997年去世，享年68岁，距离马刺夺得首冠还有两年半的时间。在那之前近十年，他将手中37%的球队股份以4700万美元的价格卖给了麦克康姆斯。
除了将马刺带到圣安东尼奥，安杰洛的成就还包括与麦克康姆斯共同促成了引进未来名人堂成员乔治·格文 (George Gervin) 的交易，推动ABA与NBA合并，并说服NBA采纳三分线、球员激励条款和工资帽制度。他在1978年被评为NBA年度最佳高管，并在1987年主导签下了大卫·罗宾逊 (David Robinson)，合同为期八年、总价2600万美元，创下当时的历史纪录，这笔交易也让马刺队得以留在圣安东尼奥。
1987年11月11日，大卫·罗宾逊在圣安东尼奥市长亨利·西斯内罗斯 (Henry Cisneros，左) 和马刺队大股东安杰洛·德罗索斯的欢迎下展示他的新球衣。安杰洛通过与这位海军学院毕业生谈判达成了一份创纪录的合同，将其带到了圣安东尼奥。(AP LASECOLOR STF-David Breslauer) 1987
“我为父亲和他38位合伙人的成就感到非常自豪，”小德罗索斯说，“我父亲可能比任何人都更享受‘创始人’这一身份，但如果没有他的合伙人们，这一切都不会发生。当初那个投资团体的每一个人都挺身而出，他们和我的父亲一样功不可没。而且，值得庆幸的是，这支球队在这一路上拥有了出色的管理者，将1973年那个规模较小、还在‘边学边做’探索职业体育内涵的企业，发展成了今天的规模。”
“无论是后续的股东，还是管理层，每一个接班人都发挥了作用。这是一个了不起的故事。”
德罗索斯当年与父母一起驱车前往半球体育馆观看了第一场比赛。里奇·琼斯 (Rich Jones) 为马刺砍下25分，但威尔特·张伯伦 (Wilt Chamberlain) 执教的圣地亚哥征服者队 (San Diego Conquistadors) 在斯图·约翰逊 (Stew Johnson) 和波·拉马尔 (Bo Lamar) 合计砍下68分的火力下，以121-106获胜。
“我记得当时大家都很兴奋，”德罗索斯说，“那场面非常特别。”
不过，对于德罗索斯来说，开球后的环节已经驾轻就熟，因为在1972-73赛季，休斯敦火箭队曾在圣安东尼奥打了13场常规赛，他当时就担任球童。
“我曾近距离接触过威尔特·张伯伦、杰里·韦斯特 (Jerry West) 和盖尔·古德里奇 (Gail Goodrich) 以及所有的火箭球员，所以我已经有点经验了，”他说。
德罗索斯继续担任球童直至1976-77赛季，那是马刺队在NBA的首个赛季。由于该赛季前三场比赛都是客场，他没能现场观看球队的首场NBA常规赛——1976年10月22日，马刺在费城以121-118获胜。
那时，马刺由大名鼎鼎的“冰人”乔治·格文领衔，他后来获得了四个NBA得分王头衔。
“他是我最喜欢的球员，可能也是我一直以来最喜欢的运动员，而且现在仍是我的密友，”德罗索斯说，“他是一个了不起的人，魅力非凡。我们非常爱他。他永远是我最喜欢的职业运动员，我甚至会说他可能是我最喜欢的艺人。他是一个极好的人。”
1976-77赛季结束后，德罗索斯“晋升”到了另一个岗位：担任马刺广播解说员泰瑞·斯滕布里奇 (Terry Stembridge) 的统计员。
“我认为我人生中的前两份工作——球童和统计员，让我对NBA和职业篮球有了非常独特的视角，”他说。
时间跳转到上周四晚上的美航中心球馆，现任数据中心行业私人投资者的德罗索斯与妻子克里斯汀 (Christine) 以及25岁的儿子安杰洛一起现场观战。
“这太令人激动了，”德罗索斯在观看马刺凭借文班的29分、11个篮板、6次助攻、3次盖帽和2次抢断以135-123击败独行侠后表示，“文班的表现简直不可思议，看他如何成长也是一种享受。”
在过去的4000场比赛中，马刺取得了2374胜1626负的战绩，胜率为59.3%，在这一时期内仅次于洛杉矶湖人队 (2411胜1587负，胜率60.3%)。
德罗索斯担任独行侠队的季票持有者已有34年，但每当马刺队造访达拉斯时，他总是为客队加油。
“这两支球队交手时，没人需要问我支持谁，这是肯定的，”他说，“顺便说一下，我很惊讶下层看台竟然有这么多马刺球迷。有时候你甚至分不清谁才是主场球队，这太棒了。”
与许多球迷一样，德罗索斯急切地想看到马刺能否终结长达六年的季后赛荒并取得一番成就。
“我告诉这里的朋友们，如果马刺能保持健康，我今年绝不会看轻他们，”德罗索斯说，“谁想在季后赛碰上这支球队呢？他们充满运动能力，能防守，当然也能得分。”
德罗索斯本周将前往加利福尼亚州的英格尔伍德，在全明星赛上为文班加油。这将是他连续参加的第50届全明星赛。
“我和父亲一起参加了我的第一届NBA全明星赛，之后每年都去，”他说，“大卫·斯特恩 (David Stern) 和（现任NBA总裁）亚当·萧华 (Adam Silver) 多年来一直与我保持着密切联系，他们对我们的家人非常关照。所以我们每年都去，这已经成为我们生活的重要组成部分。”
“我是多么幸运啊？”他补充道，“当时我并不知道，但我父亲所做的一切，让我获得了一个贯穿终生的前排席位，以这种方式体验NBA。我感到无比幸福。”
John Drossos, right, with his father, Angelo Drossos, in the 1970s when the elder Drossos was owner and president of the Spurs and the John was a team ball boy.
Angelo Drossos, along with B.J. “Red” McCombs, headed the group of investors that brought the Dallas Chaparrals to San Antonio in 1973. Drossos served as majority owner and president until selling the team to McCombs in 1988.
Former Spurs owner Angelo Drossos answers questions at a May 27, 1988 news conference on the buyout of his 37 percent interest that ended his direct involvement with the Spurs, in this file photo. FILE- Angelo Drossos , former owner of San Antonio Spurs , in May 27 , 1988 photo. San Antonio Express-News Files
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：Spurs' 4,000th NBA game as special to John Drossos as first one in ABA
Spurs’ 4,000th NBA game as special to John Drossos as first one in ABA
Angelo Drossos, far right, who was majority owner and president of the Spurs in the 1970s and 1980s, with his wife Lillie, from left, son John and daughter Debbie. John Drossos worked as a ball boy at the Spurs’ first ABA regular season game in 1973 and was present at the team’s 4,000th NBA game Thursday in Dallas.
John Drossos had a memorable bookend experience last week.
When the Spurs played their first regular season game in San Antonio as a member of the ABA on Oct. 10, 1973, Drossos was there as a 10-year-old ball boy. When the Spurs played their 4,000th regular season NBA game Thursday night in Dallas, he was present again — this time as a 63-year-old fan sitting in seats behind the visitor’s bench.
“When (Spurs CEO) R.C. Buford texted me to say it was game number 4,000, I thought of a lot of people,” Drossos said.
First and foremost on that list was his father, former Spurs majority owner and team president Angelo Drossos.
“Nobody in their wildest dreams, including my father, had any idea what would happen after the Spurs started in San Antonio in 1973,” Drossos said.
Angelo Drossos, a San Antonio stockbroker and shrewd negotiator, and auto magnate B.J. “Red” McCombs headed the group of local businessmen that brought the Dallas Chaparrals to San Antonio in 1973. Renamed the Spurs, they played their inaugural regular season game before only 5,879 fans at HemisFair Arena, a venue that held 10,070.
From that humble beginning, the Spurs have grown into one of the world’s top pro sports franchises, a winner of five NBA titles that has visions of adding more crowns with Frenchman Victor Wembanyama as its linchpin.
Angelo Drossos didn’t live to see any of the championships. He died at age 68 in 1997, 2½ years before the Spurs won their first title and nearly a decade after he sold his 37% interest in the team to McCombs for $47 million.
In addition to bringing the Spurs to San Antonio, Drossos’ other achievements included orchestrating with McCombs the trade that brought future Hall of Famer George Gervin to San Antonio, pushing for the ABA-NBA merger and persuading the NBA to adopt the 3-point shot, incentive clauses for players and the salary cap. He was named NBA Executive of the Year in 1978 and negotiated the signing of David Robinson in 1987 to a then-record eight-year, $26 million contract, a deal that kept the Spurs in San Antonio.
David Robinson holds up his new jersey as he is welcomed to the San Antonio Spurs by Mayor Henry Cisneros, left, and Spurs majority owner Angelo Drossos on Nov. 11, 1987. Drossos brought Robinson to San Antonio by negotiating a record deal with the Naval Academy graduate. AP LASECOLOR STF-David Breslauer) 1987
“I’m very proud of my father’s accomplishment and his 38 partners,” the younger Drossos said. “My dad enjoyed the founder status probably more than anyone, but it wouldn’t have happened without his partners. Everyone stepped up in that original investors group, and they all deserve as much credit as my dad. And, thankfully, the franchise has had amazing stewards along the way to take a small business in 1973, where we were kind of learning on the fly, if you will, as to what professional sports were all about into what it is today.
"Everybody that has followed the original group, certainly on the ownership side but also on the team-management side, have all played a part in it. It’s been a remarkable story.”
Drossos drove with his father and mother to HemisFair for the first game. Rich Jones pumped in 25 points for the Spurs, but the Wilt Chamberlain-coached San Diego Conquistadors prevailed 121-106 behind a combined 68 points from Stew Johnson and Bo Lamar.
“I remember how excited everyone was,” Drossos said. “It was very special.”
It was all routine, though, after tipoff for Drossos because of his experience as a ball boy in 1972-73 when the Houston Rockets played 13 regular season games in San Antonio.
“I had been around Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West and Gail Goodrich and all the Rockets players, so I had a little experience,” he said.
Drossos continued working as a ball boy through the 1976-77 season, the Spurs’ first in the NBA. Their first three games that season were on the road, so he wasn’t in attendance for the club’s first regular season NBA game, which the Spurs won 121-118 on Oct. 22, 1976 in Philadelphia.
By that time, the Spurs were led by Gervin, the famed “Iceman,” who went on to win four NBA scoring titles.
“He’s my favorite player, probably my favorite athlete of all time, who still happens to be a very close friend,” Drossos said. “He’s an amazing human being, bigger than life. We love him to death. He’ll always be my favorite professional athlete, and I’ll even say maybe my favorite entertainer of all time. He’s a terrific person.”
After the 1976-77 season, Drossos “graduated” to another job: Statistician for Spurs radio voice Terry Stembridge.
“I’d like to think my first two jobs, first two real jobs in life, as a ball boy and a statistician, gave me a pretty unique perspective on the NBA and professional basketball,” he said.
Fast forward to Thursday night at American Airlines Center, where Drossos, now a private investor in the data center industry, was in attendance with his wife Christine and their 25-year-old son Angelo.
“It was thrilling,” Drossos said of watching the Spurs down the Mavericks 135-123 behind Wembanyama’s 29 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals. “Wemby is just amazing to watch and to see how he’s developing.”
Over their 4,000 games, the Spurs are 2,374-1,626 for a winning percentage of 59.3%, placing them second behind the Los Angeles Lakers (2,411-1,587, 60.3%) in that span.
Drossos has been a Mavericks season ticket holder for 34 years, but he always roots for the visitors when the Spurs come to town.
“No one needs to ask who I’m rooting for when the two teams play that’s for sure,” he said. “And, by the way, I was shocked by how many Spurs fans were in the lower bowl. There were times when you couldn’t tell who the home team was, which was just amazing.”
Like many fans, Drossos is eager to see what the Spurs can accomplish should they end the franchise’s six-year playoff drought.
“I tell my friends up here, if they stay healthy, I wouldn’t bet against them this year,” Drossos said. “Who wants to play that team in the playoffs? They’re athletic, can defend, certainly can score."
Drossos will be in Inglewood, Calif., this week rooting for Wembanyama at the All-Star Game. It will be the 50th in a row he has attended.
“I got to go with my dad to my first NBA All-Star Game, and I’ve gone every year since,” he said. “David Stern and (current NBA commissioner) Adam Silver, who I’ve stayed very close with over the years, have been really gracious to our family. So, we go every year, and it’s become a big part of our life.
“How blessed am I?” he added. “I had no idea at the time, but what my dad has done is given me a front-row seat over a lifetime to experience the NBA in the way that I have. I couldn’t be more blessed."
By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News