The San Antonio Spurs won their first NBA title in franchise history with a resounding defeat of the New York Knicks in the 1999 NBA Finals. The Spurs, led by the Twin Towers David Robinson and Tim Duncan, went 37-13 in the shortened 1998-99 season in Gregg Popovich’s second full season as the Spurs head coach. The Spurs breezed through the playoffs, defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves three games to one before sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers to reach the NBA Finals. The Knicks were the Eastern Conference’s entrant into the Finals, and in the end, they proved no match for the scintillating Spurs. It was San Antonio in five games, with the Knicks held under 80 points in three of the five contests. Duncan was named the MVP, and the Spurs dynasty was born.

Offered here is Mario Elie’s black Spurs road jersey worn during the clinching fifth game at Madison Square Garden. This jersey has also been conclusively photo matched to Game 4 of the 1999 NBA Finals on June 23rd. Elie averaged 11.6 points, 4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game in this series as the Spurs third-leading scorer behind Duncan and Robinson. Elie, a graduate of Power Memorial Academy in New York City, started and played 35 minutes in Game 5. He finished with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals while making two of his three shots from three-point range.

This black San Antonio jersey has “SPURS” sewn across the chest in gray, white, and black tackle twill with the “U” stylized as a riding spur. Elie’s number “17” is sewn on the chest and back in white and gray tackle twill. “ELIE” is sewn across the back shoulders in white tackle twill. An NBA Finals patch and an NBA logo patch are sewn on the chest. The sides of the jersey feature a white and gray panel. A Nike size “50” tag with an attached “Length +2” flag is sewn on the front left tail. This jersey comes with a LOA from Mario Elie. Additionaly, there is a LOA from Resolution Photomatching (425983), who have conclusively photo matched this jersey to Game 4 of the 1999 NBA Finals on June 23rd. Please note that in Resolution's LOA they state "The jersey may have also been worn by Elie on June 25, 1999, but images from that date were not clear enough to make the determination of a  conclusive photomatch."

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