Well, we had to expect that it’d come to an end at some point, and it finally happened. One of the NBA’s most hallowed and longest-running streaks is over.

For the first time in 22 seasons, the San Antonio Spurs will not be in the NBA playoffs – it’s also the first losing season for Gregg Popovich as a full-time head coach. You don’t even have to be a fan to get bummed out about it.

The streak was officially put to rest last Friday.

As any long-time NBA fan would know, the Spurs are the gold standard when it comes to how a franchise should be run. They are a well-oiled machine whose player development and overall front office management is better than just about any NBA or professional sports team today.

Some struggle to maintain a playoff squad for three or more seasons, especially in this day and age where player empowerment is becoming more influential by the day, so for the Spurs to do it for 22 consecutive seasons is nothing short of incredible.

Let’s first take a glance at what the Spurs achieved in those 22 years:

Here’s a couple more we can add to that:

  • 6 Conference Championships in 10 Conference Finals appearances
  • 18-straight seasons with 50 or more wins (1999-00 to 2016-17), and 19 in total
  • 37 playoff series wins

All that was made possible through three cores that bled out with each other across two decades – a list that’s headlined by David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Avery Johnson, Sean Elliot, Malik Rose, Bruce Bowen, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Robert Horry, George Hill, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, and LaMarcus Aldridge.

It’s between such a long stretch that some of those names might not even ring a bell to the younger fans, which is another interesting trivia surrounding the streak. An awful lot of players today weren’t even born in 1997, when the Spurs last missed the postseason.

Starting the time frame on April 24, 1997 (Day  1 of the 1996-97 playoffs), a total of 130 active NBA players were still in their mothers’ womb or still ways away from being born.

Here are some of the most notable:

  • Brandon Ingram
  • Lonzo Ball
  • Bam Adebayo
  • John Collins
  • De’Aron Fox
  • Trae Young
  • Jayson Tatum
  • Deandre Ayton
  • Markelle Fultz
  • Luka Doncic
  • Ja Morant

The young guys’ ages aren’t the only interesting thing, though. Tons of historic events also preceded the streak. Let’s widen the context even further and list more fun facts for 1997:

  • In the week of April 24, 1997, the number one song on the radio was Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down by Puff Daddy and Mase, while the number one movie was Volcano, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche, and Don Cheadle. (Side note: Legendary films like Jackie Brown and Anaconda were also fresh-off their respective releases.)
  • The late great Kobe Bryant was in his rookie year, and just made a name for himself by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk competition.
  • LeBron James was turning 13 years old and still in the AAU scene.
  • The first Harry Potter book was published.
  • Titanic was released.
  • The Teletubbies debuted on TV.
  • The Spice Girls were arguably the biggest and most popular group in the world.
  • Steve Jobs returned to Apple after leaving 12 years earlier.

Now for the finale, here are notable things that the Spurs’ streak is older than:

  • Google (founded in 1998)
  • Facebook (launched in 2004)
  • Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and SEGA DreamCast
  • Bluetooth, USB flash drives, Mac OS
  • The impeachment of Bill Clinton
  • Vladimir Putin as Russia’s head of state
  • Spongebob and Family Guy

It’s a list that’ll make you reminisce, and as that one old meme would say, “Feel old yet?”