Spurs’ Championship Rings Keep Getting Bigger and Better; Opening Night Fans Take Home Replicas

The San Antonio Spurs marked their fifth NBA title by raising a new banner and showing off their massive diamond-encrusted championship rings prior to their 2014-2015 season home opener against the Dallas Mavericks last Tuesday.

Each 14-karat gold ring weighs more than three ounces and features diamonds with a total weight of 5.09 carats.

The Spurs’ big three — Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker — were excited to show off their rings during the pre-game ceremonies.

Every fan attending the opener took home a blingy one-size-fits-all commemorative ring — designed in base metal and glittering with what we assume are cubic zirconia or crystals.

Spurs fan Daniel Ortiz shared a photo on the Spurs’ Facebook page that demonstrates how the rings have gotten progressively larger with each championship. The team’s previous titles were in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007.

In a neat design twist by manufacturer Herff Jones, the right side of the ring has a custom feature that showcases the Spurs’ “Pounding the Rock” symbol with five sparks shooting out from the rock. Each player's ring has from one to five extra diamonds coming off the sparks, depending how many times that player has been on a Spurs championship team.

The face of the ring features a diamond-studded Spurs logo in 14-karat white gold superimposed over a 14-karat yellow gold representation of the Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy. A large bezel-set diamond symbolizes the basketball of the trophy. The face of the ring includes 76 round, 10 princess cut and four baguette diamonds. An additional 42 round diamonds frame the face.

The left side of the ring showcases the player's name and number along with the NBA logo and winning year 2014. The raised lettering is in white gold against a black enamel background.

The inside of the band is inscribed with the team’s motto: “Good to Great.” The Spurs came within one game of winning the championship in 2013, but were knocked out by the Miami Heat in seven games. The motto reflects the team effort to come back from that disappointment to be better than before. In 2014, the Spurs got their revenge by defeating the Heat in five games.