The 2016–17 San Antonio Spurs season was the franchise's 50th season, its 44th season in the San Antonio area, and its 41st in the National Basketball Association (NBA). This season was the team's first without longtime team cornerstone Tim Duncan since 1996–97; Duncan retired from the NBA on July 11, 2016 as a five–time champion and the first NBA player ever to win championships in three straight decades. With the elimination of the NHL (National Hockey League)'s Detroit Red Wings from the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs on March 28, 2017, the Spurs—with 20 consecutive NBA Playoffs appearances—held the longest active playoff streak in any of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.

Despite Duncan no longer on the team, the Spurs finished the regular season with a 61–21 record, securing the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs for the second straight year. In the first round of the playoffs, the Spurs defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in six games. In the Western Conference semifinals, they defeated the Houston Rockets in six games. In the Western Conference finals, the Spurs were swept by the eventual NBA champion Golden State Warriors in four games. This was San Antonio's first time being swept in the playoffs since the 2010 Western Conference semifinals, when they were defeated by the Steve Nash-led Phoenix Suns. The Spurs were also close to rematching the defending NBA champions Cleveland Cavaliers in the Finals for the first time since 2007.

Since then, this is the only time in the post-Tim Duncan era that the Spurs advanced past the First Round of the Western Conference Playoffs as well as won 60 or more games.