Why the Spurs are more than just an NBA Franchise
No matter what sport we talk about, we always seem to end up talking about which teams have been the most dominant for the longest amount of time. In the NFL, it’s safe to conclude that the New England Patriots have been so dominant under Bill Belichick, but in the NBA, it’s the San Antonio Spurs that have been dominant since Gregg Popovich took over in 1997. Yet even a year after removed from the Tim Duncan Era, are the Spurs still the best team ever?
Upon assuming the Head Coaching position of the Spurs in 1997, Gregg Popovich and the Spurs have won a whopping fifty or more games every year, except for the lockout shortened season in 1998-99. See how dominant the Spurs have been? To win those many games and do it so consistently, shows that they are really more than just a team who wins. Popovich assembles a team full of humble players, as well as those who are willing to learn the game. There are kids today, some of whom are already beginning to graduate from high school, that weren’t even born back when Tim Duncan was drafted and that have never witnessed a losing season by the Spurs.
The Spurs are not just another NBA team. Gregg Popovich has filled his team with a combination of international players, as well as players with class acts. From Tim Duncan to Kawhi Leonard, the Spurs have redefined the game of Basketball. With a core of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili, they won five championships, then just as Duncan was beginning to reach the twilight years of his career, Popovich went out and traded for Kawhi Leonard in 2011,hoping that he’d be the next leader of this franchise. The Leonard trade worked out perfectly, taking the torch from Duncan, he’s successfully led this franchise into another era.
Yes time will eventually catch up to everyone and even though the last Spurs title came in 2014, it doesn’t matter. Literally, even after a first round playoff exit at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies in 2011, people began wondering if the Spurs were really done. So many questions with so few answers. What would be the future of guys like Tim Duncan? When would he retire? Is age really catching up with the Spurs? Then just three seasons later, the Spurs showed us that they’ll always be competitive, winning their fifth title, only a year after losing what was probably one of the most heartbreaking Finals losses in NBA History. With Leonard as the new leader and Popovich showing no signs of retiring anytime soon, the Spurs look poised to continue this tradition of winning for a long time to come. While the Spurs average age as of 2017 is 28.8 percent according to Fox Sports, Kawhi Leonard is only twenty-five years old and is now the face of the franchise. The Spurs will continue this winning tradition for a long time.
