(Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports)
Then-Nuggets coach George Karl dreamed of the Nuggets as an unselfish team that would win games when Carmelo Anthony was traded. He wanted to show everyone that the team didn’t need a superstar to win games and a championship. He certainly had the Spurs in mind in what he was talking about.
The Spurs won their fifth championship under the Tim Duncan era on Sunday after extinguishing the Heat in five games. This is a team that did not rely on isolation offense or one guy winning games. This is a team that maximizes the most out of every player from their roster when it comes to production.
One can say the Spurs had Hall of Famers in Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. What Karl wanted to do is develop his young players into good or great players. He felt he could have had one in Ty Lawson if he had a chance to coach him long enough. Of course, the Nuggets felt a better coach would have been the answer after Karl’s playoff failures was not cutting it.
The truth is it is easier said than done to have basketball teams be like the Spurs. There has to be luck involved when it comes to drafting. Players need to develop into good to great ones. Guys have to be receptive to coaching and be egoless. Guys need to know how to execute an offense by being fundamentally sound. The Spurs make it easy, and that’s why they are easy to envy.
Count me as one of those guys that was happy to see the Spurs win a championship. The Spurs play the brand of basketball that is fun to watch. They run their offense so well. They share the basketball and create good looks for shooters to shoot. They run it methodically to the point it makes one think they are a machine in operating that offense. It’s a matter of time until they shoot and make it.
This is a testament to the players who would rather pass than get their points. This is a credit to Gregg Popovich, who has evolved as a head coach by incorporating offense to his gameplan rather than relying on defense only. This is a credit to the organization that have their players ingrained on being team-first players.
The Spurs offense compelled NBA commissioner Adam Silver to tell Popovich during the trophy ceremony that the Spurs showed the world how beautiful this game is. Strong words indeed. No one could have said that seven years ago when the Spurs were more known for their defense and giving the ball to Duncan and David Robinson only.
This is a team that has many guys from different countries that was taught the right way to play basketball in Parker, Ginobili, Patty Mills and Tiago Splitter. The Spurs have drafted foreign players and have them learn overseas before graduating to the NBA. It’s remarkable how those players are ready to contribute once they leave overseas.
This is a team that relied on the draft rather than buy a championship like the Heat have done in the last few years.
The Spurs create a culture of excellence where guys expect to win and produce. They can be counted on to put on a good show every night. It’s rare they mail it in. This is a team that knows how to do well on back-to-back nights, which is hard to do in the NBA.
When one looks at the success of the Spurs, it’s remarkable why ESPN, Fox Sports 1, social media or basketball fans don’t embrace them. The perception is they are boring, which is far from the truth. This is a team that does not self-promote themselves. They are likable based on their humility. This is a team that gets it.
We should be celebrating what the Spurs accomplished rather than being happy about LeBron James and the Heat going down or wondering why the Heat superstars failed to three-peat.
No one should take the Spurs for granted. There won’t be basketball teams like that in an era where there are too many teams that are led by divas.
What the Spurs do is hard to do for any basketball team. That’s reality since if it was easy, any team would do the same the NBA champions would be doing.
This is why we should appreciate the Spurs for what they have accomplished.
Contact or follow Leslie Monteiro at @LightRodWriter
Leslie Monteiro
Leslie is a contributor for Lightning Rod Sports. He covered high school sports in Bergen County out in North Jersey, and has written op-ed columns on sports such as Bleacher Report and NY Sports Digest.
