What makes the Spurs so special? Of course, like most dynastic sports team, talent plays a role. Gregg Popovich is one of the 5 best NBA coaches ever, easily the best coach of the past 15 years (in that admittedly random period he has 4 rings to Phil's 5), and his influence pervades through that entire organization. They also employ Tim Duncan, who while he's 'regressed' into being a Top-5 Power Forward at age 38, he was the best Power Forward Ever good for a 10-year period from 1998-2007. They also employ two other future Hall of Famers in Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Ginobili is the best South American basketball player in NBA history, and Parker is probably the 2nd best European player ever, with only Dirk outclassing what Parker has done. That all said, it is more than talent that has allowed the Spurs to stay competitive and relevant far longer than they should have. It is a system, and organization, a culture that works better than anything I have seen in sports.
A decade from now, when Popovich is retired and Duncan is retired and the Spurs are, most likely, just another ordinary small-market team trying to compete, people may finally start realizing what the Spurs did. When we know the breadth of their accomplishments, and when Popovich (and Duncan/Parker/Ginobili, but most importantly Popovich) is removed enough to open up honestly about what he accomplished and how, the Spurs will be studied in business schools around the country. The Patriots may have had a higher profile being in the NFL, and the Rays may provide a more interesting study given their success in an unfair, capitalist market, but to me no team matches the Spurs in terms of a case study. They are sports, they are business, they are where they meet.
Over the years, the Spurs have always managed to stay one step ahead. The only NBA trend they didn't see coming was the '7-Seconds or Less' era and the impact of faster pace, which they took a while to turn to, but they only didn't because they still had success, and success against it. They started shooting threes more and more before anyone else. They started going small before almost anyone else. They started focusing on eliminating layups and threes and allowing 15-20 footers before anyone else. They unlocked so many keys that the rest of the NBA copies, the only thing that comes close is the Oakland A's. In a weird way, what hurts them is the ridiculous, grinding, dominant and, sadly, boring success. They don't have a 'My Shit Doesn't Work in the Playoffs' moment like Billy Beane. The Spurs' shit did work, and work and work and work.
Now the Spurs have made their fair share of mistakes over the years. No team is perfect. I already pointed to a huge on-court mistake that cost them a likely title in 2006, with Ginobili fouling Dirk on a drive up three late in Game 7. They of course had myriad mistakes that cost them the Title last year. Change just two things (I'm less inclined to add Fisher's 0.4 second shot to this both because that was more the Lakers pro-actively making it happen, and there's less proof the '04 Spurs beat Minnesota or Detroit) and the Spurs win six titles already and they're being hailed as one of the Greatest Dynasties Ever.
The Spurs have also made some odd personnel decisions over the years, like sign Hedo Turkoglu in a miscast role, or way overpay for Rasho Nesterovic, or way overpay again for Richard Jefferson, but these are merely tiny mistrokes on a beautiful 16-year canvas. For every Torkuglo there was the signing of Stephen Jackson in 2003, or Fabricio Oberto in 2006, or swapping Hill for Leonard, or brining back Danny Green and Patty Mills from the dead. There is no NBA team that has had such a sterling record in offseason acquisitions.
Popovich created a culture more than he created a system, because the system has changed. There isn't much resemblance between the 2005 Spurs and the 2014 Spurs apart from Manu Ginobili driving to the hoop (of course, back then Ginobili had long flowing locks, not a hilarious bald spot). Those Spurs were a defensive force, these are a high-paced offensive machine. Popovich just created an atmosphere where players would by into the new way the Spurs were going to play. To seamlessly transition from a slower, defensive team to a fast one overnight and do it well without totally overhauling the roster takes a foundation that was already rock-solid, and that is all Popovich and Duncan.
Tim Duncan is a Top-10 player All Time. He is. There's really no good argument against it. He's also most likely the most humble player on those lists, and he's the one who carries himself the least like a Top-10 player. He receives coaching, he's never chased stats, he willfully takes less minutes, he's allowed Pop to bench him late in games when the situation calls for it (and even, as we saw in Game 6 last year, when the situation didn't). He's rarely demanded anything from his team. He only once even thought about leaving San Antonio. He's quietly re-upped instead of having long drawn out contract negotiations. When the best player on the team, and one of the All-Time Greats carries himself like that, it sets the tone for the entire franchise, and the rest of hte Spurs took note.
The success of the Spurs is more than just Popovich and Duncan, but it is nice to have those two constants to look on. They also both exemplify why the Spurs are slow to get the credit they deserve, as outside of NBA-nerds it took until their success became too much to avoid that they gained general acceptance. It doesn't help when Duncan rarely gives long interviews, when he shies away from teh public light. It doesn't help when Popovich's public persona is a gruff, ironically short-answering, caustic genius. Sure, most media members will tell you when the cameras are off Popovich is one of the most engaging and open NBA personalities out there, but that doesn't help him with the people who aren't there when the lights turn off. But all of that is part of the Cultural Brilliance. Everything is about the team, not the media, not the spotlight, but the team.
There have been great stories the past few years about how the Spurs treat former Spurs. It seems like anyone who passes through the Spurs organization becomes a Spur for life. Guys like Robert Horry and Bruce Bowen are legends in teh Spurs Organization. If Avery Johnson is in town he'll have dinner with teh Spurs, same with Michael Finley, or Brent Barry, or Mario Elie, or Sean Eliot. The Spurs are a family, they are an organization in teh old-school sense of the word.
The rest of the NBA should take notice, but what the Spurs have done is basically impossible. It is not easy to get an All-Time coach, win the lottery in a year when an All-Time talent like Tim Duncan is there, and then nail late pick after late pick, but the Spurs did it. They changed the way NBA teams could be constructed, but they also changed the way NBA teams are built and run. The Spurs were dominant, but they've been dominant in wildly different NBA's. They were dominant in the iso-heavy, defense era, in the run and gun era, and in today's analytically savvy era. They've been the best example of Organizational Culture in sports in the 21st Century and it is hard to see any team coming close to repeating what they have done short of putting together a Big-3 like Miami did. The Spurs made the NBA a more cultured sport but also a changed sport.
A decade from now, when Popovich is retired and Duncan is retired and the Spurs are, most likely, just another ordinary small-market team trying to compete, people may finally start realizing what the Spurs did. When we know the breadth of their accomplishments, and when Popovich (and Duncan/Parker/Ginobili, but most importantly Popovich) is removed enough to open up honestly about what he accomplished and how, the Spurs will be studied in business schools around the country. The Patriots may have had a higher profile being in the NFL, and the Rays may provide a more interesting study given their success in an unfair, capitalist market, but to me no team matches the Spurs in terms of a case study. They are sports, they are business, they are where they meet.
Over the years, the Spurs have always managed to stay one step ahead. The only NBA trend they didn't see coming was the '7-Seconds or Less' era and the impact of faster pace, which they took a while to turn to, but they only didn't because they still had success, and success against it. They started shooting threes more and more before anyone else. They started going small before almost anyone else. They started focusing on eliminating layups and threes and allowing 15-20 footers before anyone else. They unlocked so many keys that the rest of the NBA copies, the only thing that comes close is the Oakland A's. In a weird way, what hurts them is the ridiculous, grinding, dominant and, sadly, boring success. They don't have a 'My Shit Doesn't Work in the Playoffs' moment like Billy Beane. The Spurs' shit did work, and work and work and work.
Now the Spurs have made their fair share of mistakes over the years. No team is perfect. I already pointed to a huge on-court mistake that cost them a likely title in 2006, with Ginobili fouling Dirk on a drive up three late in Game 7. They of course had myriad mistakes that cost them the Title last year. Change just two things (I'm less inclined to add Fisher's 0.4 second shot to this both because that was more the Lakers pro-actively making it happen, and there's less proof the '04 Spurs beat Minnesota or Detroit) and the Spurs win six titles already and they're being hailed as one of the Greatest Dynasties Ever.
The Spurs have also made some odd personnel decisions over the years, like sign Hedo Turkoglu in a miscast role, or way overpay for Rasho Nesterovic, or way overpay again for Richard Jefferson, but these are merely tiny mistrokes on a beautiful 16-year canvas. For every Torkuglo there was the signing of Stephen Jackson in 2003, or Fabricio Oberto in 2006, or swapping Hill for Leonard, or brining back Danny Green and Patty Mills from the dead. There is no NBA team that has had such a sterling record in offseason acquisitions.
Popovich created a culture more than he created a system, because the system has changed. There isn't much resemblance between the 2005 Spurs and the 2014 Spurs apart from Manu Ginobili driving to the hoop (of course, back then Ginobili had long flowing locks, not a hilarious bald spot). Those Spurs were a defensive force, these are a high-paced offensive machine. Popovich just created an atmosphere where players would by into the new way the Spurs were going to play. To seamlessly transition from a slower, defensive team to a fast one overnight and do it well without totally overhauling the roster takes a foundation that was already rock-solid, and that is all Popovich and Duncan.
Tim Duncan is a Top-10 player All Time. He is. There's really no good argument against it. He's also most likely the most humble player on those lists, and he's the one who carries himself the least like a Top-10 player. He receives coaching, he's never chased stats, he willfully takes less minutes, he's allowed Pop to bench him late in games when the situation calls for it (and even, as we saw in Game 6 last year, when the situation didn't). He's rarely demanded anything from his team. He only once even thought about leaving San Antonio. He's quietly re-upped instead of having long drawn out contract negotiations. When the best player on the team, and one of the All-Time Greats carries himself like that, it sets the tone for the entire franchise, and the rest of hte Spurs took note.
The success of the Spurs is more than just Popovich and Duncan, but it is nice to have those two constants to look on. They also both exemplify why the Spurs are slow to get the credit they deserve, as outside of NBA-nerds it took until their success became too much to avoid that they gained general acceptance. It doesn't help when Duncan rarely gives long interviews, when he shies away from teh public light. It doesn't help when Popovich's public persona is a gruff, ironically short-answering, caustic genius. Sure, most media members will tell you when the cameras are off Popovich is one of the most engaging and open NBA personalities out there, but that doesn't help him with the people who aren't there when the lights turn off. But all of that is part of the Cultural Brilliance. Everything is about the team, not the media, not the spotlight, but the team.
There have been great stories the past few years about how the Spurs treat former Spurs. It seems like anyone who passes through the Spurs organization becomes a Spur for life. Guys like Robert Horry and Bruce Bowen are legends in teh Spurs Organization. If Avery Johnson is in town he'll have dinner with teh Spurs, same with Michael Finley, or Brent Barry, or Mario Elie, or Sean Eliot. The Spurs are a family, they are an organization in teh old-school sense of the word.
The rest of the NBA should take notice, but what the Spurs have done is basically impossible. It is not easy to get an All-Time coach, win the lottery in a year when an All-Time talent like Tim Duncan is there, and then nail late pick after late pick, but the Spurs did it. They changed the way NBA teams could be constructed, but they also changed the way NBA teams are built and run. The Spurs were dominant, but they've been dominant in wildly different NBA's. They were dominant in the iso-heavy, defense era, in the run and gun era, and in today's analytically savvy era. They've been the best example of Organizational Culture in sports in the 21st Century and it is hard to see any team coming close to repeating what they have done short of putting together a Big-3 like Miami did. The Spurs made the NBA a more cultured sport but also a changed sport.
