San Antonio Spurs packing more punch for next season than what meets the eye – NBA Feature (First part)
The San Antonio Spurs are one of the most decorated and successful NBA teams of the past decade. Since 1999, the Spurs have won 4 NBA championships, and have been a regular in the Western Conference Playoffs. Last season, the Spurs closed the season on a 10-0 run, then blew past their first two playoff opponents to stretch their win streak to 18-0, before losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. And the reason why this team has been so consistent for such a long time has been the fact that they have been very smart in the way they assemble their roster, and always try to play to the strengths of that roster.
The Spurs have one of the greatest coaches in NBA history in Gregg Popovich. He has been with the Spurs since the 1996 NBA season, and has been the architect of the turnaround this basketball franchise has witnessed over the past 15 years or so. Named as the coach of the year in 2003 as well as last season, Popovich was the head coach when the Spurs won their four NBA championships in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. He has played a vital role in the development of one of the best forwards to ever play the game, Tim Duncan. Duncan was drafted in 1997 by the Spurs and Popovich took him under his wing, developing his post game and passing on to him all the basketball knowledge he had. The Spurs won the 1999 NBA championship, and followed that with one in 2003 as well.
The biggest strength of Popovich has been identifying players that are not on the radar and drafting or acquiring them, then developing them to All Star status. Tony Parker, the Spurs current point guard and one of the best guards in the league over the past decade, was selected 28th overall by the Spurs in the 2001 NBA Draft. Similarly, Manu Ginobili was drafted by the Spurs in 1999 as the 57th overall pick, and did not get to play for the franchise till 2002.
Today, both of these stars form a strong back court for the Spurs and give them the pace and explosiveness to take on any team. As Duncan reached the twilight of his career, Popovich gradually changed the team philosophy from a fundamental defence oriented team to one that plays fast, relies on breaks and transition and converts defence to offence. Since Duncan could no longer be relied solely, Popovich knew he had to give more responsibility to Ginobili and Parker, and they replied by winning the 2007 NBA championship and keeping the Spurs in competition since then.
And Popovich seems to have yet another plan up his sleeve for the coming few seasons as the Spurs team core nears the twilight of their career and other teams in the NBA move towards relying on multiple superstars to win a championship, with the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks as examples.
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