Where Credit is Really Due in the NBA

Although I do not love the NBA, I have grown to accept that it will be the topic of discussion on SportsCenter for about 90% of the time during these months of the sports year. However, I will never tolerate that essentially all of this time dedicated to the NBA revolves around one team: the Miami Heat. To set the record straight, I no longer have a hatred for LeBron James. He earned his ring, and he is clearly the best basketball player in the world right now. As for the Heat as a team, I still hate them as much as I ever have. I will never have respect for a team whose players choose, or even in some cases demand, to join the best team in the league in order to win a championship. Even the Heat’s Harlem Shake video really pissed me off. The thing is, though, my disliking of the Heat isn’t the reason why I think ESPN needs to spend less time focusing on them. It’s because another team deserves more praise and attention, and it’s been this way for the past fifteen years. This team is the San Antonio Spurs.

Before I start to share my opinions, I just want to share some indisputable facts. This year will be the Spurs’ 13^th straight 50+ win season, including last year’s lockout-shortened season. This streak was also almost 15 seasons, as the Spurs came close in 1999 when they played 50 TOTAL games. In the past 15 seasons, the Spurs have never finished below 2^nd in their division. In that same span, there have only been two occurrences where the Spurs did not have home-court advantage in the playoffs. Oh yeah, and they have also won four championships in that time frame. This is not only the most underappreciated team of the last 15 years; this may be the most underappreciated team of all time. Every preseason for the past few years, experts write off the Spurs as potential champions because they think that they are too old and beat up. Yet at the end of every season, the Spurs are at the top of the NBA standings. Their consistent dominance is even more impressive in this day and age of free agency and big-market attraction. The Spurs build a winning team year after year the right way, through smart draft picks and small-name free agents. While they have a “Big Three” of their own (who were actually all drafted by the team), the Spurs have always thrived off of role players. They have six players who average double-digit points per game this seasons. Guys like Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, and Tiago Splitter might not have found success on other teams, but they fit into the Spurs’ system perfectly. Also, Gregg Popovich knows what he’s working with. I LOVED how he sat his older, big-name players for a primetime game against the Heat. The Spurs defend well, they take smart shots, they move the ball efficiently, and they have more chemistry than any other team in the NBA. AKA, they are the most complete team in the league.

Even though it infuriates me that the Spurs don’t get the attention they deserve, it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest bit. They play in a small sports market. None of their stars are vocal on Twitter. You will NEVER see them in the SportsCenter Top 10. While alley-oops and contested dunks are all the rage nowadays, Tony Parker is known for his finger roll, Manu Ginobili for his laser chest passes, and Tim Duncan for his bank shots. Duncan himself is probably the biggest reason the Spurs go under the radar, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Earlier in the article I said that the modern-day Spurs might be the most underappreciated team of all time. I can safely say that without contest, Tim Duncan is the most underappreciated NBA player of all time. For the first 13 years of his career, he averaged at least 18 points per game and 10 rebounds in EVERY season. In the playoffs, those averages were even higher. And in this current NBA season, the 16^th of Duncan’s career, he is silencing the critics with almost 17 points per game, 10 rebounds per game, and 3 blocks per game. But Duncan has never cared about stats or awards, only winning. However, if his four rings and three Finals MVPs weren’t enough of an argument, Duncan would have some room to brag. He has won two MVP awards, made 14 All-Star teams, 9 All-NBA First Teams, and 8 All-Defensive First Teams. These numbers are absolutely staggering, yet you never hear Duncan’s name mentioned among the all-time greats. This is because you rarely hear Duncan talk to the media. He never does commercials. Hell, his nickname is “The Big Fundamental.” And listen to this madness: Duncan went to college…for all four years! Another boring side note: he has his own foundation that raises hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for cancer research. Not only should Duncan’s on-the-court accomplishments place him on the Mount Rushmore of NBA legends, but he is also one of the very few true role models left in sports.

I will be pulling so hard for the Spurs once the playoffs come around, especially for a victory over the Heat in the Finals. Don’t get me wrong, I would be quite pleased if a team from the East knocked the Heat out before the Finals, but if the Spurs did it, it would just be so much sweeter. It would be inspiring to see a team that was built the right way prevail, and a player that deserves the title “superstar” get a ring for the pinky finger. The generation before mine had Jordan and the Bulls. Before that it was Magic and the Lakers. I had Tim Duncan and the Spurs.

-PJ Moran