Kori Ellis
12-04-2006, 02:53 AM
Duncan, consistency keep Spurs at top
Businesslike approach sets the tone, having one of the league's top players helps, too
By Steve Luhm
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:12/03/2006 03:01:45 AM MST
http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_4764673
Since winning the lottery and eagerly grabbing Tim Duncan with the first pick in the 1997 NBA draft, the San Antonio Spurs have been the most successful team in American professional sports.
They have a better winning percentage than hockey's Detroit Red Wings, football's Denver Broncos or baseball's New York Yankees.
More importantly, the Spurs have won 105 more regular-season games than the L.A. Lakers - the NBA's second-most-successful franchise during those nine seasons - and they have captured three championships.
George Steinbrenner, eat your heart out.
"The Spurs represent good basketball and consistency," said Jazz veteran Derek Fisher. "A lot of teams measure themselves against the Spurs."
Utah has been one of San Antonio's favorite targets.
Since they eliminated the Spurs in the 1998 Western Conference semifinals - a feat helped by the fact that Duncan sprained his ankle early in the series and was never 100 percent - the Jazz are 3-22 against San Antonio.
That includes Utah's 83-75 win on Wednesday night.
"They are one of those teams with guys who thrive when people get down on them and [say] they can't do it," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "They pour it on you and teach you a lesson. . . . They come out and destroy your will to play."
Of course, getting Duncan has been the key to the Spurs' success, even in the early years, when he was the young sidekick to established All-Star David Robinson.
"They've got Duncan, who you would have to say is one of the greatest ever to play the game," Sloan said.
Said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich: "We had the good fortune, in David and
Tim, of having one franchise player follow another franchise player. . . . We didn't have to go through the trough that some other teams have to go through" when a foundation player ages and retires.
According to general manager R.C. Buford, the blueprint for San Antonio's success is one Utah fans should recognize.
"We had the Jazz as a model," he said.
In becoming the NBA's most dominant team, the Spurs have collected talented players, demanded they work hard and insisted they conduct themselves as professionals.
"You have to admire what they've done," Sloan said, "because you never hear any nonsense coming from there."
On the business side, owner Peter Holt, Buford and Popovich have formed a working relationship that allows everybody to thrive.
"There are a lot of reasons" for the Spurs' success, Buford said. "But mostly our owner allowed the continuity that Larry [Miller] has afforded Jerry [Sloan]. . . . You don't establish what the Jazz established without continuity."
Said Popovich, who is in his 11th season as head coach, "We're fortunate. . . . The relationship between the owner and the GM and the coach has to be smooth, and we've had that. We all trust each other and, in the NBA, that's not always the case. But we've had that relationship for a long time now."
The formula for success is not lost on the players, including point guard Tony Parker, who has gone from a late first-round draft pick to the All-Star Game while maturing in San Antonio's system.
"It's a great organization. I feel blessed and privileged to be playing for the Spurs," he said. "It's like a little family, you know. It's not always exactly perfect. But this is my sixth year and I've never saw an argument on the floor. I've never seen teammates curse each other on the floor. It just doesn't happen."
From a distance, Fisher admires the way the Spurs go about their business.
"From what I've heard from some of their guys, it's a positive, nurturing environment," he said. "With Gregg's military background, there are going to be some rules in place. But their players, literally, feel like they're part of a family when they play for that team."
Businesslike approach sets the tone, having one of the league's top players helps, too
By Steve Luhm
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:12/03/2006 03:01:45 AM MST
http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_4764673
Since winning the lottery and eagerly grabbing Tim Duncan with the first pick in the 1997 NBA draft, the San Antonio Spurs have been the most successful team in American professional sports.
They have a better winning percentage than hockey's Detroit Red Wings, football's Denver Broncos or baseball's New York Yankees.
More importantly, the Spurs have won 105 more regular-season games than the L.A. Lakers - the NBA's second-most-successful franchise during those nine seasons - and they have captured three championships.
George Steinbrenner, eat your heart out.
"The Spurs represent good basketball and consistency," said Jazz veteran Derek Fisher. "A lot of teams measure themselves against the Spurs."
Utah has been one of San Antonio's favorite targets.
Since they eliminated the Spurs in the 1998 Western Conference semifinals - a feat helped by the fact that Duncan sprained his ankle early in the series and was never 100 percent - the Jazz are 3-22 against San Antonio.
That includes Utah's 83-75 win on Wednesday night.
"They are one of those teams with guys who thrive when people get down on them and [say] they can't do it," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "They pour it on you and teach you a lesson. . . . They come out and destroy your will to play."
Of course, getting Duncan has been the key to the Spurs' success, even in the early years, when he was the young sidekick to established All-Star David Robinson.
"They've got Duncan, who you would have to say is one of the greatest ever to play the game," Sloan said.
Said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich: "We had the good fortune, in David and
Tim, of having one franchise player follow another franchise player. . . . We didn't have to go through the trough that some other teams have to go through" when a foundation player ages and retires.
According to general manager R.C. Buford, the blueprint for San Antonio's success is one Utah fans should recognize.
"We had the Jazz as a model," he said.
In becoming the NBA's most dominant team, the Spurs have collected talented players, demanded they work hard and insisted they conduct themselves as professionals.
"You have to admire what they've done," Sloan said, "because you never hear any nonsense coming from there."
On the business side, owner Peter Holt, Buford and Popovich have formed a working relationship that allows everybody to thrive.
"There are a lot of reasons" for the Spurs' success, Buford said. "But mostly our owner allowed the continuity that Larry [Miller] has afforded Jerry [Sloan]. . . . You don't establish what the Jazz established without continuity."
Said Popovich, who is in his 11th season as head coach, "We're fortunate. . . . The relationship between the owner and the GM and the coach has to be smooth, and we've had that. We all trust each other and, in the NBA, that's not always the case. But we've had that relationship for a long time now."
The formula for success is not lost on the players, including point guard Tony Parker, who has gone from a late first-round draft pick to the All-Star Game while maturing in San Antonio's system.
"It's a great organization. I feel blessed and privileged to be playing for the Spurs," he said. "It's like a little family, you know. It's not always exactly perfect. But this is my sixth year and I've never saw an argument on the floor. I've never seen teammates curse each other on the floor. It just doesn't happen."
From a distance, Fisher admires the way the Spurs go about their business.
"From what I've heard from some of their guys, it's a positive, nurturing environment," he said. "With Gregg's military background, there are going to be some rules in place. But their players, literally, feel like they're part of a family when they play for that team."