ducks
06-05-2007, 08:58 PM
NBA's silent dynasty
Spurs quietly on verge of joining exclusive fraternity
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
The NBA's great dynasties
Complete Rockets coverage Days before the wild, joyful celebration spilled from Quicken Loans Arena to the Cleveland streets outside, the San Antonio Spurs smiled.
They too had won a place in the NBA Finals, beginning Thursday in San Antonio. But far from the exuberant, youthful glee with which the Cavaliers marked what is the best season in franchise history, the Spurs merely seemed pleased.
Instead of long, tight embraces, they shook hands like tennis opponents at the net. Instead of shouts, they chatted.
"It feels great to be back," Tim Duncan said convincingly, but typically temperately.
"It never gets old," said Robert Horry, a winner of six NBA championships. "It's a wonderful feeling. It's really hard to explain."
For the Spurs, a place in the Finals is a visit home. It's familiar and comfortable, full of memories. It no longer has that sense of wonder and discovery that the Cavaliers are enjoying. But it is part of who the Spurs are.
"It's a wonderful experience," Tony Parker said, "and it's going to be 50 times better if we do go all the way."
He knows of what he speaks.
History awaits Spurs
For the Spurs, merely getting there no longer will do. They are playing for the championship and much more.
They can win a place in NBA history.
If the Spurs take this season's title, it will be their fourth in nine seasons, and would put them in exclusive territory. Only three franchises (in four runs) have won as many championships in as short a span as the Spurs could with another title.
George Mikan's Minneapolis Lakers won five championships in six years from 1949 to 1954. Red Auerbach built the Celtics of Bob Cousy and Bill Russell into the league's greatest dynasty, winning 11 titles in 13 seasons from 1957 to 1969. The Lakers of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson collected five titles from 1980 to 1988. The Bulls of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen won six titles from 1991 to 1998.
That's it. No other franchise in the 60 seasons of the NBA has done what the Spurs will attempt to do this month, win a fourth championship in nine seasons. Larry Bird's Celtics won three. Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars led the Pistons to two. The Lakers of Shaquille ONeal and Kobe Bryant won three.
"It means a tremendous amount," said Mavericks coach Avery Johnson, the point guard on the first Spurs championship team. "If Pop (coach Gregg Popovich) was a little more outspoken, if Tim Duncan was flashier, if they played in a bigger city, there would be more hoopla. People have missed their consistency.
"If they can pull it off, it should go down as a dominant franchise and a dominant era."
Twin towers of success
To Popovich, there is no secret to the Spurs' success. It's David Robinson and it's Duncan. And when Robinson helped convince Duncan, already one championship into his career, to forgo a free-agent jump and stay in San Antonio, the Spurs were ready to roll.
If he should finish the season as the Finals MVP, it will be his fourth. Only Jordan, with six, has more.
"Pop will be the first to tell you, it's all about Tim Duncan," Avery Johnson said. "He's been steady with his dominance. He's been steady with his leadership. He doesn't get rattled. He has 100 percent trust and faith of his teammates.
"Obviously in this league, you need strong post presence and a strong point guard. Tony Parker's development was also key. All the role players, (Michael) Finley, (Robert) Horry and (Bruce) Bowen play their roles. And we know players have great impact, but Pop's discipline and commitment to excellence is big factor also, the way he and R.C. (Buford, Spurs general manager) work together and with the owner (Peter Holt).
"The owner lets Pop and R.C. run the show and then pays the bills."
But teams around the NBA cite, and in many cases try to emulate, something less tangible than the stars of the roster.
"The most important thing they have done is define the culture for their organization," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said via e-mail. "The culture of a team, which I define as the way every person in the organization approaches the game, the fans, their commitment to improving their skill set, whether they are players or salespeople, the community, all the elements beyond the 48 minutes of game time, contribute as much or if not more to the success of an organization than the skill of the players on the court."
Fortunate twists
Cuban cited the good fortune of landing Duncan, and the Mavericks not getting O'Neal the year he was drafted.
Buford has often cited getting Manu Ginobili late in the second round of the 1999 draft.
But other than Duncan, the Spurs have been rebuilt since the first championship.
There is a way of doing things that Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry, Spurs director of basketball operations for two years, said permeates everything they do.
"They have a strong philosophical base of trying to do things a certain way," Ferry said. "They have continuity that has helped it along with great people. That's built a great culture there and a level of expectation. It's paying attention to each step of the process and having people do things the right way on the court and off the court. Other people could do it, but you have to have the right people. Pop is the right guy. He has tremendous fiber."
That has led to the best winning percentage in sports in the past 10 years, three championships and to the cusp of a fourth. And with that, they could celebrate a lofty place in basketball history.
[email protected]
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/sports/4861967.html
Spurs quietly on verge of joining exclusive fraternity
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
The NBA's great dynasties
Complete Rockets coverage Days before the wild, joyful celebration spilled from Quicken Loans Arena to the Cleveland streets outside, the San Antonio Spurs smiled.
They too had won a place in the NBA Finals, beginning Thursday in San Antonio. But far from the exuberant, youthful glee with which the Cavaliers marked what is the best season in franchise history, the Spurs merely seemed pleased.
Instead of long, tight embraces, they shook hands like tennis opponents at the net. Instead of shouts, they chatted.
"It feels great to be back," Tim Duncan said convincingly, but typically temperately.
"It never gets old," said Robert Horry, a winner of six NBA championships. "It's a wonderful feeling. It's really hard to explain."
For the Spurs, a place in the Finals is a visit home. It's familiar and comfortable, full of memories. It no longer has that sense of wonder and discovery that the Cavaliers are enjoying. But it is part of who the Spurs are.
"It's a wonderful experience," Tony Parker said, "and it's going to be 50 times better if we do go all the way."
He knows of what he speaks.
History awaits Spurs
For the Spurs, merely getting there no longer will do. They are playing for the championship and much more.
They can win a place in NBA history.
If the Spurs take this season's title, it will be their fourth in nine seasons, and would put them in exclusive territory. Only three franchises (in four runs) have won as many championships in as short a span as the Spurs could with another title.
George Mikan's Minneapolis Lakers won five championships in six years from 1949 to 1954. Red Auerbach built the Celtics of Bob Cousy and Bill Russell into the league's greatest dynasty, winning 11 titles in 13 seasons from 1957 to 1969. The Lakers of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson collected five titles from 1980 to 1988. The Bulls of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen won six titles from 1991 to 1998.
That's it. No other franchise in the 60 seasons of the NBA has done what the Spurs will attempt to do this month, win a fourth championship in nine seasons. Larry Bird's Celtics won three. Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars led the Pistons to two. The Lakers of Shaquille ONeal and Kobe Bryant won three.
"It means a tremendous amount," said Mavericks coach Avery Johnson, the point guard on the first Spurs championship team. "If Pop (coach Gregg Popovich) was a little more outspoken, if Tim Duncan was flashier, if they played in a bigger city, there would be more hoopla. People have missed their consistency.
"If they can pull it off, it should go down as a dominant franchise and a dominant era."
Twin towers of success
To Popovich, there is no secret to the Spurs' success. It's David Robinson and it's Duncan. And when Robinson helped convince Duncan, already one championship into his career, to forgo a free-agent jump and stay in San Antonio, the Spurs were ready to roll.
If he should finish the season as the Finals MVP, it will be his fourth. Only Jordan, with six, has more.
"Pop will be the first to tell you, it's all about Tim Duncan," Avery Johnson said. "He's been steady with his dominance. He's been steady with his leadership. He doesn't get rattled. He has 100 percent trust and faith of his teammates.
"Obviously in this league, you need strong post presence and a strong point guard. Tony Parker's development was also key. All the role players, (Michael) Finley, (Robert) Horry and (Bruce) Bowen play their roles. And we know players have great impact, but Pop's discipline and commitment to excellence is big factor also, the way he and R.C. (Buford, Spurs general manager) work together and with the owner (Peter Holt).
"The owner lets Pop and R.C. run the show and then pays the bills."
But teams around the NBA cite, and in many cases try to emulate, something less tangible than the stars of the roster.
"The most important thing they have done is define the culture for their organization," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said via e-mail. "The culture of a team, which I define as the way every person in the organization approaches the game, the fans, their commitment to improving their skill set, whether they are players or salespeople, the community, all the elements beyond the 48 minutes of game time, contribute as much or if not more to the success of an organization than the skill of the players on the court."
Fortunate twists
Cuban cited the good fortune of landing Duncan, and the Mavericks not getting O'Neal the year he was drafted.
Buford has often cited getting Manu Ginobili late in the second round of the 1999 draft.
But other than Duncan, the Spurs have been rebuilt since the first championship.
There is a way of doing things that Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry, Spurs director of basketball operations for two years, said permeates everything they do.
"They have a strong philosophical base of trying to do things a certain way," Ferry said. "They have continuity that has helped it along with great people. That's built a great culture there and a level of expectation. It's paying attention to each step of the process and having people do things the right way on the court and off the court. Other people could do it, but you have to have the right people. Pop is the right guy. He has tremendous fiber."
That has led to the best winning percentage in sports in the past 10 years, three championships and to the cusp of a fourth. And with that, they could celebrate a lofty place in basketball history.
[email protected]
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/sports/4861967.html