Popovich and Duncan: Not done yet
The Dallas Mavericks knocked off the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the NBA playoffs four games to one. If you’re going to be put down may as well be by a fellow Texan. No?
Sitting from afar, I always feel a tad sad when a dynasty seemingly comes to a close. My friend, let’s call him Kublai, always felt the Spurs were the most under appreciated and ignored dynasty in basketball; if not sports. He also found it ridiculous that Tim Duncan was oft ridiculed for being “boring”. To him, he was one of the most fundamentally sound players in the game.
Were the Spurs in fact a dynasty? Depends how you define it. I must admit I’m breaking my own criteria in that I prefer to see a team at least win a back-to-back championship to be considered. But sometimes, stable consistency over a long period of time meets the criteria.
Indeed, four NBA titles between 1999 and 2007 is a remarkable feat.
The Spurs lacked the “spark” and “glitz” of the Los Angeles Lakers who won three in a row from 2000 to 2003 0r the Chicago Bulls and their six titles (in two blocks of three in a row in the 1990s) but it shouldn’t detract from having them among the all-time great NBA teams.
Then again, all this talk of a long and winding road for San Antonio may be premature.
