Posted on 06/16/2014 7:21:48 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The San Antonio Spurs clinched their fifth NBA title in franchise history Sunday night, and the championships have all come since the team drafted Tim Duncan with the first overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft. The five titles are the fourth most in NBA behind only the Boston Celtics (17), Los Angeles Lakers (16) and Chicago Bulls (6).
Third-year forward Kawhi Leonard won the NBA Finals MVP. The Spurs have the highest winning percentage in major pro sports since 1997 and the team has not won fewer than 60% of its game in any season since drafting Duncan.
The trio of Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker under the guidance of coach Gregg Popovich has won more playoff games than any trio of players in NBA history. It is a staggering run in an era of free agency and onerous luxury taxes where building a dynasty is more challenging than ever.
The Spurs have been the NBA’s model NBA franchise over the past two decades. They posted operating profits of a record $39 million last season despite playing in the NBA’s fourth smallest market. Ratings for Spurs games on Fox Sports Southwest were up 15% this year and ranked second in the NBA.
Peter Holt led an ownership group that bought the Spurs in 1996 for a grossed-up value of $76 million. Holt’s family made its fortune running the largest Caterpillar CAT -0.41% dealership in the U.S. Forbes valued the team at $660 million in January, but the value has jumped even further after the recent sales of the Milwaukee Bucks ($550 million) and Los Angeles Clippers ($2 billion).
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Popovich is definitely one of the greatest coaches, ever. IMHO he is better than Phil Jackson, because he hasn’t had nearly the talent that Jackson has had.
The Spurs also have a very high percentage of foreign players who actually learned the fundamentals and how to play as a team.
RE: The Spurs also have a very high percentage of foreign players who actually learned the fundamentals and how to play as a team.
Hmmmm... that escaped my mind.
Manu Ginobilli — Argentina
Tony Parker — France
Boris Diaw - France
Tiago Splitter — Brazil
Marco Belinelli — Italy
Patrick Mills — Australian Aborigine
Good gosh, they’re practically a foreign team !!
diving at the right time
is an important skill
Odd. The bigger floppers and the whiners lost this one. It sure was evil to have the A/C off only on the Heat.
Tim Duncan essentially is foreign born (as in, not from an American “Hood”), too. Impossible to prove, but this year’s team may be the greatest of all time. Top flight players who execute a non-playground style of basketball that wears out more athletic yet less-disciplined teams.
Tim Duncan - US Virgin Islands.
Astute observation. Congratulations to the Spurs, the Heat and all who compete.
The sperns were given a heads up the night before so they could over hydrate. You live through the sperns don’t you loser? lol
I didn’t have a dog in the fight. Didn’t care. I’m just pullin the sperns fans chains.
“Jordan or the bad boys in Detroit would have eaten their lunch. It’s a pussy league now for floppers and whiners.”
Funny that you should mention those teams.
If anyone got ALL THE CALLS, IT WAS JORDAN. I mean if you breathed too hard on Jordan, it was a foul. Plus in Bill Laimbeer (of 4 men and a baby fame) was one of the all time floppers.
Spurs far better team then Heat! Best played NBA basketball in decades, fundamentals, ball movements, shooting. Don’t know what you are whining about but with the exception of you and few crybabies everyone else, including those who lost to the Spurs are calling it one of the best teams they have played against. But of course you know more then most of these people!
King James started his off-season 7 minutes early last night.
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