The San Antonio Spurs have captured their fourth title in nine years. In a super-competitive Western Conference, the Spurs have proven yet again that they are the best team in basketball. Is their dominance a product of super planning, or is it blind luck? What is the reason for the Spurs being all but unbeatable in the playoffs? Is it the basketball iron man that wears number 21? Or is it the gritty coach that will share a laugh with his team before and after tearing them up for turning the ball over or fouling the a jump-shooter.

The next year they did well, and the year following they won their first franchise championship in the shortened season against the New York Knicks. Duncan and Robinson played well together, and despite criticism they won the title. As the sun set on that season, the beginning of another era began. Phil Jackson, the coach of Bulls dynasty that won six titles in eight years, joined the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers went on to win three straight titles, but the Spurs continued to build their team.

In the 2003 playoffs, the Spurs ended the Lakers’ run and went on to win another championship. They won a lopsided victory over the New Jersey Nets, and Tim Duncan went on to win his second Finals MVP award. After defeating the seemingly invincible Laker team and winning the NBA championship, David Robinson retired as he accepted the Larry O’brien trophy. With this title, the team had been injected with a bit of youth. Manu Ginobili, a young shooting guard from Argentina, used his unorthodox style of penetration to seemingly throw himself at the basket. Tony Parker, a lightning-quick young player from France, seemed to compliment Tim Duncan perfectly. Using the pick and roll, they were able to play through the playoffs with relative ease.

In 2004, the Lakers were determined to get back to championship form, and they brought in two NBA legends. Los Angeles brought in Karl Malone and Gary Payton, both players with hopes of finishing their careers with a championship ring. When the Lakers met the Spurs in the playoffs in 2004, Kobe and Shaquille were too much for them, and though they had a 2-0 advantage, the Lakers won four games in a row to close them out. That year, the super tandem of Los Angeles broke apart when Shaquille was traded away. This opened up the league, and more specifically the Western Conference.

In the 2004-2005 season, the landscape of the league seemed to change. The Miami Heat was now a championship caliber team, and the less-than-stellar Phoenix Suns became championship contenders as well. Arguably the best player in the Eastern Conference, Tracy McGrady, was traded to the Rockets for Steve Francis and change.

This paired the potential-heavy Yao Ming with a great scorer, and the general consensus was that the Rockets would be pushed toward championship contention. As the West changed, the Spurs stayed the same. In the midst of every team having new players, new schemes, and posing new threats, the consistent Spurs proved they were just that; as consistent as consistent gets. They went on to hammer the Nuggets, Sonics, and the newly revamped Phoenix Suns. Then, in a classic seven game series, the Spurs defeated the NBA champion Detroit Pistons to obtain their third title in seven years. The series might have been slow paced and lacked some of the showmanship of previous finals classics, but it was a series that pitted two high-quality teams and coaches against one another in a hard fought match up. The Spurs made it happen when it mattered, and won in game seven.

In the offseason following their third title in seven years, the Spurs added veterans such as Nick Van Exel and Michael Finley. The Spurs had another top-shelf regular season, finishing first in the Western Conference. In the 05-06 postseason, the Spurs met the Mavericks in the semi-finals of the Western Conference Playoffs. In a controversial ending of regulation, the Spurs lost in overtime and they would once again be denied a championship repeat. The Mavs would go on to lose to the Heat in the NBA Finals, giving the Eastern Conference their second title since the Chicago Bulls dynasty dismantled in 1998.

This year, the Spurs had a good regular season, and they met challenges in the playoffs. The Nuggets, led by scoring sensations Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, seemed to pose a threat to the Spurs’ championship aspirations. San Antonio proved themselves to be too complete of a team for Denver to handle, and prevailed in five games through a notably physical series. The next series would be against the high-octane Phoenix Suns. In a tied series, the Suns’ starting center/leading scorer was suspended for running onto the court during an altercation between Steve Nash and Robert Horry. Despite an honest effort from the Suns that saw them improve their already stellar three point shooting, the Suns would lose that game and end up losing the series in six games. The Spur dominated the next two series, and won the NBA championship going 16-4 in the playoffs.

With the success of the Spurs, being the most winning franchise in the last decade in any professional sport, was it luck or great foresight? Were the Spurs just fortunate their star player got injured all those years ago? When general managers around the league sit and strategize about how to make their team a championship contender, is the answer to take out your star player for a year and hope for the top draft pick? It certainly worked for the Spurs. That draft pick for Tim Duncan, the senior power forward from Wake Forest that set records in the NCAA in several stat columns, ultimately put San Antonio in the position they are in today. They won titles before Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, and they have won two titles since future Hall of Fame center David Robinson retired. He has been surrounded by good players his entire professional career, but the scenario is just that; Tim Duncan has been right in the middle of everything great to ever happen for the Spurs franchise. He will most likely go down as the greatest player to ever wear the black and silver jersey, and will at least for the time being be known as the greatest power forward to ever play the game of basketball.

So the stars aligned in 1997, the already playoff-caliber team of San Antonio received a once-in-a-generation big man that was mobile enough to defend, but big and strong enough to absolutely own the paint offensively. Tony Parker, a borderline 2nd round pick that was initially scratched from the board; and Manu Ginobili, the 57th pick in the 1999 draft; both players with evidently unforeseen potential that just seemed to simply ‘work out’ for the system that orbits Tim Duncan. With the orbiting system, comes orbiting championships to the Virgin Islands native. No matter what the outlook, whether it is luck or prophecy that built this still-young team; and whether they have bad ratings or they are appreciated as a modern-day dynasty; the Spur are what they are. With their slow-paced game plan and committed defense, the Spurs have their fair share of detractors. Some are not willing to bestow the Spurs the label of dynasty, or the respect of ‘greatness’.

This is understandable; because greatness may be in the eye of the beholder, but the championship trophies are in Spurs’ owner Peter Holt’s trophy case, and the championship rings are on Tim Duncan’s fingers.

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