The San Antonio Spurs are a franchise with a $1 billion plus valuation and a sterling reputation. For the past couple decades, their winning tradition is almost unmatched as that have accrued five championships, six conference titles and 20 division titles. Yet the national conversation this year doesn’t really involve the San Antonio Spurs much at all.
The #2 seed in the West, with 67 wins during the regular season, but they’re going extremely unnoticed.
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This year, it’s all about the defending champion Golden State Warriors and their record breaking season. GSW’s 73-9 surpassed the ’95-’96 Chicago Bulls’ 72-10 for the all time greatest single season record. When people weren’t talking about the Warriors this season, they were discussing Kobe Bryant and his beer league final game.
It was painfully obvious that the other team just let him score, and everybody set it up so that he Kobe would make the final shot.
Third on the trending topics list has been Lebron James, meaning the San Antonio Spurs fly under the radar. That’s just the way they want it. The Spurs thrive when you’re looking past them. Maybe you’re just sick of them and/or you think their style of play is dull. They’re totally fine with that.
Reggie Miller on San Antonio’s organizational culture:
“Flying under the radar is exactly what [Coach Gregg Popovich] has built his career on and these Spurs [on]. They fly under the radar – you think of all of the flashy teams – but at the end of the day, they have five championship rings and play the right way.”
It’s, at least partially, why probably why Popovich hates the media so much and is always so disgusted by the idea of doing interviews. The coach and his team are not publicity seekers.
What are the prospects for the Spurs this year? Here’s some takes from a couple of NBA analysts
Kenny Smith on how far San Antonio will go in the Western Conference: “San Antonio is the team to beat, without question, when you look at their pedigree and what they’ve done. First, they’ve had the best coach in basketball for the past decade. Second, [veteran power forward] Tim Duncan now has the ability to sit out a couple of games, and you insert David West into the lineup and LaMarcus Aldridge goes back into his normal role.”
Shaquille O’Neal on the Spurs’ chances in the West: “A lot of times, when the Spurs lose in the NBA Playoffs, they retool and they come back. I think if we see San Antonio and Golden State match up, the Spurs are going to give them a run for their money.”
You know that we’re going to see a San Antonio Spurs versus Golden State Warriors Western Conference Finals; it’s totally inevitable. You also know that this match-up will be the de facto NBA Finals.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram