I must preface this article by clearly stating I am not leaving out the Boston Celtics. From 1957 to 1969 Boston won 11 NBA Championships. But, for the purpose of this article I am talking about legendary teams from the modern era of basketball. To me, the modern era starting in 1979 When Magic Johnson and Larry Bird entered the NBA. Magic and Bird changed the landscape of basketball and made the NBA popular in the inner city and in rural America. So with that said, when we think of the modern dynasty’s in basketball a few teams come to mind.
- Larry Bird led the Boston Celtics to 3 titles in 1981, 1984 and 1986.
- Magic Johnson led the Los Angeles Lakers to 5 titles in 1980,1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988.
- Michael Jordan led the Bulls to 6 titles in 1991,1992,1993,1996,1997 and 1998.
- The Lakers with Phil Jackson won 5 titles in 2000,2001,2002, 2009 and 2010.
All of these teams were great but when you break them down you can see that there are some glaring issues that come up. During Magic Johnson’s playing career in Los Angeles, not one Western Conference team won a title other than the Lakers from 1979 until 1993. In 1994 the Houston Rockets won back- to-to back Championships. There was no real threat in the Western Conference during the Lakers run. The Bulls were a great dynasty but not one team they beat won a title when Jordan retired the first time. The Knicks, the Pacers, the Jazz and Portland never won after losing to Chicago. If they were great teams, they would have gotten over the hump during Jordan’s liaison. The most consistent team and the best franchise in the NBA over the past 19 years have been the San Antonio Spurs. What they have done over that time will NEVER BE DUPLICATED.
In 1997, Gregg Popovich went 17-47. He then went 56-26 and 37-13 and won his first NBA title in the strike-shortened year of 1999-2000. Since that time the Spurs have won 50 or more games for 17 years in a row. Some may argue that the Lakers have had just as much success as the Spurs over this time. That is simply not true, since 2010 the Lakers haven’t even been to a conference finals and they have missed the playoffs three straight years.
The Spurs have done all of this with one man coaching the team. Popovich has been nothing short of spectacular, winning 5 NBA Titles. If it weren’t for a Derek Fisher buzzer beater with .04 seconds left and a Ray Allen three-point shot, Pop may have been 7-0 in the NBA Finals instead of 5-1.
What has been so amazing is his ability to adapt and evolve over the years. When he first starting coaching Pop was considered to be a no-nonsense control freak. He was very hard on his players and would often lash out at them during games. Over the years he has gotten wiser and has matured as a coach. He will often sit his players on back-to-back nights during the long season and he always sees the big picture. During a regular season game a few years ago the Spurs were trailing by 20 points to LeBron James and the Miami Heat. During a timeout in the 3rd quarter Pop said to his players, “I don’t care about the score, I don’t care if we lose the game. This game means nothing, but let’s go out and work on the things that we do well so we can improve. Forget about the score guys, let’s just play Spurs basketball.” What coach would basically tell his players that this game means nothing? Pop was right though, it was just a regular season game and Spurs went on to win the title that season.
There were never be one coach that will win 50 games a year for 17 years in a row. What we are witnessing is something that will never be done again. Because of their commitment to excellence and their record over the years the Spurs are the greatest NBA Franchise, ever. It doesn’t matter whose name is on the back of their jersey’s, every player who wears the uniform knows it’s about the name on the front of the jersey (Spurs). Pop has created a system that is bigger than the individual. In a society where most players are about getting mine, my shots, my points and my endorsements, the Spurs continue to be about team first.
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