It’s no secret that I’m not really a fan of the NBA. I often cite things like the emergence of thug-like behavior of many of today’s players, the fact that so many players are greedy and no longer care about winning as long as they’re getting paid top dollar, and the presence of primadonna pretenders that completely derail what a team sport like basketball is really supposed to be.
And then we have incidents like the Donald Sterling racism scandal and subsequently the completely misguided fake support of the Los Angeles Clippers to put way too bright of a spotlight onto the NBA, but the NBA naturally doesn’t care; and they didn’t mind, because exposure equals dollars, and fake or not, people poured an influx of cash into the Clippers, regardless of reasoning.
However, in spite of my indifference towards the NBA, there’s always been one thing that I’ve remained a fan of throughout the years: the San Antonio Spurs. As clichéd as it sounds, it’s because the Spurs play the game in a manner in which I respect and admire, and win in spite of the ever-changing (for the worst) environment of the league around them by doing such. They’re often cited as being a boring team, but frankly I don’t care; I love the way Tim Duncan has banked in ugly jumpers for the better part of the last two decades, and the way Manu Ginobili regularly deceives the opposition almost for no other reason than the fact that he looks white (he’s Argentinian).
So when the Spurs obliterated the Heat to win their fifth championship in the span of the last 15 years, I was happy. Happy that the Spurs beat the Heat with their troika of supposed superstars LeBron James, the seemingly content to be second-fiddle Dwyane Wade, and the egregiously overrated Chris Bosh. Happy that in spite of the Sterling/Clippers scandal, it’s the “boring” Spurs who continued to do what they’ve done for decades and play consistent, fundamental basketball and win it all, much to the dismay of pretty much everyone who loves flash and tabloid stories. And happy for each and every member of the Spurs, who have been carefully constructed to be a team with little-to-no egos, unselfish and intelligent players.
It’s not just the fact that the Spurs won it that made me happy, it’s how they won it that was icing on the cake. Like Manu Ginobili completely taking over the game at parts, like when he drove the lane and threw down a monster dunk over Chris Bosh, who really likes to make celebratory exaggeratingly emotive faces when he throws down, but looks like a sissy who wants to hide in a corner when it happens to him.
The best part was that there came a point where the end became a foregone conclusion, and that all the players on the court simply resigned to going through the motions until the clock ticked down to zero. The killer instinct from the year prior, where the Heat absolutely demoralized the Spurs with comeback after comeback, was completely non-existent, and it was clear that no member of the Heat wanted to take the reigns and attempt to lead a comeback, resulting in LeBron James heaving up shot after shot, because nobody else wanted to. As explosive of an offensive team the Heat could be, once it became apparent that the Heat started trying to match the Spurs shot for shot, it was pretty much over right there.
Honestly though, the reason I’m happiest that the Spurs won, is because I could make this graphic:
The idea for it started formulating in my head when the Spurs got up 3-1 on the Heat, after Kawhi Leonard had once again harassed LeBron into another questionable performance, and I thought about the people I would be gushing to, none of whom like sports at all, and needed a way to pique their interest. But since the Heat are no doubt capable of exploding offensively and coming back from even a 3-1 deficit, I sat on my hands until it was actually concluded.
Sure, I know there are people who would argue that Leonard didn’t per say “own” LeBron James, since he still hung an average of 28.2 points throughout the series, but it’s really one of those “you had to see it” kind of things, because Leonard’s constant harassment of LeBron seriously did prevent him from hanging like 40 a game.
At this point, not that I wouldn’t not want to watch Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker keep playing, I actually hope they all decide to simultaneously retire now. They literally have nothing left to prove, and their hands are cramped with rings at this point. But I always love and admire when professional athletes embrace the opportunities to go out on top, much like former Spurs great David Robinson was able to do 12 years ago; it would be poignant and wonderful to see Duncan, Ginobili and Parker all follow suite and end their careers as champions, instead of broken down former shells of themselves for losing squads.
Restore order to the NBA, go out on top as champions. Whether that happens or not is yet to be determined, but regardless, damn is it good to see the Spurs back on top of the NBA mountain once again. Order has been restored.
