The New Style of a Dynasty

(Article Published at Realgm.com)

The Spurs dynasty has been the topic of debate since the Spurs took down the overmatched Cleveland Cavaliers to earn their 4th title in 9 years. Could a team be a dynasty if it had never repeated? Can a team be a true dynasty in the modern era, or has expansion changed the dynamic of the idiom?

Maybe labeling the Spurs “team” as a dynasty is misleading in the first place.

Yes, the San Antonio Spurs are a modern day dynasty, akin to the Yankees, Patriots, or Red Wings. Champions transcendent of the ebb and flow of the free agent market or the ever-changing style of play in the NBA, an organization capable of maintaining a winning pedigree despite changes in league rules, their competition, and their roster.

But it’s not a singular team that has garnered the “dynasty” identity for the Spurs. And perhaps that last part is what separates the Spurs from other NBA dynasties (no doubt the Celtics of the 60’s and 80’s, MJ’s Bulls or the Showtime Lakers). The Spurs dynasty is really as much a testament to an organization as it is a spectacular group of players.

Whereas Kobe and Shaq formed a great core, and the MJ/Pippen tandem held several great teammates, every dynastic team to this point has been just that; a dominant team, a group of players simply better than everyone else. Those teams would have several holdovers each offseason and maintain their stars. The teams would only lose their stride by outside influences (retirement, age, in-team fighting).

But the Spurs have reshaped the dynasty image, most notably because they haven’t won 4 championships in the last 9 years through one dominant team. Instead, the Spurs have been ever-versatile, reacting to the unpredictable free agent market that has forever altered the shape of the NBA. The 1999 Spurs share little in common with the 2007 version, which is no mirror image of the 2003 or 2005 teams. In fact, every subsequent Spurs team has been drastically different from the previous incarnation, something no other dynasty can claim. Here’s a breakdown of the Spurs’ 4 championship teams, and a few of the differences in each, including the starting lineups):

1999 (Avery Johnson, Mario Elie, Sean Elliott, Tim Duncan, David Robinson): The ‘99 Spurs were a defensive monster with little offensive prowess outside of Tim Duncan and David Robinson. A team built around aging veterans like Sean Elliott and Mario Elie to flank the All-Star centers, the Spurs featured little slashing perimeter play, instead opting to dump it inside on nearly every possession. They allowed…ready for this?....84.7 points per a game on 42% shooting, making them not only the best defensive team of that year, but arguably the best defensive team of the last decade. They went 15-2 during the playoffs with their slow style, sweeping the powerful Lakers and Trailblazers. While Spurs teams had certain inalienable themes (Duncan, defense, and discipline), this team took their defensive play to a new level, masking their offensive limitations.

2003 (Tony Parker, Stephen Jackson, Bruce Bowen, Duncan, Robinson): The era of David Robinson had come to an end, and in his final year he was no more than a solid role player for the Spurs. Duncan was the MVP of the league, but the entire team had changed around him. Other than Robinson, Malik Rose and little used Steve Kerr were the only holdovers from the 1999 team. Out were Elie, Elliott, and mini-coach Avery Johnson, in were young inexperienced players like Stephen Jackson, Tony Parker, and rookie Manu Ginobili…the last two still adjusting to the league. Again, the Spurs won with defense, but a younger core led to more fast break opportunities and a different style of play.

2005 (Parker, Manu Ginobili, Bowen, Duncan, Nazr Mohammed): The first championship without Robinson featured another huge change for the Spurs: Manu Ginobili became a star. The inconsistent rookie of 2003 was an unstoppable force in the playoffs, and earned a trip to the All-Star game during the regular season. The ’05 Spurs were versatile, and held only 1 carryover from 1999: Tim Duncan, who suddenly was looking his age, but a dominant player nonetheless. For the first time, Duncan had a perimeter star to play with, and a veteran core of shooters like Robert Horry and Brent Barry served to replace departed players like Jackson. The Spurs had become more flexible than ever, able to run with the Suns or body up with the Pistons en route to a championship.

2007: (Parker, Michael Finley, Bowen, Duncan, Fabricio Oberto): Again, a new ripple in the Spurs’ lineup. Aside from free agent additions and subtractions, Tony Parker emerged as a two time All-Star, winning the Finals MVP and becoming a consistent force in the playoffs after struggling in the clutch in previous years. The Spurs had reshaped themselves yet again, utilizing a new starting center (Fabricio Oberto) and a new starting two guard (Michael Finley) while bringing Ginobili off the bench. Duncan was still the core of the firepower-laden team, but they didn’t need him to score 20 points to win…an attribute the Spurs had never previously had.

(So which team is better? If I had to choose an order, the recent 2007 team would take top honors, followed by the 1999, 2005 and 2003 teams, respectively.)

But the point is that each team is considerably different. No team had the same starting lineup as the previous championship team did, and the Spurs have featured a revolving door of bench players over the years, from Terry Porter and Malik Rose to Brent Barry and Fransico Elson. Whether a new star emerged (Ginobili, Parker) or an older star departed (David Robinson), the Spurs’ front office has been versatile in their roster decisions, reshaping their core through foreign draft picks and veteran free agents to react to the changes of style in the NBA. The 1999 team couldn’t run with the 2007 NBA, but during that time the Spurs have adjusted appropriately, and made subtle alterations to an extent that no other NBA dynasty had to.

That’s what makes the Spurs dynasty so unique (and, in turn, so hotly contested), they haven’t had one identifiable team take over the last 9 years of the NBA. Outside of Duncan, no player that started the Spurs’ championship run has been on the roster since the beginning of 2005. The 2007 Spurs aren’t a version of any of their other previous championship teams, but rather an independent reflection of the perfect organization, constantly remaking themselves and restructuring their style of play around Duncan, creating different paths to the same result: the Larry O’Brien trophy.