(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

2008 Statistics

Finished 54-28, first in Southwest Division, third in Western Conference

Postseason

First Round: Lost to Dallas Mavericks 4-1

Key Additions

Richard Jefferson via trade, Dejuan Blair via draft, Jack McClinton via draft, Antonio McDyess via free agency, Theo Ratliff via free agency, Nando De Colo via draft

Key Losses

Drew Gooden via free agency, Bruce Bowen via trade, Kurt Thomas via trade, Fabricio Oberto via trade

Usually a 54-win season ending with a first round postseason exit would please many NBA teams, probably more than half the league's teams, but to a team like the San Antonio Spurs it is considered a major disappointment.

A team like the Spurs are used to the finer things of the NBA world and have experienced championship glory and contending for a title year in and year out. Just to show you how dominant this team has been for the past decade, here's a stat for you: 54-28 is the worst record San Antonio has had in ten years. Not to mention, they had advanced past the first round of the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons.

Obviously, only the best is reserved for San Antonio. We can see the Spurs contending every year for a top three seed and every year they get it with a number of Southwest division titles. With all the offseason moves being made by San Antonio, it is obvious to see that 54 wins is not enough for a team like the Spurs.

They pulled off one of the first moves of the offseason and turns out it could be the most important. The team traded away several non-offensive factors and stole away one of the best producers in the NBA on the offensive side in Richard Jefferson.

Jefferson had spent the first seven years of his career with the New Jersey Nets before going to the Milwaukee Bucks last year.

One year was enough for RJ as he was quickly traded away at the end of the season. He averaged 20 points and five rebounds which are the numbers Jefferson has put out consistently every year in the league. He is a very underrated offensive threat and fills in the small forward position for a Spurs team that was lacking depth at the three spot.

By bringing in Jefferson, the Spurs lost out on hometown favorite Bruce Bowen. While Bowen was a little to non-threat as an offensive player, it was his frustrating, dangerous defense that kept him around for so long.

Bowen will be missed as a defender and most of all by the city of San Antonio, but this trade was for the best and vaults the Spurs near, if not to the top of the Western conference power rankings.

The combined scoring of Bowen, Thomas, and Oberto last year added up to barely half of what Jefferson makes per game. With Parker and Duncan as the leading scorers of the Spurs, this could be one of the top three-headed monsters in the game, which will cause problems for Western conference powerhouses such as the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Spurs success over the past decade can be credited to "The Big Fundamental" Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. The combination of Parker and Duncan has won three championships with all three coming in the past seven years. They are arguably the best combination in the NBA at the moment and could be discussed amongst the best historically.

Duncan has been fantastic from the start when he won his rookie of the year award in the 1997-98 season averaging 21 points and 12 rebounds. A lot has happened between then and now, and nothing has changed in Duncan's game. He has averaged a double-double for his entire career and averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds last year. While some might criticize him for his lack of intensity and emotion, numbers don't lie and championship rings don't either.

Over the past few years, Tony Parker has emerged as a team leader and has a created a great chemistry with Duncan in their postseason pushes. Eight years into his NBA career, Parker had the best season of his career posting a high of 22 points and seven assists per game. He also had a career high 55 point game which led his team to a victory.

Tony has become one of the top point guards in this league and with leadership and determination on his side, three championships are only the few of many more to come if he can get Duncan to will out a few more in his waning career.

Usually with championships, it takes more than two superstars to win it. It needs a supporting cast and the Spurs have one of the best. When they brought in Roger Mason last year, it wasn't too publicized due to the fact that Mason was not much of a scorer or much else.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?