In 1997, the San Antonio Spurs drafted Tim Duncan, and things just got better from then on.
Duncan exploded onto the NBA scene with 21 points and 11 rebounds per game in his rookie season, proving to be an excellent compliment to the Admiral, David Robinson.
The following season Duncan and Robinson led the Spurs to an NBA championship, and the rising star Duncan won Finals MVP.
The Spurs failed to win another championship until the 2002-2003 season—which was a fitting end to David Robinson's phenomenal career, as he retired after winning the title.
But Robinson's retirement didn't left the Spurs completely diminished, they had managed to add pieces around Duncan. Ginobili and Parker blossomed into stars, and before they knew it, the Spurs had a big three.
Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan pushed the Spurs to win the 2005 and 2007 titles. Four championships in eight years—the Spurs were and still are established winners.
But Manu Ginobili is now 31, and Tim Duncan is 32. The Spurs have possibly the oldest team in the NBA, with players such as Bruce Bowen and Michael Finley filling out the roster. The only young stud the Spurs have is Tony Parker.
So where will this leave the Spurs in five years? Can they win another championship in that time?
Now, although 32 may sound old for a big guy—Shaq is 36 and way past his prime—Timmy D has a completely different style of play that won't be affected much by age. He is considered to be the best power forward to ever play, and his ability to score the basketball in the simplest of ways shall continue to thrive for at least another three years.
Duncan doesn't need athleticism to play—only his shooting touch. I predict Duncan will finish his career with the Spurs, as long as he continues to contribute.
However, Ginobili plays at shooting guard—a position that requires a bit more athleticism and speed something that age takes from players.
Manu is a natural scorer, with an arsenal of moves to get to the basket. He shows fantastic offensive awareness and is a fighter on the defensive end—but as he ages, can we expect to see the same skills from the Argentine?
For now, Ginobili will remain effective for the Spurs—but don't expect him to improve much more. He's almost at his peak, and unlike Duncan, he wont plateau slowly—his effectiveness will decline. His future with the Spurs is less certain than Duncan's, and in years to come he will be a player that is likely to be traded.
Finley, Bowen, Kurt Thomas, and Horry are past their primes and on the brink of retirement. Give it four years and all of them will be enjoying life away from the league. So with a bulk of the roster on their way out, how will the Spurs manage to maintain a high level of play?
Trading players is an option—but I wouldn't expect the Spurs to make a bold move for now. However, they do need to look for players to build a team around Tony Parker, who is most likely to become their franchise player once Duncan's days are over.
Manu is the most expendable out of the big three. In three years, Manu won't be nearly as productive as he is now—and at that point the Spurs can try and make a move for a young player such as Rudy Gay.
The next two years are the Spurs' last chance for a run at a title. With teams like the Hornet and Magic developing players like Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, the Spurs will fall behind the youth of the league.
There is a fine line between experienced and old—and at this moment in time, the Spurs are an experienced team. If the Spurs make the right moves over the next five years, they can maintain their elite status. But until then, we'll just have to wait and see how it all pans out.
12 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
K B 10 months ago
You lost your credibility when you said Brent Barry was with the Spurs. Not to mention they actually got some younger players added to the roster, most notable is Roger Mason. Of course they won't make an immediate impact, but they are there to learn, and with Tim Duncan, anything is impossible. TP's just getting started. Ginobili just got off his best NBA season. If he can get that ankle healed up, and the big 3 can stay healthy throughout the playoffs and get a little bit of contribution from Finley, Mason, etc then there's no reason to believe they won't make a big push in the playoffs this season.
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Josh Saifie 10 months ago
100% right on the brent barry thing that was someting i realised immediatly after i wrote it but forgot to edit that out and sure they will make a push this season thats inevitable but where are they in 5 years?
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yungNegroid 10 months ago
This is typical of the pro-Racist crap that gets published here on B/R. You make no mention in your article about Coach Gregg Popovich at all, even though he has won Coach of the Year and four NBA Championships with the Spurs. Players have come and gone (Brent Barry), but Pop has been with the Spurs throughout their current dynasty.
To ignore any mention of him in a discussion about the demise of that dynasty only reflects the particular mindset one finds so often in articles published here on B/R. Just because Pop doesn't have a certain color of skin is no reason to ignore, to marginalize, to trivialize what he has achieved in San Antonio.
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Mark Leno 10 months ago
thats some of the dumbest stuff ive ever heard.
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yungCaucasoid ... 10 months ago
yungNegroid,
heed the Impact, of he, who drove you out of your mind to mimic/mock me with this login. You're hurt. You're wounded. Your pro-Racist pride has been pummeled. You lost self-control. You were too too cowardly to use your regular login, to debate the validity of my posts. Because you toiled in perplexity with each contribution of mine that exploited you.
So, you created this login. To show other writers here *how empty* your reservoir is, versus me. You hate a world where *Equality reigns* in sports-information reporting, so you lost self-control and created this login. You hate a world where White privilege is exploited, so you lost self-control and created this login. You hate a world where you're made to feel inept, when expected to use your original login to pit your arguments against xenophobic rhetoric I exploit, so you lost self-control and created this login.
I like it too.
I think it's the pinnacle of all compliments, to how impactive I have been in exploiting you Inequality-lovers here, on this site. So thanks for the pom-pom-presentation, in the form of a "yungNegroid" login you created.
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yungNegroid 10 months ago
Wow, I see that you have learned how to use the "copy" and "paste" functions. Congratulations! You are making great strides! The only drawback to this, however, is that we must read the same comments over and over again. Ho hum. A tad boring... But then again, it is rare for you to have anything interesting to write.
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yungCaucasoid ... 10 months ago
yungNegroid,
heed the Impact, of he, who drove you out of your mind to mimic/mock me with this login. You're hurt. You're wounded. Your pro-Racist pride has been pummeled. You lost self-control. You were too too cowardly to use your regular login, to debate the validity of my posts. Because you toiled in perplexity with each contribution of mine that exploited you.
So, you created this login. To show other writers here *how empty* your reservoir is, versus me. You hate a world where *Equality reigns* in sports-information reporting, so you lost self-control and created this login. You hate a world where White privilege is exploited, so you lost self-control and created this login. You hate a world where you're made to feel inept, when expected to use your original login to pit your arguments against xenophobic rhetoric I exploit, so you lost self-control and created this login.
I like it too.
I think it's the pinnacle of all compliments, to how impactive I have been in exploiting you Inequality-lovers here, on this site. So thanks for the pom-pom-presentation, in the form of a "yungNegroid" login you created.
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yungNegroid 10 months ago
You are like my grandmother. You forget what you've already said and keep repeating yourself.
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yungCaucasoid ... 10 months ago
yungNegroid,
sorry to spoil your amusement, but I don't have "Yo Mama" routine. Only routine I have is exploiting Racism in Sports. You're hypotheses-proven theorem of that, for sure, many times on this site. So maybe you'd better find a more veracious approach toward me. In the meantime, you know what to swallow whole:
heed the Impact, of he, who drove you out of your mind to mimic/mock me with this login. You're hurt. You're wounded. Your pro-Racist pride has been pummeled. You lost self-control. You were too too cowardly to use your regular login, to debate the validity of my posts. Because you toiled in perplexity with each contribution of mine that exploited you.
So, you created this login. To show other writers here *how empty* your reservoir is, versus me. You hate a world where *Equality reigns* in sports-information reporting, so you lost self-control and created this login. You hate a world where White privilege is exploited, so you lost self-control and created this login. You hate a world where you're made to feel inept, when expected to use your original login to pit your arguments against xenophobic rhetoric I exploit, so you lost self-control and created this login.
I like it too.
I think it's the pinnacle of all compliments, to how impactive I have been in exploiting you Inequality-lovers here, on this site. So thanks for the pom-pom-presentation, in the form of a "yungNegroid" login you created.
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yungNegroid 10 months ago
You are an ignorant, hypocritical turkey. You claim to oppose racism, but then one sentence later refer to "deadweight Caucasoid players". You have also demonstrated time and again that you actually know nothing about sports. You only comment on this forum when you see an opportunity to either criticize a "caucasoid" player or accuse someone else of disrespecting a "negroid" player.
I notice that you're now running to other threads since you have been thoroughly humiliated by your evident ignorance and hypocrisy in others.
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yungCaucasoid ... 10 months ago
yungNegroid, I vehemently oppose Racism, but that does not effect the reality that there are multitudes of *dead-weight Caucasoid* players of minimal contributions who receive 'a pass' from pro-Racist mindsets like yours. It's like, you blame me for that. I didn't create them, I didn't give them 'a pass' as I continually and unfairly attack Black players------you did!
You're an aimless little harlequin, who loves my style, as shown in how you were one of the very first ones who used to compliment/agree with my sports opinions ---under your other login!--- when, I initially logged onto this site. And prior to, you getting so angry at my exploiting Inequality-In-Sports, to...where your dyckrydyng my stii caused you to go create this login. I'll debate you dumb-brain to smitherings, on any NFL or NBA or MLB topic. Period. And you know it, harlequin, almost as well as you know to:
____________________________________________________________________________
heed the Impact, of he, who drove you out of your mind to mimic/mock me with this login. You're hurt. You're wounded. Your pro-Racist pride has been pummeled. You lost self-control. You were too too cowardly to use your regular login, to debate the validity of my posts. Because you toiled in perplexity with each contribution of mine that exploited you.
So, you created this login. To show other writers here *how empty* your reservoir is, versus me. You hate a world where *Equality reigns* in sports-information reporting, so you lost self-control and created this login. You hate a world where White privilege is exploited, so you lost self-control and created this login. You hate a world where you're made to feel inept, when expected to use your original login to pit your arguments against xenophobic rhetoric I exploit, so you lost self-control and created this login.
I like it too.
I think it's the pinnacle of all compliments, to how impactive I have been in exploiting you Inequality-lovers here, on this site. So thanks for the pom-pom-presentation, in the form of a "yungNegroid" login you created.
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yungNegroid 10 months ago
yungCaucasoid wrote: "yungNegroid, I vehemently oppose Racism"
So why is it you refer to me as "yungNigg" in other posts? You use a shortened version of a racially-charged word and also lump all non-negroid players into the category of *dead-weight Caucasoid* players.
I have exposed you for the hypocritical racist you are and you cannot stand it! Now, of course, you resort to name-calling when clearly the evidence is stacked against you. Okay, okay, I'm the "dumb-brain" as you so cleverly called me. Ouch, that one hurt.
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