Are the San Antonio Spurs Done?

Since selecting Tim Duncan with the first pick in the 1997 draft, the Spurs have never had a pick higher than 24th in any draft, yet they have still managed to draft Tony Parker (28th, 2001), Manu Ginobili (57th, 1999), Luis Scola (56th, 2002) and Beno Udrih (28th, 2004).

Scola and Udrih of course are no longer with San Antonio, after they were basically given away. It’s not that San Antonio gave up on them, they just didn’t have space for them in the rotation. Scola and Udrih both excelled so vastly with their new teams, that San Antonio might now regret giving them away so cheaply.

Secondly, at some point it’s reasonable to expect that the desire to keep on winning might start to fade for some of these players. Several guys from 2007's triumph returned for a shot at repeating and while everyone likes to win, for players heading towards the end of their career, once a championship is secured, the burning flame to compete can sometimes diminish.

However, Duncan’s hunger appears to still be as great as it’s ever been. He is the ultimate professional and has won pretty much every major team and individual accolade a player can, most on more than one occasion. He doesn’t need to prove anything more to anyone. Regardless of what happens from here, he’ll be considered one of the best to ever play the game.

What makes Duncan’s achievements even more amazing is that he’s done it all while playing for one team and he’s only played for one coach. It's hard to imagine Popovich without Duncan. There is an easy, respectful rapport between them and you wonder if they have ever had a bad word to say to one another.

While Duncan is still the leader of this team, Tony Parker has proved that he is ready to take over the reigns.

Thirdly, they say that familiarity breeds contempt. That may be true, but in San Antonio’s case, that’s not such a bad thing—they are only familiar with winning.

You only need to look at the first round of last season's playoffs when they dispatched the Phoenix Suns in five games. Then again, San Antonio always beats Phoenix in the playoffs. Upon reflection, that first round series probably said more about the direction the Suns were heading in rather than the Spurs.

In San Antonio’s second round matchup with New Orleans, the Spurs had to rely on all their playoff experience to beat the younger Hornets. The signs were there though, as the Spurs looked tired at times during the series. In hindsight, it was probably only the Hornets’ lack of playoff experience that prevented them from defeating the Spurs.

When the Spurs and the Lakers met in the conference finals, it was billed as a classic rematch of their earlier playoff battles. It wasn’t to be though, as the Lakers comfortably defeated the Spurs in five games. Much of the credit went directly to Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, but it’s possible that L.A. beat up a weary opponent.

One of the major reasons why San Antonio has been so successful over the last decade has been their adaptability—they’ve changed, yet remained the same.

Several players have come and gone and most have abided by a code which trades ego for the chance to win. They only true constants throughout the decade have been Popovich and Duncan.

It would be foolish to write the Spurs off completely, but it would be equally foolish to think that they can continue winning forever.

We know San Antonio will make the playoffs again this season, just as they'll be a tough matchup for whoever they meet.

If the sun is setting on this current Spurs’ dynasty, at least they’ve got one helluva tan to show for it.

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