NBA Playoffs 2012: San Antonio Spurs Have Best Championship Formula

Some teams rely on only the most elite talent to make them championship contenders. There's no need to point any fingers, here—the culprits aren't exactly ashamed of these superstar coups.

It goes without saying that the San Antonio Spurs aren't one of those teams.

Yes, the franchise lucked out with a draft pick that changed its future by turning into one of the greatest power forwards of all time.

But the rest of San Antonio's fate was built with the kind of basketball acumen that finds Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili with the 28th and 58th picks in the 2001 and 1999 drafts. General Manager R.C. Buford has engineered a dynasty without the benefit of top-shelf free-agent acquisitions or mega-trades.

More importantly, though, Coach Gregg Popovich has developed a system that transcends the talents of individual players.

That system has won more frequently since 1997 than any team in the four major professional team sports.

It's also created opportunities for some unlikely people and this season has been no exception.

As San Antonio was making its push to lead the Western Conference for the second consecutive season, it decided to bring in some reinforcements—but not the kind of assets you'd expect to be in high demand.

Stephen Jackson couldn't even get consistent playing time for the middling Milwaukee Bucks through the first half of the season, but he's blossomed coming off San Antonio's bench in a tandem that sort of makes you wonder who the sixth man is.

Boris Diaw was banished from the NBA's worst team, only to now find himself starting for its best.

And how does it reason that the Cleveland Cavaliers couldn't find a use for Danny Green, now starting at shooting guard for the Spurs?

As for Gary Neal—who's averaged over nine points off the bench in each of his last two seasons with San Antonio—no one even bothered to draft him.

Collectively, these guys may not have the highest verticals or quickest first steps, but they can shoot the ball and play intelligently. The roster may not boast the talent you'll find in Los Angeles, Miami or even New York, but that also means no one tries to do too much.

The Spurs are unselfish almost to a fault, yet they're also fearless.

Manu Ginobili hadn't made a three-pointer in his first three first-round games against the Utah Jazz. That changed on Monday night when he hit back-to-back daggers to stop a Jazz run that had cut a third-quarter lead to just four points.

He hit one more in the fourth before it was all said and done.

The willingness of San Antonio's entire rotation to take the big shot isn't an accident. It's the by-product of everyone actually having the chance to take those shots. That's what happens when a team passes and reacts to what the defense gives it.

It's a formula that won't produce many celebrities—but it's been known to win a championship or two.