Ranking the Spurs' 10 Best Highlights of the 2014-15 Season So Far

Over time, the San Antonio Spurs have built a reputation for their fundamental play and how it has translated into success.

As the season's first quarter comes to a close, we've seen their trademarked ball movement take center stage, as the Spurs have jumped out to a 15-6 start.

Nonetheless, despite the "boring" tag with which the franchise was associated for so long, the early slate of games hasn't been devoid of high-energy highlight-reel-worthy plays.

The Spurs have executed well on all fronts, and their ability to dazzle hasn't fallen by the wayside in light of their early success.

So, without further ado, I present the Spurs' best highlights of their early 2014-15 campaign.

Note: Highlights were selected based on their in-game impact, their big-picture impact and their "wow factor." Similar plays were avoided to prevent this list from exclusively featuring Kawhi Leonard.

10. Cory Joseph-Boris Diaw Alley-Oop

With Patty Mills sidelined, Cory Joseph has stepped into the backup point guard role and has filled Mills' figuratively large shoes fairly well.

Though he isn't Tony Parker, Joseph brings the confidence of a veteran to the court every time his number is called, scoring and distributing at a pace that guarantees that San Antonio doesn't miss its star when he's forced to sit for stretches.

The above alley-oop layup—trust me, there was no way Boris Diaw was dunking that—is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to great plays that Joseph has made this season.

He's playing at a level that few expected, and he deserves recognition for his improvement from previous seasons in which he was labeled too raw to make an actual difference.

9. Tim Duncan Passes the 25,000-Point Scoring Threshold

This one's purely historical but impressive nonetheless.

This season saw Tim Duncan surpass the 25,000-point threshold, something that only 18 other players have done.

Now, the Spurs' 38-year-old veteran sits 19th on the all-time scoring list and will likely catch No. 18 Jerry West sometime in the upcoming slate of games. 

The milestone is a testament to Duncan's longevity and his elite talent, as he joins a group of players who are either already in the Hall of Fame or will be joining it once their careers come to a close.

8. Danny Green Forces Overtime from Beyond the Arc

Yes, I know that the Spurs would go on to lose this game.

That said, in the moment, the above Danny Green game-tying three was pretty remarkable and would likely be a few spots higher on this list had San Antonio pulled through in overtime.

For context, the Spurs saw themselves down 14 points against the Brooklyn Nets with five minutes remaining in regulation.

But the ensuing comeback that brought the Spurs within three points in the closing minute was a remarkable testament to the team's resilience and its ability to maintain composure even in adverse situations.

As the team chopped away at the lead, anticipation was gradually built for a storybook finish, and when Green connected from long distance to tie the game and send it into overtime, Spurs fans saw the comeback completed.

Sure, Brooklyn would go on to steal the game in overtime, but Green's three kept the dream alive for another few minutes. Though he'll likely have other chances to redeem himself in the clutch of contests down the road, his miraculous three that brought the Spurs so close will have to do.

7. Tony Parker Goes Coast-to-Coast

The number of people willing to defend Tony Parker's inclusion in the NBA's upper echelon of point guards deteriorates with each season. Even so, few can deny Parker's consistent excellence in two factors that dictate point guard play:

1. His capacity to finish at the rim is rivaled by few, and
2. His ability to change speeds is unparalleled by any other guard in the NBA.

In this highlight against the Sacramento Kings, we see both skills put to good use. Parker leads a transition—as he does so often—but he manages to slip by two separate defenders and pull off an acrobatic finish.

It's something that he's done so many times before and that he'll do consistently going forward. But when it comes together in such a brilliant display of one-on-two, fast-break perfection, it's hard to ignore.

Parker often goes unnoticed on highlight reels, as his passes lack the flair of Manu Ginobili's, while dunks from his end are rarer than a Gregg Popovich smile.

That said, he's garnered plenty of second looks for his finishing prowess. The coast-to-coast example against Sacramento only scratches the surface of his collection of hidden highlight gems.

6. Timmy D's Game-Saving Rejection

One of the Spurs' most decisive wins to date came in early November against the Atlanta Hawks, and though San Antonio maintained a slight edge down the stretch, it wasn't until the final moments that the win was solidified.

Up just one point, Tim Duncan delivered in the clutch, redirecting Kyle Korver's go-ahead layup attempt and ensuring the Spurs would go on to win their third game. It was a vintage night for the veteran, who finished with 17 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, three steals and six blocks, making an impact on both ends of the court.

But in the end, it was his defensive presence that saved the game. With Tiago Splitter sidelined, the Spurs have relied on Duncan—more than usual—to anchor the defense.

As seen here, he has not only shouldered the burden but excelled in the process.

5. Kawhi Leonard's Steal and Slam

Yes, I realize that Kawhi Leonard's steal in this recent highlight from the team's win over the Memphis Grizzlies was probably a foul.

Nonetheless, what Leonard does next speaks loads about the trajectory that the rising star is on. Just a few years earlier, he was little more than a defensive stud and a strong perimeter shooter. His ball-handling had yet to take form, and his confidence was relatively low.

Fast-forward to his fourth year, and Leonard has made plays like this coast-to-coast jam the norm. Not only has his ball-handling improved significantly—to the point where he's more than comfortable leading the team in transition—but his overall intensity has grown seemingly twofold.

This one's more representative of a larger body of work that the small forward has contributed, as it seems that every game, his list of highlights grows bigger and bigger.

He's the most "fun" player that the Spurs have had in a long time, and luckily, his skill backs up the "wow factor" he brings to each contest.

4. Marco Belinelli's Emphatic Slam

When it comes down to it, a lot of the highlights on this list will be topped in the near future. After all, Leonard has established himself as a one-man highlight reel, Parker has made a career off of remarkable finishes and Ginobili seems to make magic any time he steps onto the court.

But if there's one highlight on this list that should stick throughout the season, it's this one—a Marco Belinelli baseline jam that nobody saw coming.

Sure, when Belinelli found an open lane to the rim, we all but assumed that a score would come next. But the manner in which it came? I'd be shocked if Belinelli himself saw that coming.

Not only did he finish with an emphatic slam, but he did so over a 6'10'' Henry Sims at a time when it was least expected.

Belinelli's 2014-15 season has been plagued by injury, and during the instances in which he has logged court time, he hasn't been up to par with expectations.

Nonetheless, his big-time dunk proved that Belinelli was beginning to heat up—something he has proceeded to do with 20 and 13 points in his last two games, respectively.

Though it may not have come at a pivotal moment in a crucial game, Belinelli's highlight breaks the "wow scale" if for no reason other than the universal surprise that seemingly accompanied it.  

3. Trademark Ball Movement Grants Spurs Key, Late-Game Victory

Here's a highlight that if it had occurred at any other moment—and believe me, every Spurs game has its fair share of similar plays—it wouldn't have come anywhere close to qualifying for this list.

But in what was likely the most anticipated contest of the Spurs' start to the season, this beautiful display of veteran chemistry and ball movement served as the decisive dagger in what many believe to be an NBA Finals preview.

The LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers played San Antonio evenly throughout the matchup, but the Spurs' ability to finish ultimately allowed them to pull through. And in no moment is that strong finishing ability better epitomized than in this pre-drawn set that put San Antonio up three in the closing seconds.

The play itself was beautiful, no doubt. It manifested in the collective hands of the Spurs' esteemed Big Three and featured some classic ball movement and a difficult finish by Ginobili.

But the win that it brought made it that much more impressive.

2. Tim Duncan's Touchdown Pass

I'm an absolute sucker for great passes. And as far as great passes go, this one's near the top. 

Tim Duncan has long been noted for his aptitude for throwing outlet passes. Whether it's overhead bounce passes off a rebound or a half-court bullet to set up a transition bucket, the Big Fundamental has made quite a few highlight reels with his orchestrating ability.

But for this pass in the opening quarter of San Antonio's first meeting with the Brooklyn Nets, Duncan not only sent the ball the length of the court, but he threw it so perfectly that Leonard was able to catch it in stride and lay it up in one, single motion.

The margin for error was so slim that few quarterbacks, let alone 6'11'' NBA players, would have been able to thread the needle.

Yet Duncan figured it out, producing one of the nicest outlet passes of the 2014-15 season.

1. San Antonio Defeats Dallas 101-100 in Season Opener

Sure, you can nitpick individual moments from the Spurs' opening victory against the Dallas Mavericks as worthy of a spot on the list.

But you could also argue that what came before tipoff trumps any other Spurs highlight to date.

Launching their 2014-15 post-championship campaign, the Spurs hosted Dallas on opening night—a night that not only got the ball rolling for the rest of the season but also one that saw the raising of the banner and the distribution of the team's championship rings.

That alone is worthy of at least an honorable mention.

But the ring ceremony was only the opening act. The following performance would feature two rivals playing hard, even basketball for 48 minutes. And for Spurs fans, the one-point victory made the night sweeter than it already was.

The crux of the game lies in a Parker three-pointer with just over a minute to go and the Spurs down two. Not only did it foreshadow the incredible season that Parker is having from downtown, but it gave San Antonio the one-point edge that it would hold for the remainder of the game.

It served as the perfect start to a 2014-15 season as well as a perfect conclusion to the Spurs' 2014 championship campaign. Combined, it is easily the most enjoyable highlight of San Antonio's early season.