Dear San Antonio,
We're sorry we doubted your team.
The rest of us have been watching NBA basketball all these years, but not like you have.
Not like your Spurs.
And can we say it? We're jealous of this basketball machine you get to watch rev up every single night.
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Teams come and teams go, but it's June, and the Spurs are here again. As always.
How is your team still doing this?
What's your secret, San Antonio? Is it the nasty?
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Just tell us! We'll be more nasty if we have to.
Your Spurs were over the hill five years ago. They were dead and buried a year ago.
How are they still here? How is this still possible?
How is Tim Duncan still doing this night after night?
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Do you know how many 7-footers have been this productive at his age? There's Kareem, and there's Tim, and... that's it.
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At age 37, Duncan averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds a game this year. Shaq couldn't match that. Neither could Hakeem. (Abdul-Jabbar went for 22 and 8 a game at this age.)
How? HOW IS HE STILL PLAYING LIKE THIS?
What about Tony Parker? How is he still quicker than everyone else on the floor?
How does he even make passes like this?
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Watching Tony Parker is a nightly exercise in pick-and-roll perfection. And if there was a word more perfect than "perfect," we'd use that.
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And when we're out of words about those two, there's still Manu.
How can we even find something left to say about Manu? About the way he can contort his body through traffic and come through clean on the other side?
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About the way he manages to do things on the basketball court that tip into a realm probably closer to magic than basketball? How does he do it?
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And there's that other thing we never fully appreciate about the Spurs: The way they just keep coming at you.
You shut down Tim, Tony, and Manu? Well, here's Kawhi Leonard coming right down the lane.
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Here's Danny Green taking over from deep.
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Here's Patty Mills, getting into the paint whenever he wants.
Here's Tiago Splitter and his versatility in the paint.
Here's Boris Diaw — Boris Diaw! — taking over a game.
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Do you realize what you've been watching all these years, Spurs fans?
This league is full of stars — LeBron, Durant, Kobe, Melo — but can anything compare to the feeling of watching the San Antonio Spurs play the way Gregg Popovich built them to play?
Watch the Spurs, and you get the sense that you are watching something wondrous. Something beautiful. And you've gotten to watch it every night.
The rest of us are dealing with average coaches. You've got Gregg Popovich. Honestly, will we ever see a coach like Pop again?
And we know what you're thinking: Maybe if the Spurs got the respect from ESPN…
…maybe then the rest of us would see the Spurs for what they are: One of the greatest dynasties of the past 25 years — in any sport.
What we'll say is this, San Antonio: We do get why you do crazy things for your team.
Why you give the internet in your homes names like this.
Why everything you hold dear is silver and black.
Why after a big win, you drive up Commerce and down Market and honk.
All. Night. Long.
Why certain words are always on your mind.
Why those words aren't so much a cheer as a mantra, a reason to live.
And we're sorry we didn't believe, San Antonio. It must be maddening to have not gotten the love you deserve.
But just remember: Any time we start to doubt your team, all you have to do is show us these.
