Three is greater than one, and the Spurs, for all their success while prime Tim Duncan was their sole fulcrum, took another step forward with the ascent of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
It took a few years, sure—Parker had been drafted in 2001 and Ginobili came over the following year, and both tested their coach’s patience early—but by the mid 2000s, it was clear Gregg Popovich had struck a balance on his roster, with his two international talents getting their own sets of keys to the offense.