For decades the San Antonio Spurs have been viewed as one of the smartest, most well-run franchises in American sports. Their legendary run of playoff appearances, with more than a few titles mixed in along the way, is one of the most impressive runs in NBA history. But as much credit as we give the Spurs leadership for putting together competitive roster after competitive roster, they’ve also gotten incredibly lucky.
After the Big Three of Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Tim Duncan retired, the Spurs fortunes declined rapidly. They’ve made the playoffs every year since the three greats set off into the sunset but they’ve never been quite as threatening as they once were.