Before the 1997 NBA season, the San Antonio Spurs were a team searching for an identity and in desperate need of some limelight. Enter Tim Duncan. The Spurs corralled Duncan with the #1 overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft. Alongside “The Admiral” David Robinson, the "Twin Towers" collected 2 titles in the span of 6 seasons. After Robinson’s retirement after the 2003 season, the Spurs were once again in search for a new identity. This time around their international duo of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were ready to grab the torch, helping the Spurs to another 2 titles in 2005 and 2007. The story for the 2012 San Antonio Spurs is no different.
This Spurs team has been dominant in every facet of the game. This gang of crafty vets are winners of 18 straight and 29 of their last 31 (one of those loses coming in a game where Duncan, Parker and Ginobili all rested). The team is primed to win their 5th title in 13 years. A team that resides in obscurity; lurking in the shadows hidden from media attention, which is nearly impossible in this day and age. Coach Greg Popovich and GM R.C. Buford have pulled off a miraculous feat, keeping their championship core intact through the years. While Tim Duncan receives most of the credit for the Spurs rich history--and maybe deservedly so--the two guys cast under his shadow are the most under-appreciated athletes in sports. For Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Both Parker and Ginobili had successful careers in Europe before playing on American soil. Parker, the Frenchman, and Ginobili, the Argentinian, both fell on draft day despite their overseas experience. The San Antonio Spurs struck gold picking Parker at 28th and Ginobili at 57th overall. Since then, the accolades between these two seem endless. Three All-NBA selections, Sixth Man of the Year, Finals MVP, and more titles between the two of them (six) than the top four finishers in MVP voting this season (LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant) combined. These two guys are models of consistency, each posting Player Efficiency Ratings above 22 this past season despite being in their 30’s.
In Parker, he may be the most obscure Finals MVP winner in NBA history. His smooth floater along with his dominance in the paint is an unmatched skill set for a point guard. As Duncan has began to age and mold his game into more of a role player, Parker has taken hold of the reins and led the Spurs to the best record in the West for the 2ndconsecutive season. At 30, Parker is still lightning quick and posted a career high in assists and FT%, putting up arguably the best numbers of his career.
While Ginobili finished 7thin the NBA in PER, he was a victim of the shortened lockout season, missing 32 games due to injury. Ginobili has a reckless style of play, using the Eurostep to jive and twist his way through traffic. His relentless style is what's made him so unstoppable, but at the same time banged up. When healthy, Ginobili embodies the Spurs battery, igniting the team with energy every time he comes off the bench. You won’t find many future Hall of Famers who would come off the bench so willingly. Ginobili is humble and modest, but also a silent assassin who will catch you off guard if you show him lackluster D. He constantly attacks the rim and has a feathery touch from outside. At 34, Ginobili has hardly lost a step.
The Spurs will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in one of the most anticipated series in recent history. The media attention has been surrounded around the 40 point outbursts of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and the emerging talent of Sixth Man of the Year James Harden. All season long fans and media have prepared for a Thunder-Heat finals clash of a Battle of the Big Threes. In reality, the best Big 3 in the NBA has been the same for over a decade. With the days of the Twin Towers of the San Antonio Spurs in the past, the Spurs will once again have to call on their Dark Knights in search for another title.
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