Every NBA team’s best iteration ever
By Micah Wimmer
San Antonio Spurs: 2013-14
In a way, it feels weird to select the 2014 team as San Antonio’s best ever. They only had one All-Star and one All-NBA player — Tony Parker, in both cases — while Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili were both over 35 and past their prime. Also, Kawhi Leonard had yet to develop into the force he would be just a few years later. However, of all the great Spurs teams of the past few decades, dating back to the David Robinson era, this is the one I think of most and remember most fondly. By this point, San Antonio had abandoned the plodding, slow down style that had defined them throughout the 2000s and become one of the most fluid and exciting teams in the league, setting the stage for the Warriors who would win the championship the following year.
This team bridged the gap between eras, still prominently featuring the trio of Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili, while no longer being as dependent on them as before. While only Parker was anywhere near his peak, all three players were still great contributors, key players that this team would not have been able to win a title without. Meanwhile, younger players like Danny Green, Patty Mills, Marco Belinelli, and eventual Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard were all essential, players who had been underrated or discard by other teams only to fit seamlessly within the Spurs system. And, surprisingly, the missing piece turned out to be Boris Diaw, who had spent three seasons languishing in Charlotte before the Spurs traded for him.
The Spurs had lost in seven games to the Heat in the Finals the previous year and wanted revenge, and good lord, they got it, turning in one of the most dominant, and beautiful, performances ever. In the five-game series, they set a new record for average point differential, never beating Miami by less than 15 points. The ball kept moving and the shots kept falling and the Spurs looked like one of the best teams ever.