Spurs Snatch Title From King James. BEST TEAM EVER?

Did the Spurs officially close the MJ era with their victory?

The San Antonio Spurs are the champions of the National Basketball Association and take over a special mantle that will likely exist for the next decade.  As we experience the next ten years, we shall all be caught up in the whirlwind, rendering us unable to see clearly enough to describe the impact of when the NBA evolved back into a league of teams. When its all over, a new era of basketball will be defined, led by the player whose name and game is defining the era as we speak.

San Antonio deserves more than a moment of consideration in this story.  When the scrolls are compiled and the official doctrine is canonized, King James might see the Spurs as an apostle Paul of sorts.  For this day and for many to come, the Spurs might become the most noteworthy preacher of the gospel of team basketball because team basketball is what they've always represented.  Yet, even they, the harbingers of Tim "the meek" Duncan, have suffered under the pressure of the era in which they've played.  History has already attached a label to that time slot, and MJ rules the day.

The era of Michael Jordan ushered in the wave of individualism that has overtaken the league as we know it. Last night, with the impressive closeout victory by the San Antonio Spurs over the Miami Heat, there was a major market correction of sorts.  In the era of MJ, the shoe deal and commercial exposure took over the league.  Sadly, MJ himself did not play the game selfishly and asked as much of his players as he was willing to give himself. MJ was the essence of team, but his fire and brimstone approach along with his flair for the dramatics left an indelible stain on the youth of the world.  After MJ ruled the league, ESPN and sports television helped to insure that we only remember him for the results of his team effort, not for his team effort itself.

Tim Duncan played against Michael Jordan a time or two.  As an offspring of MJ's era, Duncan and his cohorts had to establish their own "Big 3" and tag one of them as the leader of them all.  The entire leagues image has become driven by the individuals on each team and not the team behind the individuals.  Duncan has never embraced such a notion, but that never stopped the expectations of his era to be placed upon him and every would be champion.

In some ways, San Antonio was actually the only exception to the "focus on the individual"dynamic that drivescharacterizes modern day players.  San Antonio has always nurtured great players and good players alike in order to achieve their goals.  During their absence from the championship mantle, the court of public opinion had conveniently blamed the big 3 of the Spurs. Now that they are back, there was a war over Boris Diaw or Kawhi Leonard for series MVP. During this series, this team got contributions from every player who stepped on the court, but the biggest assist came from the coach.

Greg Popovich made it clear to the world that last year's defeat haunted him throughout the entire summer.  The very first day of the Spurs season included an immediate review of game 6 from last season's finals, the game in which the Spurs handed over a ring they had already been sized for.  Every day that he could actually do something about his pain from one year ago, Pop' did what he could do.  A year prior, Pop' was conspicuously silent at key moments, trusting that trusting his team was the better way to go.  This year?  He was not so composed.  At every moment and upon each opportunity, Pop' used timeouts and reminded his team of the flavor of  failure.  When Miami mounted comebacks, Pop' made it stop.  The formula for winning had been laid out clearly throughout the season, but formula's fall apart when the King shows up with his court.  After losing game 2 at home, Pop' realized that to beat the King at the height of his powers would take more than a formula.

Pop' had a really strong trump card that he did not waste, but played it several times down the homestretch of the finals.  When situations appeared bleak, coach Pop' continued to remind the TEAM that the era of the big 3, or the individuals, was quickly ending for everyone...even them.  Not knowing if they would ever get the chance to win one for their big 3 after losing one for them a year earlier was inspirational.  The eventual MVP, Leonard, was the heel last year who missed the free throw that started the game 6 meltdown.  If any player had a reason to show up big, Leonard might have been tops on the list, but several players had cause to clear their name.  Even one who did not lose.

Win or lose, the world will always force LeBron to prove himself worthy of his appointment.  He might have only secured two rings, but he's fought for 5 of them across 11 seasons, and it's likely that LeBron returns to fight again soon. Vegas has placed Miami as the automatic favorite to win next season.  The fact that he lost this one makes for 2 teams from Texas that tripped up King James along his royal walk.  The Spurs, and every team that beats LeBron, will automatically ascend to the mantle of 'the one' who got it done against the greatest player in the land. They will be a part of the story line, but they will not be the central character.  This story is, and shall remain about LeBron, no matter who manages to beat him during his career.  Sure, we might find interesting angles to report on after a game 5 closeout, but soon enough this shall evolve or devolve back to the King assigned to change the game.

For today, this story is about team again.  It was the same way when Dallas beat the Heat, but now its even more pronounced because overcoming the King keeps demanding greater team play just to get a whiff at the NBA title.  If When LeBron does rise back to the top, he will be forced to double down on his approach to sharing and moving the ball (an approach that he prefers, but the MJ era neophytes reject) and will emerge better for the whooping the Spurs forced him to endure. He may never be excused for his lack of late game heroics, but the current champs, San Antonio, shows how utterly useless heroics become when confronted with team effort.  Heroics are for close games, not decisive victories created by exceptional team play.

However, heroics are needed for lasting legacies, and LeBron simply comes off as too boring to overtake the legend he threatens to supplant. Had he overcome the Spurs to win this series, most of his doubters would have been forced to find new angles for their assault of him.  With his team playing uninspired basketball, beating the Spurs would have taken a better than great performance, and LeBron was simply really good. Such a heroic story might not have been in the cards, but overtaking the great Michael Jordan without an intense commitment to team play won't be in the cards either.

If LeBron can inspire his team to play like the Spurs played to beat him, he will certainly win more championships one day, maybe even more than Jordan.  More importantly,  he will also functionally return the game to its proper form, which is just the type of job suited for a King.