With the 2015-2016 NBA Regular Season coming to an end, much of the sports talk around the country has been predominantly centered on the Golden State Warriors, and the attention is well-deserved. Reigning MVP Stephen Curry has captivated the league with his stellar three-point shooting and improbable half-court, buzzer-beater shots as he leads his team to one of the most successful NBA seasons of all time.
Accompanied by fellow All-Stars, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, Curry and the Warriors are on a quest to make history as they are trying to break the all-time NBA regular-season record of 72 wins set by the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in the 1995-1996 season.
As amazing as this statistic seems, there is yet another NBA team in reach of making history this year. Little known to the average sports fan, something incredibly special is taking place in a town called San Antonio.
Largely overshadowed by the Warriors, the San Antonio Spurs are quietly having a tremendous season as well. Under the leadership of long-time Spurs players Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, and Head Coach Gregg Popovich, the Spurs have been a dominant force in the league as they currently stand at 64-12, which is a franchise record for wins.
Led by top scorers Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge, the Spurs are enjoying the league’s eighth best offensive output as the team averages 104.2 points scored per game. On the opposite end of the court, San Antonio asserts itself as the best defensive team in the NBA, holding opponents to merely 92.6 points scored per game and a 43.5 percent Field Goal Percentage. With a strong offense and superior defense, the Spurs boast a point differential of 11.6, surpassing even that of the Warriors’ for the best point differential in the league.
As staggering as all of these figures are, the most phenomenal statistic for the team is their home record. San Antonio is 38-0 on their home court, the AT&T Center. The streak is the longest in NBA history, recently eclipsing the mark set by the Chicago Bulls in the 1995-1996 season. During that season, the Bulls won 37 straight home games before ultimately falling to the Charlotte Hornets 98-97.
With the Spurs less than a handful of games away from achieving a historic accomplishment — a perfect record at home — what does such a remarkable feat mean to Gregg Popovich and his Spurs?
As Popovich put it, “Absolutely nothing. Maybe a cup of coffee. Maybe.”
The statement sums up everything you need to know about the Spurs organization.
Despite how great San Antonio’s regular season has been and the fact that they have the chance to realize a historic milestone, it all means nothing to them if they do not finish the season with a championship win. Win a championship, or the entire season is a bust. That’s the Spurs’ mentality. It’s as simple as that.
“I don’t really think about having a good regular season, how many games we won,” Tony Parker said. “It doesn’t matter because at the end of the day the only thing you remember is how many championships you won.”
To prove just how much this coach cares about going for the perfect home record, Parker has also suggested Popovich will likely rest his starters when the Warriors come to town on Sunday, April 10. Resting Leonard, Aldridge and the rest of the starting lineup would practically guarantee a victory to Curry and the Warriors, and the Spurs couldn’t care less.
With San Antonio essentially locked in as the second-ranked seed of the Western Conference, one game would not make a difference in the Spurs’ overall plan for capturing another title. Nothing would fundamentally change if they were to win or lose, so there is not a real incentive for them to waste their star players’ energies in the home game. At this point in the season, Popovich is more concerned with resting up his players so they are healthy, refreshed and prepared for the upcoming playoffs.
Since the beginning, the Spurs have had their eyes on one thing and one thing only: a championship. Winning a championship is all that matters to Popovich, Duncan, Leonard, Parker and the rest of the Spurs’ organization.
As Popovich eloquently stated, a perfect regular-season record at home would mean “absolutely nothing” if the Spurs are not the ones hoisting up the Larry O’Brien Trophy and adding a new ring to their fingers this coming June.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.