An Admiral's Salute

HOW DO YOU DEFINE A DYNASTY? Do four NBA championships in nine years add up to one? The Bulls won six in eight years, and the Lakers won three straight. On the other hand, the Spurs have achieved a level of consistency that certainly deserves consideration as a dynasty.

I will defer on trying to rank this year's Spurs among the best teams in NBA history; that's not for me to do. But I will say that this is one of the best organizations ever. In this day and age true dynasties are few, with players jumping from one team to the next. But San Antonio has managed to build from the ground up, keeping key pieces and filling in the gaps. Among the Spurs there is an incredible culture of loyalty to team and community that is rare.

It's amazing to see how far this organization has come. When I joined the team in 1989, we were coming off a 21-61 year and had abysmal attendance. We were a small-market franchise with very limited trading options. And it was not an attractive place for free agents, to say the least. Although HemisFair Arena was one of the loudest courts in the league when full with our Baseline Bums, it was also poorly designed and lacked certain basic creature comforts. Occasionally we had to take a cold shower after a game because of hot water issues.

Former owner Red McCombs started the turnaround by hiring Larry Brown and chartering a plane for our road trips. Then in 1996 Peter Holt took up the reins as the new owner, and he brought in Gregg Popovich as coach later that year. People can say what they want about Pop. He may not be media-friendly, but he has a plan and he knows how to execute it. You need only spend a short time around him to understand that he has no personal agenda. He cares about what he does and the people he works with. Winning is the ultimate goal for Pop. It must be the military background [he attended the Air Force Academy], because he has a low tolerance for any foolishness and can get ornery at times. But between him and general manager R.C. Buford, the team is in good hands.

All of this strong management wouldn't matter if you didn't have the players. With the Spurs that starts with Tim Duncan. When Tim arrived in 1997, I knew we had something special. The first summer workout sessions told me all I needed to know. With all of my defensive experience, I couldn't stop this rookie from scoring. I knew we had found the final piece of the puzzle. In the end I believe he will be recognized as the best power forward in NBA history. With what he has already accomplished, the only players you can compare him with are Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Kareem, Magic and Michael. Tim is quietly marching to the top.

The titles have put San Antonio on an international stage, and I think the Spurs represent the city well. Timmy was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands; Manu Gin�bili and Fabricio Oberto hail from Argentina; Tony Parker was raised in France; Beno Udrih comes from Slovenia; and Francisco Elson is a native of the Netherlands. People from around the world may have heard about the Alamo, but they definitely know about the NBA world champion Spurs.

If you had told me 18 years ago that this franchise would win four championships, I would not have been able to envision it. How many times do you get to celebrate the building of a dynasty? In our case, four, but it still feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

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