NBA: San Antonio Spurs

July, 1999
Originally published in The Master Report (Sacramento, CA)

So, the San Antonio Spurs finally went all the way to the NBA Finals and won. David Robinson finally enjoyed a title after 10 years suffering from the "soft" label. Tim Duncan showed so much smoothness that the NBC network was actually comparing him to a certain bald hero that once played the game. Which shows you the well-deserved reputation of sportscasters histrionics.

Maybe America just wasn't ready for a bunch of "rebellious slaves" as New York Knicks forward Larry Johnson callously put it, to dance on conservative rooted, family oriented, God-fearing suburbanites yet.

Fittingly, to wrap up a decade of unrest in media scrutiny, strained relationships with fans and players, and numerous sociological changes in this country, it was a clear-cut case of Good vs. Evil. Conservative button-down vs. Long haired (and dreadlocked) rebel rousers. Players who are silent and don't rock the boat vs. guys who aren't afraid to speak their minds.

On the right (wing) side, we had David Robinson, the goody two shoes charming king, with his sidekick Tim Duncan, the wondrous prince in shining armor. We also had there Avery Johnson, a comeback story who was cut multiple times before he made it with the Spurs. He and Mario Elie were charged with injecting some life into this heretofore "soft" team that was infamous for crumbling in the clutch.

Johnson and Elie were the vocal leaders of the Spurs. Without their presence, they likely would have had a much tougher time reaching the Finals, much less winning.

For good measure, let's throw in Sean Elliott, who was practically given up on by the Spurs not too long ago.

Gregg Popovich, a former military man, is now looked on as a genius by every "clean-cu" hoop follower in America after they beat the Knicks in five games in which practically every game was close. People, it doesn't take a genius to realize (1) When the other team is short-handed, attack that weakness. (2) When you have a Duncan and a Robinson and the other side lacks their Ewing, it doesn't hurt, either.

On the other side, we had the scrappy, scruffy, underdog, up from the bootstraps, never-say-die Knicks, who became the first eighth seeded team to get to the Finals and along the way stunned top seeded Miami, then Atlanta and Indiana to get into the round.

We had a sideshow Latrell Sprewell, who was absolutely excoriated by the media a year ago for his choking attack on coach P.J. Carlesimo and Chris Childs, who battled booze problems earlier in his career. Also on hand was Marcus Camby, who admitted to under the table misconduct with boosters while in college at UMass.

Don't forget Larry Johnson, whose "Grandmama" act earlier this decade paved the way for today's me-first, instant rich, money hungry players who in many cases aren't even old enough to hit the town after a game.

Throw in the formidable Gotham city and sports' most sophisticated, unforgiving, and passionate fans, and there you have it. The villains in blue and orange.

For once, the good guys wore black, but I could not help but get a little perturbed over the constant smooching of the Spurs by the network. It was as if they were plastic Barbie dolls--inflexible and could do no wrong. Yes, they proved they were the best, and they certainly have class, but I can see why Johnson cussed out the NBC reporters at one point.

Why is it that the media puts so much an emphasis these days on image, knowing full well that some guys prefer to let their actions at game time speak for themselves?

Why is it that when a ballplayer runs afoul of the law, the media and other hangers-on are the first to jump in line screaming about too many privileges and spoiled and selfish this and that, particularly, if the said player happens to be Black.

Our society is quick to praise these guys for hitting the threes and knocking down the J's, and just as easy to knock the players themselves down when they mess up, but what these people don't realize is the hard work and sacrifice it takes to get to that level.

I am not a pro athlete. I realized a long time ago I wasn't going to have any posters made of me, nor anyone wearing a jersry with my name on the back. I did, however, have other options. For most of these guys, playing the game was and is the only option, coming from unspeakable poverty and blatant racism that many people in this country will never be able to comprehend.

I would never be so naive to earmark athletes for instilling discipline and role models in our society, or lack thereof. There is a HUGE difference between admiring a person greatly, wanting to imitate them from afar and taking their words and actions as gospel.

For those who didn't want to see Sprewell back in the NBA, guess what? Even though his team lost, he played brilliantly and carried the offense at times. Camby? He did a courageous job of holding down Robinson, even though Robinson had his number. Johnson? He played with all guts on a knee that some said would sideline him for the whole shebang.

I take my hat off to the Spurs. I just wish that some of these self-smug, upright so-called righteous people around the country that call themselves "classy" people would realize that class is also overcoming long odds and personal issues (which some Knicks had) to get where you are. I liked this series because I like to see good basketball, which I did, and I don't like phonies.