The 2014 Spurs inspired me. Actually, their wizardry on offense -- their crisp passing, the vision of three All-Stars (James, Wade and Bosh) running themselves ragged chasing the ball -- will be forever etched in my minds. It brought tears to my eyes. Why?
Hall of Fame coach Pete Carril once said that "a pass is not a pass if it is a last resort." Hall of Fame lacrosse coach Bill Tierney, who won 6 national championships at Princeton and one at Denver is noted for saying "if the ball gets stuck in your stick, you will be sitting on the bench." What do these legendary coaches mean -- that a player should be thinking about what he is going to do with the ball before he gets it. The Spurs worked this theory to perfection that year -- and an outstanding coach in Erik Spoelstra and a core group of all-stars had no answer for what Greg Popovich and the Spurs did to them. It was textbook basketball. San Antonio put on a clinic. So much so that I bought my son a championship t-shirt. The reason? To cherish excellence.
One of the Spurs, then a very young player in Kawhi Leonard, epitomized the basketball IQ that Coach Pop insisted upon from his players. He knew where to be, he knew where his teammates would be and he knew both when it was time to be unselfish and when it was his turn to be the guy. He put on an amazing performance in those finals, one that vaulted him to win the MVP award for that series. He was just marvelous.
It is hard to argue with how good the following players are: LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo. All are excellent.
But are any of them better right now than Kawhi Leonard?
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