The Spurs wrapped up their resurgent season with a loss in the Finals to the Knicks. While the eventual result is disappointing, how does it compare to preseason expectations?
The San Antonio Spurs' season has come to a close, as the team fell in five games to the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals in a series capped by their 94-90 home loss in Game 5 on Saturdday in San Antonio.
In the first playoff run for the newest incarnation of the Spurs, the squad surged through to the Finals before glaring issues surrounding their youth and inexperience began to rear their head against the veteran-heavy Knicks.
The Spurs held a double-digit lead and were leading or tied with the Knicks with under two minutes to go in all five matchups. They went on to lose four of those games.
San Antonio arguably had more raw talent but New York took advantage in crunch time and highlighted that skills alone can only go so far in the NBA postseason. Not to say the Knicks were not also talented, as Jalen Brunson torched his way to the title of NBA Finals MVP with a 45-point gem in Game 5 to cap off an all-time performance.
While the result is not what those in San Antonio hoped for when the championship series began, the runner-up finish is a far cry from the recent seasons by the Spurs and a massive improvement from preseason expectations.
Last year, San Antonio ended with a record of 34-48 and placed 13th in the Western Conference. Victor Wembanyama showed flashes of his excellence but was sidelined with blood clot concerns to end his sophomore campaign.
Stephon Castle nabbed Rookie of the Year honors to make it consecutive awards for the Spurs. De'Aaron Fox was added to the rotation after a trade with Sacramento, however, he was also shut down with an injury.
Fast forward to NBA Draft time and the Spurs picked inside the top-four of the order for the third-straight season. San Antonio selected Dylan Harper, son of longtime NBA standout, Ron Harper.
With a solid core in place, a strong prospect joining in and a new head coach, San Antonio looked primed to take the next steps. Although experts thought the team would improve, they saw only slight growth.
The Spurs entered the season with +6600 odds to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy, which was 17th in the league. Their preseason win total was set at 44.5.
San Antonio went on to win their sixth Western Conference title, finish second in the entire NBA and obliterated this record prediction by nearly 20 games, with a regular season tally of 62-20.
If the Spurs had matched those expectations, they would have finished ninth in the Western Conference and had to advance through the play-in. Big difference between that and having home-field advantage in every series but one in the playoffs.
So, while the moment may sting for the Spurs and their fans following only the second Finals loss in franchise history, this season was an unequivocal success the minute Wembanyama, Castle, Harper and the rest stepped onto the court in an NBA Finals game.
Offering a tidbit to soothe the wounds heading into next year, the lone other time the Spurs dropped a Finals series was 2013. San Antonio rallied back and got revenge on the Miami Heat, which bested them the year before, in dominant fashion.
Many thought the Spurs would not reach this level so soon, but it seems they are right on time to blossom a new era in San Antonio.
