All Good Things

"All good things must come to an end." - credited to Geoffrey Chaucer

The San Antonio Spurs were eliminated from NBA playoff contention yesterday.  It's significant because that last happened 22 years ago, tying the NBA record for most consecutive seasons appearing in the playoffs.

The Spurs are my favorite team largely because of David Robinson (pictured at left above), but over those 22 seasons, they endeared themselves to me (and won five championships) because of their teamwork.  They had a slew of players- Robinson, Tim Duncan, Sean Elliott, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard, and more- who were gifted players that also knew their place- that it wasn't about them, but the team.  That success came from the parts working together as a whole.  Through smart drafting, savvy trading, and solid veteran pick-ups, they maintained their dominance for over two decades; no mean feat for any club, but especially for small-market San Antonio.

The end of the run was in sight several years ago. The latest Spurs superstar, Leonard, did something unthinkable for a Spur: he wanted out (he never really explained why; baffling injuries and certain family influences may have been factors). Knowing this a year before his contract ended, the team traded him to the Toronto Raptors (with whom Leonard would win a championship in his lone year there). The remaining players were solid in their own right, but few in the league could match Leonard's ability, and the team suffered. (Though they did make the playoffs without him last year- an astonishing feat to many.)

The Spurs coach, Gregg Popovich, had this to say about the streak (read the full article here):

"That stuff's totally [not] important; what's important is the moment you do what you've got to do then you move on, but looking at the past doesn't do much good. Any success we've had has been because we've had some great players."

I love "Coach Pop." He's got a solid head on his shoulders, and maintains perspective. It's easy to get carried away with prolonged success, and be tempted to cut corners or take devious actions to maintain it. Pop, though, is a straight-shooter who cares about doing the right thing and moving on. Looking at his legacy, some will see only the championships. But look closer: you'll see a team built on doing the right thing and "moving on." Pop is famous for his team dinners and other mechanisms used to build community. To care. To develop players as humans, not just as tools to be used for the on-court victory. Because life is more than that.

A lot of leadership or 'self-help' books talk about success. How to win. To achieve. Notice that the Bible doesn't make that the aim of life. Instead, it focuses on being faithful. On being holy (as God is holy). on loving God first and your neighbor as yourself. On doing the right thing and then moving on. Success, as the world defines it, may well come with such a focus, but it is neither guaranteed nor required.  Faithfulness is.

Thank you, Gregg Popovich, for having your focus in the right place, and thank you, San Antonio, for these great years. You're a model franchise, whether or not it leads to the title.