Another title closer in Mr. Robinson's neighborhood
Four years later, a lot has changed for David Robinson. He's within a few weeks of retiring from basketball following an illustrious NBA career and two gold medals and a bronze as the only three-time Olympian for Team USA. There's the promise of the future for the city of San Antonio and his family with the development of the Carver Academy, a private school for the underprivileged he and his wife donated $9 million to develop and that's rolling along now even better than they had hoped.
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| Most of David Robinson's points are scored underneath the basket, these days.(AP) |
As Robinson and his San Antonio Spurs teammates take their second Western Conference title into the 2003 NBA Finals against the New Jersey Nets beginning Wednesday, it's still about the journey, just as it was when they defeated the New York Knicks for their first title in 1999.
"That's what it's always about," Robinson said. "It's the purest form of bringing people together on the same page for a group accomplishment. We have gone through so much together, and to get through the Western Conference this season -- you can't underestimate all that we went through to get here."
Indeed, the Spurs overcame a mediocre 19-13 start to finish 41-9, got past a bad matchup in the first round against the Phoenix Suns, knocked out the three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in six games and then Thursday night completed the elimination of the never-say-die Dallas Mavericks in six as well.
All three close-out games were on the road, adding credence to the notion of their high-level of focus. Even more important, they want this because it won't have the mythical asterisk the first one had coming after the truncated 50-game lockout season.
"This is an entirely different situation," Robinson said. "We're a different team at a different time, and it makes it all that much more fun to be going at it again. I feel as good as I've felt in a long time, so there's no way I'm not going to enjoy this."
Even though he says he feels as good as he has in a long time, this is not the same player who's the only one in history to be named to the All-NBA and All-Defensive teams in each of his first seven seasons.
Robinson, who will be 38 in August, no longer is stunningly fast, quick and explosive with that lithe, 7-1, 250-pound frame. No longer is he a 20-point, 10-rebound, three-block guy who plays 40 minutes a game. He's more apt to be in single digits in points and rebounds with a block or two while playing 15 minutes a game.
Continual back and knee problems have made his moves more mechanical. He will still block shots, grab some rebounds and score around the basket. But you won't see him slipping outside with face-up jumpers much anymore, and he won't be filling the wing on fast breaks either. That doesn't minimize his value, however, as a defensive interior presence next to back-to-back NBA most valuable player Tim Duncan, or as a brilliant leader on a team that has added so much youth in Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Stephen Jackson and Speedy Claxton.
"What we get from David is everything he can give," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "You will never find another player like him. When we got Tim (in 1997), we only talked once about him changing his role as more of a defender and rebounder with the ball going through Tim on offense. He's never said another word about it, and David is truly one of the great superstars this game has seen. He's always about team, and you can never teach that quality to somebody. We just hope some of it rubs off on the other guys."
The thing is, that was the way Pop decided to build this team. From the last group that won with Sean Elliott, Avery Johnson, Mario Elie and Steve Kerr (who they brought back before last season), they've added Steve Smith, Danny Ferry and Kevin Willis for veteran leadership and how-to-handle-it.
Essentially, they have dispelled the notion nice guys finish last, and they even went so far to spend all of last season grooming Jackson as someone who had to learn how to function on a team like this. But with their natural leadership, it has become just another group filled with guys who love to play together.
"We have been fortunate that we have found players more concerned with team and community than themselves," Popovich said. "It's the type of player that can accomplish things by understanding his role. Life's too short to be an ass. This is a business, and we spend a lot of time together. Basketball just doesn't have enough players like David who smile all the time."
Perhaps because nobody else quite recognizes just how rare their situation really is. Robinson does. So do Duncan, Kerr and, well, most of the guys on this team.
"David set the tone right from the start when I came here," Duncan said. "We all saw how it works when you come together as a team. He created this kind of environment for us."
Now Duncan is perpetuating it and will continue to do so long after Robinson is gone, without the effervescent persona but with the same class. That time hasn't come yet, though; there are four more games to win. For all the good times and struggles and the roller-coaster ride of this one last journey, it's still all about winning a championship.
One was great.
Two would be even better.
"That's why I'm here," Robinson said. "It's why we're all here. It helps a lot that we get along so well. And this is a very young team that has a lot to learn. But they've come a long way this season and we've grown an incredible amount together. Now it's time for one last step."
A step only David Robinson truly understands the value of.
