SAN ANTONIO -- Gregg Popovich was basking in the limelight of the postgame press conference. Finally, the edge was gone from the affable San Antonio Spurs coach Pop after two weeks of edgy, sarcastic answers as the Spurs were in a wrestling match with the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals.
So when the Spurs finally clinched the series with an 88-77 win in Game 6, he actually coerced his way into answering more questions until the 7-foot-1 man wearing the Spurs championship hat strolled into the interview room mocking his coach.
"What? You haven't said enough?" David Robinson said, feigning irritation.
"All these guys on this team have been really special and there's one odd duckling," Popovich retorted on the way out the door. Then he stopped and yelled, "Yes."
Yes, the Spurs won their second championship in five years. It was also a yes for the fitting and magnificent way in which Robinson ended his sometimes-spectacular 14-year career.
Who would have expected 13 points, 17 rebounds and two blocks in his swan song?
Certainly he didn't.
"Well, there was nothing bitter about it," Robinson said. "It was all sweet. As the game was going on, I just was thinking, 'You know, we cannot lose this game.' I kind of geared my game to say this was going to be my last game.
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| David Robinson spent his entire 14-year career in San Antonio.(Getty Images) |
But with Tim Duncan, the Finals MVP, becoming the first player in 10 years to have a triple-double (21 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists), and nearly becoming the first ever to have a quadruple-double with eight blocks, he and Robinson became an indomitable force that required just a little help that finally arrived in the fourth quarter.
All the good feeling and warmth from the championship didn't cause Robinson to pause for even a moment though. Ten times he was an All-Star and all-NBA selection. He was all-defense his first seven seasons, the only player ever to be rewarded in that manner. The 1990 rookie of the year, he was the most valuable player in the NBA in 1995.
That his back and knees began to give way as he aged could not dull what he accomplished, as the humanitarian inclinations off the court from this Naval Academy graduate helped him gain esteem even moreso as time progressed.
"David's way too smart to continue fooling around with basketball," Popovich said. "He's got a lot more important priorities that mean a lot more to people than basketball."
His wife and three children are the No. 1 focus. The Carver Academy school, which he and his wife initiated with a $9 million boost that provides scholarships for elementary school-aged children, will eventually extend to eighth grade under his guidance. He will endeavor in other religious-oriented projects as time permits.
Regrets? Not in the least.
"I've seen this coming for a long time, so it's no surprise," Robinson said. "Last year, my wife and I sat down, prayed about it and made that decision at the beginning of the year because my heart was just settled. I knew that this was it.
"All year long I just kind of enjoyed it. Everything that came along, I just swallowed up and it even now confirms it, the way it's come to end, you know? Just my last game, streamers flying ... world champions! How could you write a better script than this, man? This is unbelievable."
Befitting a champion of a man.
Questions remain
With Jason Kidd a free agent this summer and refusing to commit to the Nets as of yet, coach Byron Scott was inundated with questions about the future of the Nets after losing in the Finals two years in a row.
But after getting swept by the Los Angeles Lakers last season, they really took the Spurs to task in all six games.
"Well, everybody knows how important he is," Scott said. "He's the engine to this team. He makes us go, so obviously this is going to be a big summer for us. Like I said, J-Kidd, he's a basketball player, but he's also a businessperson. So he's going to explore his options, he's going to see what's best for him and his family. Hopefully, when he comes to his conclusion, it will be New Jersey."
Strangely enough, most of the talk about Kidd leaving only landed him in San Antonio, since the Spurs will have so much salary cap room with the retirement of David Robinson and the exit of Steve Smith removing more than $20 million.
But he says leaving -- if he does it would make him the only all-NBA player to ever play on four teams in his first 10 seasons -- would be predicated on winning, not money.
"Unfortunately, we just couldn't get over the hump," Kidd said. "That has no bearing on what I will decide this summer. I've got to find a way -- I play this game to win. Again, this is my second time coming short of winning that championship trophy. So I've got to find a team that has a better chance of winning that championship trophy."
Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson are the two great young forwards to build around, but there are rumblings about Scott among the players. And there is also the perspective that he will be the one to replace Phil Jackson as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers -- his hometown team and where he earned three championships as a player.
"I feel pretty good about this team's future," Scott said. "We still have a relatively young team and I think we're going to continue to get better as a team. We just have to continue to grow and experience will just help us."
Shots from the perimeter
- This was the seventh playoff series out of the 20 the Spurs have won that ended at home. This was the sixth win out of 17 since Robinson's rookie year in 1990.
- Since the inception of the 2-3-2 format in the Finals came into play for the 1984-85 season, all seven teams that went on the road in Game 6 trailing 3-2 have lost and failed to force a Game 7.
- Duncan's 32 blocks are a new Finals record, breaking the record of 30 set by Patrick Ewing in 1994. Ewing required seven games for his mark, while Duncan did his in six.
- The Spurs' 59 blocks is second all-time in a six-game series, behind the 60 by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1980 against the Lakers.
- Duncan's 25.6 points per game in 11 Finals games is eighth all-time, and the Spurs' .727 winning percentage (8-3) is the highest of all time.
- The Nets' 182 field goals in the series is a record low in a six-game Finals, breaking the old mark of 185 set by Utah vs. Chicago in 1997. Their 100 assists also is a new record, breaking the old mark of 101 set by Seattle vs. Chicago in 1996.
- This was the fifth NBA title for Steve Kerr, but first for veterans Kevin Willis, Steve Smith and Danny Ferry.
JoeG 
