The Spurs players the last time after losing the finals
TIm Duncan was a Ray Allen 3 away from being 6-0 in the finals
Idk if they would’ve won in 2014 without this loss.
Those mfs were playing with pure hatred in their hearts during that run.
Pure hatred converted into the most beautiful and perfect basketball we’ve ever seen.
I was rooting for the Heat as a Lebron fan and 2014 the Spurs just felt impossible. The Heat were seeing ghosts.
Same
Best team I have ever seen 2014 Spurs
As a Heat fan, a team full of Jesus’ wouldn’t have beaten them. I’m not even mad at that loss. Like we stood 0 chance.
From time to time I still go watch their ball movement from that season.
Have fun. I refuse to watch that. Like just beat my ass, why you gotta be artistic with it? 😕
That season had a lot of ball movement from teams spurs were just the best at it.
Funny thing was, Games 1 and 2 in SA were even, split with the Heat winning G2 and G1 being the infamous AC game.
G3/G4 were something else. That’s when the rage truly kicked in and they buried them. Miami jumped out to something like a 22-6 lead in G5 and Manu/Patty came off the bench and just said “absolutely fucking not.” That old man hate dunk by Manu is my all time favorite highlight as a Spurs fans, no contest.
I really hope the legends involved with the team including Pop are able to constructively use that as a teachable example of how to respond to disappointment and failure.
Patty Mills, Danny Green and fucking Marco Bellinelli (!!!) were playing out of their minds that year. They were unconscious shooting the ball with everything flowing.
Maybe the most fundamentally sound, complete *team* ever and obviously all-time. I don’t think they’re all that close to the best though. Bulls, Warriors, Lakers, Celts all had higher peaks IMO.
2011 charlotte bobcats
2020 Blazers.
Alright listen fuck you guy
My bad, that was a stray 🤣
I don’t think their peak was as high as any of those teams, but the 2014 playoff Spurs at their highest level would have given any of those teams hell.
Oh absolutely.
That 2014 Finals Spurs played the best basketball I’ve ever seen in my life… still.
Really reminiscent of European soccer with ball movement
Tiki Takawhi
prob had the most beautiful ball movement ever imo. Gsw had really good ball movement too but the spurs team didnt need someone like curry and klay to pull defenders away. They just killed team with their passing.
Those 2014 Spurs played “total basketball.”
A play on from Holland in the 70s being successful at international soccer with Johan Cruyff and company playing “total football.”
2010 Spain
2014 SA Spurs
2010 Spain was Tiki Taka, but it was ruthlessly dull to watch. Death by a thousand paper cuts.
The 2014 Spurs weren’t that.
National team wise, the 1970s Brazil side would be a better comparsion.
Bro…. that team is so fucking stacked. Yall keep kicking them around
Good fundamentals.
Which sucks, because Udoka was on that coaching staff. Hey coach, how about copying a bit of that system where you were, idk, a fucking assistant?
Sorry did you say a fucking assistant or fucking a assistant
he wasn’t fucking an assistant, he was fucking an intern, there’s a difference.
This was such a good era of basketball, I remember thinking my they’d make a 30 for 30 on it
I remember watching a couple of those games in a bar with a buddy of mine. It was like a professional chef cut up an onion.
That was maybe the best played series I’ve ever seen. They were an absolute machine, a “the sum is greater than the parts” monster, but the parts were still multiple HoFers.
They really had people saying “Get Lebron some help” about the Heatles.
Tbf to be fair, 2014 Heat and 2011 Heatles had some major differences at the top, Wade was starting to rack up the injuries, along with Bosh, Mario Chalmers wasn’t getting yelled at enough
To this day, Chalmers is still being yelled at.
2014 was also the A/C game that seemed to really affect Lebron
Damn I forgot about that. Probably the most tired I ever remember seeing LeBron. You’ve also unlocked memories of me arguing with people on reddit who claimed MJ and Kobe would never have let cramps stop them from continuing to play, Jesus I used to really get into it with random strangers on the internet 😂
Yeah that game shouldn’t have been played under those conditions and he was dealing with cramping the rest of the way.
I’ll never forget Tim Duncan of all people in the postgame on-court interview after the conference finals matter-of-factly saying they were going to win.
It’s a reminder that people love confidence if you do indeed win and hate it if you don’t.
Well yeah. If you end up winning it was confidence, if you end up losing it was cockyness. Know the difference.
Everyone knew they were going to win 3 in a row.
“we have 4 more and we’ll get the job done”
I was like whoa never seen Timmy get like this before
They had one goal; get back to the Finals, see Miami again, and fucking embarrass and humiliate them. And they actually went out and friggin did it.
Must have been the greatest day of your hater life, i can feel it.
Hardly. But the Spurs losing in 5 to the Knicks in similar fashion is pretty high up there.
My team getting to the Finals and actually winning it was the greatest day of my hater life.
Underrated comment.
People always assume 6-0, but the drive they had the next season came from this loss. Duncan’s spurs never went back-to-back.
And one has to think if Miami loses again (2⁄3 years) that they too would have made some extreme moves to go back at SA.
Just hard to predict how it all unfolds.
And it was beautiful to watch
2014 Spurs weren’t losing against anyone. I put them up there with the greatest teams ever.
They almost lost to an injured OKC team?
Spurs were also down 2-1 and went to game 7 vs the Mavs in round 1.
lol fr. I’m a bron fan but had very lil expectations that we were gonna beat SAS that next year lol
Best basketball I have ever seen when you consider talent
They didnt have KD Klay and Curry but they played fucking incredible
On a mission in 14
Nasty squad.
It was the Danny Green and Patty Mills show. The role players contributions are what really made the difference that series
They had one-track minds that year. It was crazy.
I’m of the opinion that the Spurs wouldn’t have made it back without the loss. As hard as it was, I think it put an intense fire in the entire team. That team was on a revenge tour. Hopefully, history repeats for us.
Why’d you have to hurt me by saying this
I’d take the 2014 run over a would be 2013 championship any day.
IF NOT FOR THE GREATEST CLUTCH SHOT OF ALL TIME THAT SAVED LEBRON’S LEGACY
skip bayless
KEVIN DURANT SAVED STEPH CURRY’S LEGACY
also skip bayless
I mean Duncan never really won back to back so prolly just 5-0
He was also a Robert horry shot away from being 5-2.
I like how people act as if this was a game 7 game wining shot. Spurs lost in OT Then lost game 7
I’ll never forget Duncan slapping the floor. He looked so defeated.
The following year’s finals were so fun as a heatles hater though lol
He bricked a shot he made in a sleep. I would be pissed too
Super rare Duncan heated moment.
It’s honestly the only one I can remember from him, at least in a high profile situation like the Finals.
It was one of those moments where knowledge turns to wisdom, where you learn that anyone can start to break under the right set of circumstances, even the most stoic, disciplined, mature guy you’ve ever seen play the game.
The way he TORCHED OKC in 2014 especially in game 6 of OT was some of the greatest ish I’ve ever seen in my life… I think all his rage was channeled into that specific series from 2013
First time I realized how good a hate watch could feel
Were you not alive in 2011? The hatred that Miami team felt was on another level.
Was that the year they started really, really slow in the regular season, all the talking heads were going crazy, then they ended up turning it on and looking unbeatable?
And he basically guaranteed a championship after beating OKC in the WCF. “We’ll do it this time!”. I’ll never forget how shocked I was when he said it.
Damn didn’t realize Tmac was on that team
Only time he made it out of the first round
Sad.
But true.
He was with the rockets when they beat the blazers in the first round in 09
That is technically true but I believe he was injured. So the ‘13 Spurs was the only team where he was listed as active and made it out of the first round.
technically he made it out with us too but was injured, took the Lakers to 7 without him and Yao got injured in game 3
fucking miss that Rockets team, Aaron Brooks and MWP and Battier and Scola and Lowry and Carl Landry and Von Wafer
maybe i’m biased but i genuinely think we would’ve won it all if Yao and Tmac were healthy
Potential off talent sure, but TMac never ever left the first round while actually playing, let alone a deep playoff run. There are many incredibly talented teams that never made it all the way.
that years rockets team felt complete though. probably the most complete team Tmac ever had as a rocket. the potential to go on a deep run was there even if he’s never done it in the past.
we took the eventual champs Lakers to 7 games while both Yao and Tmac were hurt. easily could have won that series and gone on a run with them both healthy
sometimes just reading the names you havent heard in a while makes you go “hell yeah”
I think he was just watching the whole Finals not playing
Also they had cut Stephen Jackson to make room for him iirc
Going off memory here, but he played a few minutes in some of the games in the earlier rounds but missed all of his shots.
Yeah I remember him playing garbage time during the sweep of the lakers that year
I remember him coming out in garbage time and our crowd going nuts.
Almost got a ring. But nope 😭
Still got into the hall of fame though
You literally can’t see his stats on BBall reference for that season. Im not sure he actually played.
He did play. 32 minutes total.
it’s because he didn’t play in the regular season. If you press the playoffs tab he did play.
Loser should be required to makeout with the winner, it’s good sportsmanship
Lebron and Steph makeout session 4 yrs in a row
Adam Silver’s dream
Draymond is sitting in the chair
Unf… keep going.
I hate the spurs like any self respecting suns fan but theres something about Timmy slapping the floor this game that makes me sad.
Not me either lol, Timmy is one of my favorite players but I hate the spurs, this series was a troubled hate watch since i also hated Lebron back then.
The saddest i ever got seeing a losing player in the finals was when DBook looked back at the confetti falling in Milwaukee and you can read his lips saying “damn” solemnly
Yep. Pain.
yeah, i think it hits different when its someone who’s never won before and who may never get back there
To continue the hate train, I hated the Suns that year. Something about them just rubbed me the wrong way.
Years later it’s crazy they got swept after a 2-0 lead.
the something would be chris paul lmao
So much hate
Not me. Hook that shit directly into my veins.
why should it make you sad bro, he already had 4 rings lol
Because he always seemed a good guy and I like watching great players succeed and don’t get much happiness from them failing / getting upset.
Like almost every single year (where I don’t watch my team lose in the finals at least) without fail I get a genuine wave of joy when I watch the players celebrate the culmination of their life’s work when they win.
2014 Spurs is probably the best “we gonna get our lick back” team I’ve ever seen.
They played basketball like 2008-09 FC Barcelona. That was a beautiful team.
Pep and Pop
This could be a fun list.
I’ll add 2024 Eagles v Chiefs
Yall really trying to drag this bullshit 🤣🤣🤣
To be fair, it’s a circular firing squad at this point 😂. Think the only thing the majority of folks would agree on at this point is Pops is the man.
Yep, no way Popovich lets Wemby or the other Spurs walk off the court that way.
I’m old enough now that I see these spurs do what they do, and I think back on what I was doing at their age…they may look back on this with a smidge of regret, but this is not a big deal. Growth moment.
For sure 👍🏾
Where was this energy when r/nba dragged on the OKC hate😂
Probably coming from the OKC flairs just like this is coming from a Spurs flair.
That said, the OKC hate is wild, man. I still don’t understand it (unless you’re from Seattle). Like, I don’t love them or anything, but goddamn. SGA isn’t that bad.
Well, Spurs fans seem to be insistent that it’s not a big deal at all and teams don’t typically shake hands after losing, etc. So this is just evidence.
Imagine the outcry if the thunder went out without shaking hands
Don’t have to imagine this sub lost their shit when SGA smiled walking off the court after one loss in the WCF last year
Also you know Mr ethical basketball coming to save us
Teams leave the floor without shaking hands pretty often. Obviously that would be the sportsmanlike thing to do but people are acting like this was some unprecedented breach of code when its really not at all. LeBron alone has done this dozens of times after a loss I’m sure lol.
Lebron actually gets criticized for it alot though lol
I’m not saying he doesn’t my point is the heat Wemby has gotten for this is way overblown
Exactly
listen, as a mavs fan, its fuck the spurs forever
As a Rockets fan, 100%.
As a suns fan, 100%
As a Lakers fan, 100%
As a Timberwolves fan, sure, I’ll get in on this 100%.
For real, it’s like sure it would have been nice sportsmanship to shake hands but in the end I don’t give a shit lol
All im saying is if the roles were reversed, with spurs winning and Knicks walking off the floor, spurs fans would be losing their shit
I wouldn’t give a shit. I didn’t give a shit the 5 championships before. This is the first time I’ve seen people care about this
Literally always a narrative if players don’t shake hands. I don’t care either but it’s just easy sports bait
Those guys were all veterans and champions, some of them multiple times
This is my take too tbh.
The 2026 Spurs are pretty much kids, Harper is just 20.
Yeah this comparison is unfair. I agree the Spurs walking out was a dick move and I wish they had stayed, but this post is comparing one of the most seasoned and veteran teams to be in an NBA finals, against one of the youngest roosters to ever make it to that point.
Back when coaches wore suits
They should bring the suits back just for the finals. Elevate the moment.
Apparently when JJ got hired by the Lakers he wanted to bring the suit thing back but that meant that everybody on the coaching staff had to wear suits and they were all like “hell no” lol
I like the aesthetic of coaches in suits, but this would be my reaction if my company tried to install a similar dress code so I get it
Nike wouldn’t allow it. Gotta show the swoosh on everything and they don’t make suits
When men were men
And toilet paper was leaves
You know I really miss when coaches wore suits there is something about it that just feels so much better than the stupid workout shirts they wear today. Could they at least bring back sports jackets?
It was wild not seeing suits in MSG tbh.
Pat Riley in perfectly tailored suits, and Van Gundy in… Pat Riley’s hand-me-downs.
Then they smoked us the next year
Truly insane travel that went uncalled at the end there. He jumps multiple times.
Lmao how funny would that be if they called it and made the spurs inbound it
Championship is invalidated. They need to reassemble those teams and play out the last 1.2 seconds by the books.
Insane sequence for game 6. Thought they had it. Also the next year people forget their first round series went 7 as well before they ran thru eveeyone
Yeah it’s crazy, the 8th seeded Mavericks with Dirk gave them all they could handle and were their biggest challenge. Vince Carter hit that buzzer beater in game 3 which put them in a precarious position down 2-1 with game 4 in Dallas, but they took care of business.
Game 7 I remember going in
“There’s no way we lose here right? This isn’t how it ends? “
And we blew them tf out
I remember it all. Me and my friends letting our elation and excitement take over, seeing that yellow rope come out around the court, the guys on the bench linking arms in anticipation. And then that fucking shot. That was the last time I remember waking up the next morning and immediately thinking about the loss that had just happened… until Game 4 last week. Granted, it wasn’t a championship clinching game, but man did it feel like we had gotten the momentum back going into the second half and were going to rip the rest of the series.
I’m never listening to Wu-Tang again.
It’s crazy that basically none of the Duncan-era Spurs ever had to experience losing before winning a ring.
Duncan won a ring in year 2
Parker won a ring in year 2
Ginobili won a ring his rookie year.
They did experience a lot of up and downs in their careers to get those rings. Spurs were a dynasty that never went back to back or had the dominant 3 peat like 90s Bulls or Early 2000s Lakers. Seemed like they were in the conference finals every other year.
Adversity builds character losers
You got the title wrong - Pop’s Spurs vs Mitch’s Spurs
Crazy how 12+ years Head Coach experience, 4 NBA Finals titles, and a roster full of veteran hall of famers can change the way that a team and coach behave in the face of crushing defeat.
4 time champions vs 0 time champions. Obviously it hurts this year’s team more.
Why weren’t the Pacers dicks? That franchise has never won; they got a lot closer, and their franchise player tore his ACL in game 7.
*Duncan’s Spurs vs Wemby’s Spurs. That team was full of seasoned vets.
Was just about to say this. Duncan set the tone, as does Wemby for his team
Pop’s Spurs and Mitch’s Spurs seem like different teams in terms of leadership styles.
Not to get “para-social” but Pop led the team like a gruff grandpa who kept everyone from engaging in silly nonsense and avoided shenanigans. No-nonsense but you could tell he cared about his players as people. Not saying they were perfect angels all the time but they carried themselves with a certain composure at least in their later years.
Mitch’s Spurs are young and behave on-court in an erratic way, in terms of play and conduct. I don’t think Wemby is a bad person, but I do think maybe he got a little ahead of himself and overconfident which is understandable. I also feel like he may have adopted a more physical and “dirtier” play-style which I can’t imagine Pop was thrilled about watching from home or wherever he happened to be.
He’s also 22? God what has the world come to where a 22 year old doesn’t act completely rationally and with thoughtfulness behind every movement and decision
Thanks Obamna
[removed]
Exactly. You mean to tell me that the team of almost all vets with multiple championships under their belts were more able to control their emotions than a team with mostly < 25 year olds? I’m SHOCKED I SAY
Gotta love Pop at the end - respect
Instead of looking distraught he just looks genuinely happy for the coaches and players that got to experience something he’s already had for himself. Like the dude is incapable of being anything other than just a genuinely awesome person. I’m sure internally he had plenty of his own sadness but he put none on display, and that’s not to say anyone who does that is wrong or bad or anything, but it takes quite the person to go out the way he did there.
When Tim Duncan goes on record saying “and we’re gonna win this time” before the series even started, you know you’re fucked.
Can y’all stop crying over this?
This sub cried for two months because Bam made 83 points
Easily one of the worst sports subs
Genuinely. Who gives a single fuck they didn’t shake hands? Don’t we like the drama? The villainous nature? The overly competitive nature? I thought we all wanted stuff like this
Depends on who you ask. There are people who would love some sportsmanship, and there are some who’s fine not seeing any of it.
No ads or DraftKings in sight. Just people living in the moment.
Refs missed a travel at the end there. Rigged!
We blow this up way too much. Yes I didnt like it either Wemby walked out as first player in to the lockers after being a big talker all series long. He is young but that also exposes a bit of his true character and insercurity but we dont have to overexaggerate this
His true character is that he hates losing basketball games and didn’t want to watch the Knicks celebrate on his home court with 60% of the crowd being their fans.
We literally still talk about the Bad Boys pistons walking off as a team. People don’t forget this kind of thing ESPECIALLY from someone with such high expectations.
Id bet anything one of Popovich, Timmy, or Manu spoke to Wemby after the Finals and told him he can’t be walking off after a loss like that. Not after a series where you’ve committed like 6 dirty fouls and talked a bunch of trash
That organization was a class act.
To this day i don’t know how that Dallas team took the 2014 Spurs to 7 games. Dirk was something else.
Idk if Popovich single handedly makes this difference. But his experience would have definitely helped the short come ins of a young Spurs team. He at least would have gotten them to shake hands like gentlemen.
You take on the mindset of your best player for the most part. If your best player is a whiney asshole then there ay go
Today’s Spurs are not the past dynasty Spurs.
Y’all are just gonna’ have to learn to accept that.
I’ve watched basketball on and off for 30+ years and I literally cannot remember a time when the NBA finals loser didn’t stay to shake hands after the final game.
Can someone provide some video evidence? Too much discourse about whether or not you’re supposed to do it. I always assumed it was a given.
I care less about it happening in earlier rounds since the winner has more to play. Feels like a natural conclusion to the season for the two best teams to shake hands after the final game.
Majority of the Mavs in 06 walked off including Dirk. Games that come down to the last shot it’s going to be more likely to happen. They’re pretty rare in finals close out games anyway
This is so dumb. Make a big deal out of nothing. It’s far from the first time this happened and won’t be the last. Get over it.
The Spurs were pure class under Pop, win or lose
Empathy is a sin in 2026…. Also… this was a classic series that everyone felt honored to be a part of.
We done with nice guys whew villain Spurs can’t wait
Man I forgot that was TMac’s last chance.
Holy bad faith comparison! You mean a team of veterans who already won multiple championships and have decades of combined experience responded wth more grace and poise than a team of 25 year olds whose most veteran presence was Harrison Barnes….The way you all are trying to force a villain arc onto the Wemby Spurs is hilarious.
And then the following season came the most beautiful basketball and asswhooping from the Spurs ahhh 🔥
This could have been prevented if Pop played TMac
Inject this into my veins
Their leaders were Tim Duncan and Gregg popovich. Who’s coming close to that level of professionalism and respect with today’s spurs? Not wembys whiny ass that’s for sure
As someone who despises the Spurs, this is one of the happiest moments of my hoops fandom. I really laughed out loud after that Ginobili turnover. But yes, this was very classy of them. Shows the type of leader Timmy was.