New series on Basketball 101 because we love you, and we especially love the orange ball. The plan is simple: let’s take a look at the teams that have left such a deep mark on the history of the game that even your best friend’s grandson will regret not having seen them play. Teams that give you that little thrill of “wow, it must have been something to see Jordan’s Bulls live.”

And to kick off this series, we’re going straight for the heavy hitters: the 2013-2014 Spurs, the fourth ring for the best French player of all time (so far), and perhaps the most beautiful collective performance ever played in our sport. A title that marks the end of one of the greatest dynasties in history, a title that also represents one of the greatest comebacks and a victory over a four-headed monster: the Heat of LeBron, D-Wade, Bosh, and Ray Allen. A team that will give the greatest power forward in history, Tim Duncan, his fifth ring. And one that will see Gregg Popovich, the creator of one of the most beautiful styles of basketball, become the third most successful coach in history, tied for the title.

The context : The last title of a monstrous dynasty

Before getting into the story, we need to appreciate the magnitude of this beast. In 2013-2014, the Spurs weren’t just a good team: they were the protagonists of a fifteen-year dynasty. Tim Duncan and Pop already had four rings. Tony Parker and Manu Ginóbili had three each. Every season since 1998, San Antonio has made the playoffs. Duncan already had two MVP awards and three Finals MVP awards, and Tony snatched one in 2007. In short, the Spurs had dominated the NBA for longer than some rookies had been in the game.

But in 2013, something broke. One defeat. Just one. But a traumatic defeat. That 2013 final where Ray Allen emerged like a nightmare to sink the most deadly shot of the modern era. That final that the Spurs should have won ten times over. And that final that they ultimately lost in seven games. Many teams would have collapsed. San Antonio, however, grew stronger. The humiliation became a driving force.

Except that the Big Three are no longer young.

Tim Duncan, at 37, is still as clinical as ever, but less dominant than in 2003. Manu is 36, the magic is still there, but his body is starting to say stop. Tony is 31, still an All-Star, still incisive, still in the conversation for “best point guard in the world.”

But there is a but. A but with big hands, gigantic hands even, The Claw: Kawhi Leonard. 22 years old. Quiet. Shy. The Fun Guy has a discreet but deadly style.

The Spurs are approaching the season with one obsession: to right the wrongs of 2013. To avenge the dynasty. To make everyone pay.

And they’re going to do it in a very Spurs way: quietly, without conflict, without drama. Just perfect, efficient basketball.

The season : the collective masterclass of the modern era

The Spurs’ 2013-2014 season is the story of a team that doesn’t dominate with muscle, but with execution. In an NBA that glorifies highlights, dunks, stepbacks, and broken ankles, the Spurs play against the grain: surgical basketball, half-court basketball, engineer basketball. Where Miami runs and guns under LeBron’s leadership, where the Clippers bombard in transition, San Antonio slices you up with basic but perfectly executed pick & rolls. And that’s what drives you crazy: everyone knows what they’re going to do, but no one can stop them.

The Parker-Duncan pick-and-roll is their alphabet. Everything starts there. A screen set at the perfect angle, Tony slaloming like a scooter in traffic, Duncan popping or diving, and around them, disciplined snipers: Danny Green, Belinelli, Patty Mills, Matt Bonner. Want to help? Three points. Want to switch? Mismatch. Refuse the screen? Backdoor. The Spurs don’t invent anything: they optimize everything.

But the magic doesn’t come from the ball carrier: it comes from the other four players. They move, they cut, they set off-camera screens, they shift, they anticipate. The crowd watches Parker attack the basket, but what makes the play lethal is Diaw slipping an invisible screen, Green switching sides to force a rotation, Ginóbili popping up from the corner like a mischievous devil. The team’s top scorer? Tony with 16.7 points. Yes, that’s Spurs Basketball. You look at the score sheet and look for the guy with 40 points, but there isn’t one. Instead, everyone has scored.

The end result is 62 wins, first place in the NBA, no losing streak longer than two games, and a roster that rotates 10 players, each with a real role. Kawhi is slowly gaining momentum, Tony is leading the way, Manu is sending passes from another dimension, and Duncan remains the metronome. The result: the most consistent, balanced, and complete team of the decade.

The Spurs don’t play for one player. They play for the right shot. And no one knows how to create it better than they do.

The playoff campaign : Spurs Basketball rolls on

The 2014 playoffs are where this team will become legendary. Each series tells a piece of the story.

First round : Dallas (4-3)
Yes, it goes to seven games. Yes, it’s tense. But it’s Carlisle at his peak, it’s Nowitzki in eternal mode, it’s the old Texas derby that never dies. The Spurs adjust, respond, tighten the screws, and regain control when it counts. A team that falters but never falls.

Semifinals : Portland (4-1)
Despite a hungry young Lillard and a highly effective and dangerous Aldridge, our national Batman’s teammates are no match for San Antonio, who shut them down as if it were nothing. Surgical execution, defensive discipline, and the impression that every open shot Portland takes is a gift from heaven, so hard do they have to fight to breathe.

Conference Finals : OKC (4-2)
A clash of styles. OKC is young, athletic, and relies on two big personalities. And they have one of the most lethal weapons in the history of the sport on their roster: Kevin Durant, regular season MVP, 32 points per game with 56% shooting and 39% from 3-point range. Westbrook is a bulldozer on steroids. And yet, the Spurs take the first two games with unprecedented ball movement. OKC responds physically, Ibaka returns, but San Antonio finally breaks the deadlock in Game 6, with Boris Diaw in gala form, finishing as the Spurs’ top scorer with 26 points.

NBA Finals : Miami (4-1)
And then… It was the greatest offensive display in Finals history. Period. The 2013 rematch turned into an elegantly orchestrated massacre. The Heat had no answers. The Spurs strung together passes like pearls, shot over 52% for the series, and delivered Game 3 and Game 4 that resembled a masterclass in team basketball never seen before or since.

Kawhi Leonard becomes Finals MVP at age 22.
Popovich serves up the cleanest revenge of the decade. And Tim Duncan wins his fifth ring with barely a smile, a day’s work well done for the great Tim.

The legacy : the last dance of a dynasty, the beginning of a myth

Why has this team become legendary? Because the 2014 Spurs aren’t just champions: they are the symbol of collective perfection. They are living proof that in the NBA, even in a league obsessed with stars, hype, crossovers, and dunks, teamwork and defense pay off.

This title is the final validation of the Big Three. The fifth ring for Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich. The fourth for Tony Parker and Manu Ginóbili. And the official beginning of the Kawhi Leonard era.

It’s also a passing of the torch. The Big Three are no longer at the top, but they are passing on their culture, discipline, patience, and understanding of the game. Kawhi is the most dazzling heir to this legacy. In this team, he is learning to become a machine. Two years later, Duncan will retire.

The legacy of the 2014 Spurs is also a message for modern basketball: intelligence can beat brute force. Their style inspires the Warriors, who will go on to dominate. Their ball movement becomes a model in every coaching clinic across the country. Their defensive discipline remains a benchmark. Their collective culture is studied as a textbook case.

And beyond technique, there is aesthetics. Their game wasn’t just effective: it was beautiful. Harmonious. Precise. A team where no one was chasing the spotlight, but where everyone shone. A team that won without drama, without star system, without ego. A team that reminded us that basketball is a sport of movement, solidarity, repetition, of 101 blows against the stone before it breaks.

The 2014 Spurs are the last great symphony of a dynasty. A team that finished its work on a perfect note.