Not only are the San Antonio Spurs one of the best franchises in all of professional sports, they also have some of the most fiercely-loyal fans. The defending champs lost a heart-breaker to the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 7 Saturday, thanks to a career-defining moment from Chris Paul, whose game-winning shot capped off what has been one of the most entertaining and hotly-contested opening-round series in league history.
Despite the loss, the Spurs and their inimitable coach Gregg Popovich conducted themselves admirably by displaying the type of poise and grace in defeat that is the exemplification of true sportsmanship. On Sunday, hundreds of raucous fans gathered at the airport in San Antonio to welcome the team home in a beautiful show of support.
It’s unfortunate that the Spurs won’t get a chance to defend their title and try for their first-ever back-to-back championships, and heading into the off-season, they’ll face a great deal of uncertainty about their future. Despite showing little-to-no signs of slowing down, Tim Duncan just turned 39, and 37-year-old Manu Ginobili suffered through one of the worst playoff series of his career. Still, neither were ready to say definitively after the game whether they’ll consider retirement.
The Spurs have a future franchise cornerstone in Kawhi Leonard, who they’ll likely give a max-contract to this summer, and they’ll use that as bait to try and lure free agent LaMarcus Aldridge away from Portland. However it all pans out, the Spurs are one of the most well-run organizations in the league, so they’ll probably be just fine.
(IG via Kyle Anderson; h/t to CBS Sports)