After a breakout performance in the 2013 Finals, Kawhi Leonard was poised to take another leap toward franchise cornerstone status. With Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginóbili all declining with age, Leonard was expected to inherit the keys to the Spurs either in 2014 or shortly after.
The San Diego State product earned more plays from coach Gregg Popovich, though his ball-handling duties were still limited by the presence of the “Big Three.” Leonard was emerging as a reliable 3-point shooter and continued to strengthen his reputation as an elite defender.
JUST BUSINESS FOR THE BEST
San Antonio entered the 2013-14 season as heavy favorites to return to the Finals. After pushing LeBron James and the Miami Heat to the brink the year before, expectations were that this Spurs team had unfinished business. They started hot, going 13-1 through their first 14 games, and erased doubts about whether younger, more athletic teams could outlast them in a seven-game series. In March, the Spurs rattled off a franchise-best 16-0 record, solidifying the No. 1 seed behind Leonard's rise.
THE REAL TEST STARTS NOW
The playoffs began with an in-state showdown against the Dallas Mavericks. What looked like a potential mismatch stretched to seven games, raising questions about the Spurs’ age and durability. San Antonio answered by cruising past Portland in a five-game semifinal and then outlasting Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook’s Thunder in a bruising six-game Western Conference finals.
That set up another rematch with the defending champion Heat. Miami had just gone back-to-back, but this time San Antonio was too precise, too deep, and too driven. Slowly but still effective, Duncan earned All-NBA Third Team and All-Defensive Second Team honors. Popovich collected another Coach of the Year award. And Leonard announced himself as a star, winning Finals MVP as the Spurs captured their fifth championship.
REVOLUTION UPRISING
It was one of the most dominant and selfless team performances in NBA history. Yet just a season later, a new revolution overshadowed it. Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors unleashed a barrage of 3-pointers that reshaped the sport. Their rise changed how the game was played, covered and remembered — leaving the 2014 Spurs, for all their greatness, lost in translation.
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