Spurs Rivalry With Heat Make Them A True Dynasty

The word ‘dynasty’ get thrown around a lot in the world of 24-hour sports coverage. If any team, though, can lay claim to the title of modern dynasty it is the San Antonio Spurs.

Yes, Miami’s “Big 3” era, which may or may not be over, will be talked about for years to come simply because they have the best player in the world playing for them (Lebron James). Also, a solid argument can be made that the Miami Heat are a modern dynasty as well, but the Spurs now personify the word dynasty with their dominant fifth NBA Championship.

Many like to look for comparisons to the last modern dynasties like Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls for example.  However, the Bulls and many of the “dynasties” of the last few years lacked one very important factor that truly made their runs legendary.

When the word dynasty comes up most people think of the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. What makes a team like that so memorable?

For hardcore fans it is usually about stats: win-loss records, number of titles, playoff appearances, etc. Those things are important, but what truly made the Showtime dynasty so memorable is the Lakers’ rivalry with the Boston Celtics, a team that could be argued to be a dynasty in their own right.  When we see highlight reels documenting the Showtime Lakers the Celtics are there.

Admittedly, the Bulls pulled more NBA Finals appearances and titles than the Spurs, but the Bulls did not have a rivalry with any team that could truly compete with the talent they had on their roster.

Chicago plowed through opponents. Teams like the Utah Jazz (just one example of many) would claw their way to a Western Conference championship only to be taken down by the Bulls in the finals.

The Spurs have five NBA titles and could realistically make another run at one against next year. It is not as many titles as the Bulls, but their rivalry with the Heat is legendary and is what will be talked about for years to come.