The Spurs' Beautiful Game
June 2014. A worldwide roster passes Miami apart
A year after losing the 2013 Finals to Miami in seven games, Gregg Popovich's San Antonio Spurs met the Heat again. Their roster came from all over the world: Tony Parker and Boris Diaw from France, Manu Ginóbili from Argentina, Patty Mills from Australia, Marco Belinelli from Italy and Tiago Splitter from Brazil, alongside Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard.
The Spurs won the series 4 to 1. All four wins came by 15 points or more, and they outscored Miami by 14 points per game, the biggest margin in Finals history. In the first half of Game 3 they made 75.8% of their shots, also a Finals record.
The key was passing. San Antonio assisted on about two out of every three baskets, often with several passes in one possession. Kawhi Leonard was named Finals MVP.
What changed
The Spurs showed that moving the ball faster than the defense can rotate beats even a team with superstars. Their mix of international ideas and NBA talent became the model for modern ball-movement offenses.