A recipe for an NBA championship is a complicated formula many coaches have yet to figure out.
Talent plays a role, but other times, certain intangibles can be the deciding factor. This season, the Larry O’Brien trophy will be hoisted by San Antonio, who has one intangible that will elevate it atop the league — freedom from pressure.
Basketball is not just a game played on the court. It’s a mind game, too.
The Spurs finished the regular season with a 67-15 record (tied for seventh-best in NBA history), yet they come in with the least amount of pressure.
They won’t go in the books as the best team to not win a championship. Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich and center Tim Duncan legacy won’t be tarnished by not claiming their sixth NBA ring.
Other teams aren’t so lucky.
Having completed the daunting task of winning a league-record 73 games, Golden State’s next task will be its toughest. It must follow up with an NBA title to seal its legacy as one of the greatest teams ever.
The Warriors do not want to go down as one of the best teams in NBA history not to win a championship. With the intensity mounting, the pressure to complete the greatest season in history will be what derails them down the line.
Then there’s the pressure on certain players.
San Antonio has a veteran roster that has been here before; this isn’t its first rodeo. There is no pressure for its best players to capture a title to cement its legacy.
That’s not the case for the other teams in the playoffs.
The Cavaliers have been a circus this season, with LeBron James sub-tweeting about teammates and saying how he’d love to finish his career with players not on his team. Ever since he took his talents to South Beach and announced that he would win not one, not two, not three, not four (you get the picture) NBA titles, drama circulates around him and his teams. It’s time for James to win a title for the state he grew up in.
The pressure is also building for such players as Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook to finally bridge the gap between being a great player and a champion.
Paul has been in the league since 2005. He’s not getting any younger, and the Los Angeles Clippers have assembled a roster in an effort to win now, not later. Rumors are swirling around Oklahoma City that Durant, the top free agent this summer, will make his decision on whether to return to Oklahoma on how well the team does in the playoffs.
Out of those players, James is the only one to have actually won a championship. However, the pressure to bring a title to Cleveland is the most he’s faced in his career.
So, as Golden State attempts to avoid being one of the biggest blunders and Cleveland, Los Angeles, and Oklahoma City try to come out on top amid rumors, drama, and anxiousness, the Spurs remain cool, calm, and collected.
There’s not the concern of creating a legacy — a win just adds to one of the best dynasties in sports history.