An amazing thing happened last week… and it happened on the NBA hardwood. Truth be told, the Intramuralist isn’t really a big fan of the National Basketball Association. With all references to Donald Sterling aside — and save for my beloved, once hometown Pacers — I am by all accounts and purposes, pretty much a fair-weather fan. It’s not that I don’t appreciate good basketball. It’s more that when I compare the professional league to the college game, there seems something lacking… a tenacity… a zeal… a focus on the fundamentals. Whether it’s the fact that there’s far less effort on defense or the rarity of a traveling call, it seems the purity of the game has been sacrificed for the profession.
Except for last week.
I’ll quote one of the announcer’s comments in the climactic moment: “We’ll never see this again.”
Last week the San Antonio Spurs beat the Miami Heat, 4 games to 1, to win the NBA Finals. As previously prefaced here, the Spurs are the epitome of the word “team.” The Heat, on the other hand, are most commonly identified as the “Big Three,” as three players command most of the playing time, attention, and yes, money. That’s what makes the Spurs victory so amazing, as once again the learning extends far beyond any sporting arena. (Hence, non-sports fans, please keep reading…)
The Spurs had 15 players on their 2013-14 roster. Let me briefly share with you the annual salaries of their four highest paid players:
Tony Parker: $12.5 million
Tim Duncan: $10 million
Tiago Splitter: $9.25 million
Manu Ginobili: $7 million
While each seems like a significant salary (and it is!), those numbers are revealing. Each player could have chosen to play elsewhere. Had they signed with another franchise — becoming a “big something” — they would have commanded a far greater salary. For example, future Hall of Famer Duncan could earn well over $20 million per year. 20 million. More than twice what he was actually paid last year.
What’s so amazing? Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and their athletic cohorts chose to accept less money. A lot less.
Each team has a loose salary cap; there’s only so much money a team can distribute before incurring ample penalty. Hence, the Spurs signing for less individual money allowed the whole to be far greater than the sum of their parts. Compared to a team like the Heat, which was bound by the money they committed to a grand total of three.
What’s so amazing? The characteristics that have to exist within a Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili to accept less than they so-called “earned.” They were not coerced into accepting less money. With no disrespect to those who choose to accept more, the Intramuralist admires the selflessness, humility, and valuing of “team” that is apparent in the San Antonio Spurs. That’s what’s so amazing. That’s what’s amazing outside any sporting arena.
“Will it ever happen again?”
Maybe. But only if those admirable virtues of selflessness, humility and team trump the pursuit of the individual… inside or out of the sporting arena.
Respectfully…
AR
Well said! Loved witnessing the success of a team and how Duncan, Parker and Ginobili attributed their victory to these efforts. Did you notice how “Pops’ stayed out of the spotlight during the ceremony and with such great affection his players celebrated with him?! What a stud!