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2007 San Antonio Spurs

The 2007 San Antonio Spurs Build On Their Quiet Legend

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The San Antonio Spurs had established themselves as the most consistent franchise in the NBA. They had won titles in 1999, 2003 and 2005 behind power forward Tim Duncan. The previous year the Spurs had the best record in the NBA, but lost a Game 7 heartbreaker at home to the Dallas Mavericks. The 2007 San Antonio Spurs came back for more, and got over the top for the franchise’s fourth title.

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Duncan had another vintage season, averaging 20 points/11 rebounds. Tony Parker, then 24-years-old, was running the show at the point and averaged 19 points/6 assists. Manu Ginobili kicked in 17 ppg and shot 40 percent from three-point range. With head coach Greg Popovich overseeing it all, the Spurs won 58 games and were the #3 seed in the West when the 2007 NBA playoffs began.

The Denver Nuggets were the opponent in the first round, with a talented 22-year-old scorer named Carmelo Anthony, along with Allan Iverson, no longer the MVP of his 2001 days, but still productive at age 31. Denver had another nice blend of youth and experience up front with Nene Hilario and Marcus Camby.

And that youth/experience blend came into San Antonio and pulled a Game 1 upset. Iverson went off for 31 points, Melo dropped 30 and the Nuggets outrebounded the Spurs 44-35, en route to a six-point win. The San Antonio defense came out much stronger in Game 2, forcing the two Denver stars into 17-for-46 shooting and the Spurs tied the series 97-88.

The three-ball delivered the Spurs road victories in Games 3 & 4. They hit nine in Game 3, five by Michael Finley and won 96-91. The Spurs drilled eight from behind the arc in the fourth game to put a chokehold on the series 96-89. They came home and locked down defensively, forcing Melo and Iverson into a 14-for-42 night. Finley scored 26 points and San Antonio pulled away in the fourth quarter to a 93-78 clinching win.

Then the Spurs, and the rest of the West got a big break. Dallas was the top seed, behind an MVP year from Dirk Nowitzki, but were shockingly ousted by the 8-seed Golden State Warriors.

Between this upset, and the fact the Western Conference was clearly the superior of the two sides of the NBA, it made San Antonio’s second-round battle with the 61-win Phoenix Suns feel like a series that would ultimately settle the championship. The Suns were the 2-seed and had a two-time MVP in Steve Nash running the show, along with Amar’e Stoudamire and Shawn Marion at the forwards.

Duncan came out to the desert and dominated in Game 1, with a 33/16 night. Parker scored 32 points, and Stoudemire shot poorly. The Spurs took homecourt advantage with a 111-106 win.

Phoenix came back strong for Game 2, with Stoudemire going for 27 points and Nash dishing 16 assists. Duncan kept his focus, with a 29/11 night, but the rest of the team played poorly. Phoenix won 101-81 and the series was tied.

Duncan continued to meet the big moment, with a dominating performance in Game 3. He scored 33 points and his 19 rebounds keyed a decisive rebounding edge for the Spurs, as they won 108-101. But again, the Suns responded. San Antonio led Game 4 by eight points going into the fourth quarter, but Phoenix played desperate, both on the boards and in rallying. They won 104-98 and this win put homecourt back in their hands.

But Phoenix’s win game at a heavy cost. A fight resulted in suspensions that went both ways, but it was the Suns who took the worst of it, losing Stoudamire for Game 5. Phoenix tried to rally behind their home crowd. They started the fifth game strong and led by six going into the fourth quarter. But Ginobili came off the bench to score 26 points, Duncan finished with 21/12 and the Spurs survived 88-85.

It’s not too much to say that the suspension might have decided the 2007 NBA championship. San Antonio had homecourt back, and they made it stand up in Game 6. Stoudamire played possessed, with 38 points, but the Big Three of the Spurs were all ready.

Duncan had 24/13, Parker had 30 and Ginobili topped them all, with 33 points and 11 rebounds. The 114-106 win clinched the series and San Antonio would never be challenged like this again.

Utah was a nice team in the conference finals, but they were there because the Dallas upset had gutted the top half of the bracket. The Jazz had Deron Williams at the point and Carlos Boozer down low, but not nearly enough to stop San Antonio.

The Spurs’ Big Three combined for 71 points and the team shot 54 percent in a 108-100 win to start the series. Another strong shooting night and a big second quarter overcame strong nights from Williams and Boozer in a 105-96 win that ensured the Spurs would hold serve at home.

San Antonio seemed to take Game 3 off, going soft defensively, as Utah shot 53 percent and coasted to a 109-83 win. The Spurs all but won the series in the fourth quarter of Game 4. They turned a tight game into a 91-79 win, thanks to an 11-rebound game by Argentinian import Fabricio Oberto, and 22 points from Ginobili.

The 2007 NBA Finals saw the arrival of LeBron James on the national stage, as the then 22-year-old had led the Cleveland Cavaliers to an upset victory over the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals. LeBron was still too young though, and his outside shot still unpolished. His supporting cast was woefully inadequate, and San Antonio had too many weapons.

Parker torched the Cavs backcourt in Game 1 at home, scoring 27 points and setting the tone for the series. Duncan kicked in a 24/13 night, while LeBron shot 4-for-16. The Spurs won 85-76. Parker came right back in Game 2 and shot 13-for-20 while dropping 30 points. Duncan and Ginobili combined for 48, the Spurs were up 25 at the half and won 103-92.

The series went back to Cleveland and this time two different San Antonio perimeter players took their turns having fun. Brent Barry hit three treys, Bruce Bowen hit four more, and the Cavs struggled behind the arc, shooting 3-for-19. It was the difference in a close, but ugly, 75-72 win for San Antonio.

LeBron let it fly in Game 4, taking thirty shots from the floor. But he only made ten, and no one could stop Parker. The Spurs’ guard hit 10-for-14 and scored 24 points. The game went to the wire and San Antonio’s 83-82 win closed out a sweep and another championship.

Parker was the 2007 NBA Finals MVP, and the Spurs had added to their legend as the quiet dynasty, winning a fourth NBA title in nine years.

2007 Sports: A Historic NFL Season & A Cinderella Super Bowl

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This article offers a snapshot of 2007 sports, a year that saw a historic NFL season, one that included a perfect regular season for one team, and a magical postseason ride for another.

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The NFL had one of its historic seasons in 2007, and it looked virtually certain that a celebration of the New England Patriots was going to be the top story. The Patriots completed the first unbeaten regular season since the league went to a 16-game schedule in 1978. They won tough games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and San Diego Chargers in the AFC playoffs. All that stood in the Pats’ way of glory was the New York Giants.
New York had gotten off to a rocky start, and by playoff standards, was a mediocre down the stretch, going 4-4 for the final eight games. But a six-game win streak in between got them to ten wins and a playoff berth. And a spirited 38-35 loss to the Patriots in the final game of the regular season at least gave New York hope they could compete.
The Giants’ playoff run was truly remarkable. They beat the #1 seed in the NFC, the division rival Dallas Cowboys. New York then went to Green Bay and on a freezing cold day, beat the Packers in overtime for the NFC Championship and ended the Green Bay career of future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre. Finally, the Giants went to Phoenix and upset the Patriots 17-14 in one of the most memorable Super Bowls every played. It was the franchise’s third Super Bowl title and easily it’s most improbable.
Read more about the 2007 New York Giants.

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When you hear the word “dynasty”, you usually think of a team that has at least won consecutive championships. That’s a fair enough standard, but over the last decade-plus, the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA and the Boston Red Sox in MLB have developed different kinds of dynasties. Each has won several titles, while none have been back-to-back, the timeframe over which they occur, makes the claim of an “organizational dynasty” possible.
Each franchise has had one signature player around whom success has been built. The one common thread of the Spurs’ four NBA titles is Tim Duncan. The one common player in three World Series championships for the Red Sox is David Ortiz. 2007 was the year the Red Sox and Spurs crossed each other’s paths. It was the second of Boston’s three Series victories from 2004-2013, and it was the last of San Antonio’s four crowns over a period that began in 1999.
Read more about the 2007 Boston Red Sox
Read more about the 2007 San Antonio Spurs
The runner-ups to the Sox and Spurs were notable in their own right. The Colorado Rockies might not have won the Series, but they had an epic run to the playoffs that included winning 12 of their final 13 regular season games. Then the Rockies won an extra-inning tiebreaker game against the San Diego Padres to get into the postseason.
Colorado’s comeback was one part of a dramatic September in the National League. The Philadelphia Phillies came from seven games back of the New York Mets on September 12 to win the NL East. The Rockies and Phils were on a collision course with each other and met in the Division Series of the National League playoffs.
It was Colorado’s momentum that couldn’t be stopped—they swept Philadelphia three straight, and then beat Arizona four straight to win the National League Championship Series. Not until a long layoff preceded their battle with Boston, did Colorado’s freight train finally stop.
The 2003 NBA draft had seen the Cleveland Cavaliers select homegrown Akron native LeBron James straight out of high school with the first overall pick. James was a consensus choice, and after gradual improvement his first four years in the league, both he and the team took it to a new level in 2007.
Cleveland reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time with LeBron, although they were underdogs to the favored Detroit Pistons, a team making its fourth straight appearance in the conference finals and with the core of a team that had won the 2004 NBA title.
After losing two games in Detroit, the Cavs bounced back to win two at home. Then LeBron had the first magical postseason moment of a career that would soon have several more. He scored his team’s final twenty-four points in Game 5 and finished with 48 overall. LeBron’s “48 Special” turned the series in Cleveland’s favor and they went to reach the NBA Finals against San Antonio before coming up short.
LeBron & the Cavaliers was one part of what was an uncharacteristically good year for the sports fans of Cleveland. The Indians reached the American League Championship Series and the Browns won 10 games. Read more about 2007 Cleveland sports, with a special focus on LeBron’s Cavs.

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The SEC ruled the roost in college sports, but it was basketball, rather than football, that produced a real dynasty. The Florida Gators won their second consecutive NCAA Tournament and it concluded a dynamic run for Florida sports in general—their consecutive national championships in hoops were sandwiched around another in football in 2006.
The University of Florida essentially won three straight titles in college athletics’ most popular sports. Read more about the entire run of the Florida sports in 2006-07, including the basketball team’s repeat drive.
LSU won the 2007 college football national championship, but it was anything but ordinary. The Tigers had lost a triple-overtime game to Kentucky in October. That loss itself was manageable and the team worked its way back into position to play in the BCS National Championship Game. But when LSU lost a second game, this time on Black Friday to Darren McFadden’s Arkansas team, it looked all but over.
The 2007 college football season was a wild ride throughout and the end of the regular season was no different. Two upstarts, West Virginia and Missouri, were poised to be 1-2 in the final polls. But Missouri, somewhat predictably, fell to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game. More shocking was West Virginia losing at home to a Pitt team that had a losing record.
Consequently, LSU and Ohio State—two teams that had both lost on November 10 or later—ended up meeting in New Orleans for the national championship. The drama ended there—LSU blew out Ohio State 38-24. It was the Tigers’ second national title in five years, and it was the second straight year the Buckeyes were embarrassed by an SEC school in the BCS National Championship Game.

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The year in hockey didn’t provide any magical moments—of the 15 postseason series, only one went the full seven games. But it did provide a breakthrough—the region of Southern California, an area understandably not noted for its hockey, had never won a Stanley Cup, even with two franchises, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings. 2007 changed all that, as Anaheim capped off a strong regular season with a run to the Cup.
Read more about the 2007 Anaheim Mighty Ducks.