Why the San Antonio Spurs believe they are the exception to the playoff experience rule

San Antonio’s players and staff have heard it all before.

How they are too young. How experience — often defined by losing deep in the playoffs — is required before a team wins a title. Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls lost six years in a row in the playoffs — including two years to the “Bad Boy” Pistons in the East finals — before breaking through and winning three straight. LeBron James lost six straight years in the playoffs, twice in the Finals, before breaking through with the Heat. The same is true for Larry Bird, Dr. J and nearly every other superstar the NBA has ever seen.

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So why should it be any different for Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in their first real playoff run this year?

“I mean, why not?” the Spurs’ Julian Champagnie countered when speaking to NBC Sports. “I think that we’ve been putting in work all year…

“I definitely think that we all think that we could do something special this year, and be a special group moving forward. So the way we look at it is, is there’s an opportunity at hand, and that’s to win, and we want to seize every opportunity we can get.”

It starts with defense

San Antonio believes a couple of things separate them from all those previous young teams that needed more time. First is the obvious one: Victor Wembanyama. He is unlike any player the league has ever seen, and his play and competitiveness lifted the Spurs to 62 wins this season.
However, it’s his play on the defensive end that is critical to their title dreams. Having Wembanyama hanging out in the paint, surrounded by high-level physical defenders such as Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper and Champagnie, gives the Spurs a championship defense.

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“I think the difference is, a lot of those young teams, their defense isn’t where it needs to be,” De’Aaron Fox said of why the Spurs are different. “And I think — especially with Vic in the lineup — we have one of the best defenses in the league. So I think that’s something that we can hang our hat on.

“As a young team — as a team period — there are times where, especially in the playoffs, that you just can’t make a shot….

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/why-san-antonio-spurs-believe-174406063.html

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Publish date : 2026-04-16 17:44:00

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