On April 14, Beijing time, the Spurs lost to the Pelicans 103-113 in the playoffs, ending the season as the 10th in the West, missing the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, breaking the worst record in Spurs history. Popovich created the most glorious moment in Spurs history, can he still rejuvenate himself?
The Spurs' ability to qualify for the playoffs this season has been a miracle, thanks to the collapse of many teams in the West and the collapse of the Lakers after All-Star Weekend, but after the worst record three consecutive years of missing the playoffs, Spurs fans are still a bit hurt, and what is more frightening is that this Spurs seems to have not found the cornerstone of reconstruction, and the current Spurs team does not have a figure like Tim Duncan, not even players like Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, and the rise of the Spurs looks far away.
In the 16 consecutive years of the Kings' longest NBA-recorded playoff absence, the Spurs' three consecutive years of missing the playoffs may not seem like much, but this is the longest consecutive playoff absence in Spurs history, and the Spurs have not missed the playoffs for two consecutive years before the last two years (z since the 1976-77 season). Many people think that Duncan achieved the most glorious moment in spurs history, but many people ignore that before Duncan joined the Spurs, the Spurs had never missed the playoffs for 2 consecutive years in 21 seasons.
The deified Popovich now has to face the fact that the Spurs have set a record for the longest non-playoffs in team history, and the Spurs are no longer the only team in NBA history that has never missed the playoffs for three consecutive years; however, we cannot completely lose confidence in the Spurs. After all, in the regular season, the Spurs averaged the second-most 30 assists per game in the league with 27.9 assists per game, and the Spurs averaged the second-fewest fouls per game in the league, and this young team with mediocre talent still plays good team basketball under Popovich.
Of course, a team is not enough, after all, the NBA is the stage for superstars, but this Spurs is not completely hopeless, such as the 25-year-old Dezhangtai Murray is not bad. In the regular season, Murray averaged 21.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists and 2.0 steals in 68 games, the league's steal king, and the fifth player in the long NBA history to average 20+8+9 in a single season in regular season! It is worth mentioning that the other four are Oscar Robertson, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and LeBron James, all of whom are the "75 superstars" who have won the regular season MVP.
The Spurs' worst record for 3 consecutive years of missing the playoffs is indeed disappointing, but it is already very good that the Spurs can squeeze out the Lakers to advance to the playoffs, and it is an indisputable fact that Popovich let these young players "do their best", and it is still possible for such a Spurs to reach the playoffs next season. After all, there is only one championship every year, and no championship does not mean that there is a certain failure.