Category: In the News

ESPN’s Uni Watch ranks Spurs 2nd in NBA, 16th overall

As if the Spurs haven’t enjoyed enough success over the years, they’ve earned recognition from ESPN’s Uni Watch blog for looking good while doing it. The Silver and Black’s uniforms are and among North American professional sports franchises, according to Uni Watch’s Power Rankings. Paul Lukas writes:

The Raiders aren’t the only team that knows how to wear silver and black. In addition to the killer colors, the Spurs are also among the few NBA teams that have successfully incorporated a graphic image into their chest typography — a small element that goes a long way. Kinda wish they’d go back to the scoop-neck collar instead of the V-neck, but that’s a minor complaint.

It’s a very well-deserved spot for a simple, elegant uniform with just a hint of style thanks to the aforementioned graphic image. Which, as we’ve , isn’t always easy to pull off.

Not that the Spurs haven’t had any missteps along the way. There were those walking-TV-dinner silver alternates, and the ridiculous that only underscored doubts about the Spurs’ manhood during their many playoff prat falls in the 1990s.

But for the most part, it’s hard to beat not only the colors, which they were wearing long before black became such a ubiquitous presence in pro sports, but the clean execution, especially with the new logo. My personal favorite are these dating back to the days of George Gervin.

Udoka eager for next chapter

Isiah Thomas was the first to plant the seed. Nate McMillan helped water it. When Gregg Popovich echoed the sentiment, suggesting to Ime Udoka two years ago that he might consider going into coaching once his playing days were over, a retirement plan was hatched to fruition.

“Pop told me, ‘I hope I get a chance to hire you some day,’ ” Udoka said. “That made the decision to stop playing a lot easier.”

This week, Popovich got his wish. Udoka, who last played in the NBA in January 2011 with the Spurs, was hired as the team’s newest assistant coach, the first step in a a new career path the 35-year-old former small forward has been plotting for several years.

A veteran of 316 games over seven NBA seasons, parts of three of which were spent in San Antonio, Udoka joins a Spurs coaching staff depleted by the loss of Jacque Vaughn (Orlando head coach) and Don Newman (Washington lead assistant).

Because Vaughn’s spot on the staff was considered “extra,” created specially for him when he became available in 2009, Udoka — a 35-year-old coaching rookie — is expected to be the team’s only bench hire this offseason.

“I ran into Pop in Las Vegas during Summer League (in July),” said Udoka, a Portland native. “He let me know the deal with Jacque, that he was probably leaving. He told me a good opportunity might be there (in San Antonio).”

Udoka joins a staff that includes a pair of longtime Popovich assistants, Mike Budenholzer and Brett Brown.

Though new to the coaching game, Udoka believes his varied NBA experiences — with stops as different as San Antonio and Sacramento — have prepared him for a variety of situations.

From his previous stint with the Spurs, Udoka learned the value of meticulous preparation.

“Taking care of your own business, that’s one thing you learn with Pop,” Udoka said. “If you have pride and just do what you do, you’ll be successful, whether the shots fall on any given night or not.”

In a press release announcing the hire, Popovich praised Udoka’s “outstanding work ethic” and “a natural inclination to teach.”

Thomas, who coached Udoka in summer league and for eight games of 2005-06 season with the Knicks, was the first to put the coaching bug in Udoka’s head.

“He said, ‘You don’t score 20 points a game, but the young guys seem to respect you and respond to you,’ ” Udoka said.

Since his retirement in 2011, Udoka had been living in Los Angeles, where his girlfriend, actress Nia Long, and their 9-month old son reside. The Spurs’ history as a proving ground for future NBA head coaches helped lure Udoka back to the game he loves.

“You see their family tree all over the league,” Udoka said. “It’s a great opportunity. You know they’ll help you develop.”

Air Alamo: Is Duncan still effective?

Air Alamo is in the middle of an interesting series analyzing the Spurs from various statistical angles via data from , one of the various sites catering to those who enjoy looking at basketball on a deeper level beyond the so-called “box-score stats.”

The latest entry concerns the venerable Tim Duncan, sure-fire Hall of Famer and the cornerstone of the Spurs four championship teams. A simple question is posed: (You can find links to the other entries at the bottom of the post.) It’s a legitimate query at this point of his career, especially when you look at numbers that illustrate not just what he does, but how he does it.

My favorite Duncan stat of all, albeit one with less depth than you’ll find at sites like MSS and , is the simple comparison between his per-36 minute averages as a rookie and last season, his 15th in the NBA.

1997-98: 19.4 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, 0.6 spg, 2.3 bpg, 5.4 FTa.

2011-12: 19.7 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 2.9 apg, 0.8 spg, 1.9 bpg, 5.5 FTa.

Not even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s standard-bearer for longevity, can match those numbers. While the Captain’s scoring remained virtually identical from Year 1 to 15 (24.1 ppg per 36 to 23.6), his rebounding and free throw attempts dropped by roughly a third.

About the only areas Duncan has seen a significant declines are his shooting accuracy (.577 true shooting percentage to .531) and defensive court coverage, which has no real gauge but is easy to see with the naked eye. So it’s clear that even though the Big Fundamental is no longer the player he once was, he still brings a tremendous amount of value and utility to the court.