Dallas Mavericks: Learning to respect the Spurs through rivalry

The final piece of the San Antonio Spurs dynasty has officially retired from the NBA and, as a Dallas Mavericks fan, it is bittersweet. Still, you can’t help but respect that Spurs team.

Every professional sports team has their rival. For the Dallas Mavericks, that rival is the San Antonio Spurs, and it has been for many years. The biggest problem with the Mavs-Spurs rivalry is that the Spurs had the upper hand way more than the Mavs did.

The Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs met in the playoffs only 6 times up to this point. Those series took place in 2001, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2014. Because this is a great rivalry, none of the series have resulted in sweeps. The Spurs do own the head-to-head in playoff series, 4-2 and they own the regular season matchup as well, 108-68. They have taken it to Dallas for many years.

The main reason for this gap really comes down to three names: Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Others have been major contributors to this team, including David Robinson, Bruce Bowen, Kawhi Leonard and others, but none have done as much as the big three. Now, the big three are officially gone for the first time since 1997.

One of the hardest things I have ever had to accept in my life is that Duncan, Parker and Ginobili are all incredibly good basketball players. I will never like any of those players because that might as well be a sin from a Mavs fan. That does not mean I don’t recognize game when I see it.

Watching Manu Ginobili retire earlier this week gave me a chance to really look back and see what kind of player he was. With his smooth moves and his ability to attack the rim throughout his career, there were very few that could do what Manu could. His work at the international level was almost as incredible.

When Dirk Nowitzki retires, I believe that I will shed a tear. Although Manu did not mean as much to the Spurs as Dirk does to the Mavs, the retirement hit home for fans of the team who have been watching him play for 16 seasons. A true champion of the game, Manu will be missed around the league.

We wish Manu a great retirement and hope he enjoys his time away from the game. Although I never liked seeing Manu across the court from the Dallas Mavericks, there is no doubt that he was something special throughout his career and he helped make that Spurs team into the perennial playoff team that they have been.