June 15, 2014
For the first time in the four years between 2010 and 2014, the Miami Heat were completely humiliated.
Though Miami regularly demoralized teams, erasing their leads while tossing photo-worthy alley-oops, they were rarely victimized.
After suffering defeat to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 Finals, the Heat raised their super-human basketball standards, putting the league into Miami versus everybody mode.
For the first three seasons of the James-Wade-Bosh era, Miami developed rivalries within their conference. The Chicago Bulls, Pacers and Boston Celtics all believed in a world that didn’t have the Miami Heat in the Finals.
They all came up short.
Unlike those teams however, the San Antonio Spurs didn’t have four regular season contests and an early playoff series to change Miami’s course.
Members of opposing conferences, the Spurs and Heat played just two regular season games. Games that could hardly replicate the tenacity and fervor of a Finals matchup.
Once again in 2014, San Antonio awaited Miami to finish up their Eastern Conference table scraps. Again, the Pacers tried to emblazon their logo on future NBA encyclopedias, and again Miami’s narrative continued, this time finishing the Pacers by the end of Game 6.
Equipped with another year’s worth of experience however, the Spurs became the first team to break the Heat since the Mavericks in 2011.
After capitalizing on a late game push in San Antonio’s AC-less arena in Game 1, the Spurs allowed the Heat just one, two-point victory, before banishing them from NBA relevance.
Ginobili, who had returned to his role as sixth man full time, was instrumental in keeping San Anotonio’s foot on Miami’s neck.
Entering Game 5, Miami played with a renewed urgency. Their 16-point first quarter lead was cut to 10 however, through a pair of Ginobili 3-point plays.
The Heat had hoped to ramp up the game’s physicality and send the series back to Miami for Game 6, and the 36-year-old Ginobili was ready for the challenge.
Ginobili’s iconic Game 5 dunk over Bosh was both the punctuation on the series and an apt summary of his career.
From that point on, the Spurs never trailed, ultimately securing their franchise fifth NBA title.
For Ginobili, the moment was one of personal excitement. The emphatic jam came irrespective of the undiagnosed stress fracture in his right leg.
"“I have no clue where it came from,” Ginobili said of the dunk. “I wasn’t planning it from the beginning, but I went up pretty good and said, ‘What the Hell. Let’s try.’ I’ve been told by multiple teammates not to try it any more … but I was feeling pretty optimistic about my chances.”"
It has been four full seasons since the Spurs and GInobili competed in the NBA Finals.
As quickly as it was born, the Heat-Spurs rivalry died, though the lasting sting of the 1-1 Finals record lingers for both sides.
Though he was never honored as Finals MVP against Miami, Ginobili represented the same brand of culture that the Heat so highly value. His constant sacrifice set a standard for peak professionalism.
Finally, after 16 seasons and four championships, Ginobili’s legacy can be evaluated in its entirety.
From his transition from a plucky, international star, to household name wearing black and white, Ginobili’s career provides yet another roadmap to finding success among the world’s best athletes.