David Robinson thinks Spurs should have won the Finals

Oct 27, 2010; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs former center David Robinson watches the Spurs play the Indiana Pacers during the second half at the AT

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As a partial owner, iconic Spur and regular at Spurs games, you would expect David Robinson to be, if not completely, just a tad biased. He believes the Spurs should have won the NBA Finals last year. Depending on where you live, that comment may either be misguided or realistic. (I think you can guess which side I’m on.)

    “Of course not,” Robinson told Raul Barrigon of HoopsHype on whether there was a doubt Tim Duncan     would re-sign with San Antonio. “I mean, he’s the franchise. It’s hard to build the around young guys, build     a new team without having that kind of experience – the Manu [Ginobili], the Tony [Parker], the Tim… Those     guys are the core. I knew he was going to re-sign and I’m just glad to see that happen. He still can play a     few more years, he’s very solid. He’s such a smart player. I think we’re still in the mix, we’re still very     competitive. They should have won this year.”

Robinson also noted that the Spurs’ lower margin of error, stemming from their small-market, is alleviate by great management.

“Great management,” Robinson said. “That’s the thing. We don’t have the sponsorships, the dollars to     spend, the free agency… ‘Why would I go to San Antonio?’ We’ve had a hard time drawing those guys in.     So for us to have built the team over the last 15-20 years is a minor miracle. And financially be able to afford     that … You know, look at the Thunder… How are they gonna keep these guys? It seems like it’s gonna be     impossible. They did an amazing job these last few years in Oklahoma and that’s basically what [Gregg]     Popovich and RC Buford have done down there in San Antonio for the last 20 years.”

Despite the abbreviated run — relative to our admittedly high standards — Robinson believes the Spurs will rebound this season.

“It was just the consistency,” Robinson said. “The young guys kind of got a little bit shaken up and they     stopped doing what they did. They were playing so great… We were getting points off the bench, but all of a     sudden we got nothing the last four games. Same thing happened to the Thunder. Their bench went south     in the Finals. They got no help, it was just [Russell] Westbrook and [Kevin] Durant all the time. You gotta     have the balance, especially for an older team like us. We have to have that balance. Our guys will be a     year older, a year more mature… I think we’re gonna be better. We’ll be right there again next season.”

You can find the rest of Robinson’s excellent interview with Hoopshype here.