NBA executives are about to relearn harsh Spurs reality from the Duncan era

"Dread it, run from it, destiny arrives all the same. And now, it’s here."

These were Thanos' opening words in Avengers: Infinity War, right before he crushed the Incredible Hulk and wreaked havoc on the galaxy's mightiest heroes for the next couple of hours. Like the Avengers with their apex-level villain, NBA executives are looking at the Spurs with defiance, according to a new Ringer piece from Howard Beck, as if they'll figure out how to stop what's coming.

"The notion that everyone is just gonna accept it is insane. Everybody that are in these jobs are competitive. They’re not just gonna accept it. They’re not gonna sit back and take a beating for the next 10 years," a league executive told Beck.

Yes, you are. They haven't realized they've just barely entered the Hulk beatdown phase of the film. Chaos is coming next, and there's nothing they can do to stop it. That shouldn't be unfamiliar. History has told similar tales before, with Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan as the main characters in a dominant story that shouldn't be so easily forgotten.

The Spurs were one of two teams to dominate the West for years

I know we all have short attention spans these days, but that shouldn't compromise how long our memories are. It wasn't that long ago that San Antonio and the Lakers placed a floor between them and the rest of the conference. From 1999-2005, they were the only two franchises to even make it to the NBA Finals.

1999 - Spurs vs. Knicks
2000 - Lakers vs. Pacers
2001 - Lakers vs. 76ers
2002 - Lakers vs. Nets
2003 - Spurs vs. Nets
2004 - Lakers vs. Pistons
2005 - Spurs vs. Pistons

It actually gets worse from there. From 1999 to 2015, the only Western Conference team to win a title besides San Antonio and Los Angeles was the Mavericks. Dallas' 2011 title was the only time a team from the West won a championship during that stretch. That's five Larry O'Brien trophies apiece for two organizations while everyone else watched helplessly.

Well, I guess that's not fair. They certainly tried their best. That's where we can give some credit to the executives in Beck's article. Nobody expects them to pull down their trousers and take a beating without putting up a fight. The point is that it probably won't matter very much in the end.

Victor Wembanyama lives up to every bit of the titan he was projected to be. Stephon Castle is the clear best player from his draft class, and Dylan Harper will be a superstar. The Spurs are one of the best-run organizations on the planet. They won't sit on their hands. This team will continue to improve around unbelievably talented players. Sometimes, you're just overmatched and have to deal with it.

The rest of the league doesn't have to like what's coming. History says that part doesn't matter very much. The last time the Spurs built a monster, everyone fought it, too. They just couldn't stop it. So, instead of getting upset about the current reality, just close your eyes and wait for it to be over. We're talking about a pretty long hibernation, but we could all use a little more rest.

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