The Spurs have an important advantage every contender eventually needs

Building a winner in the NBA is all about sacrifice, especially on a deep team like the Spurs. Stars sacrifice, young players sacrifice, role players accept uncomfortable jobs, etc. It's the way of pro sports for franchises that truly care about hoisting a trophy. San Antonio is one such franchise.

Tyrese Maxey referred to the Spurs recently on a podcast called Numbers On The Board for this very reason.

"Like on the Spurs, everybody's sacrificing. The whole team; Wemby—Dylan Harper comes off the bench. Ain't no way Dylan Harper's an off the bench player but he's sacrificing, buying into that role to try to win." - Tyrese Maxey

The term "cheat code" probably gets overused in sports analogies, but it feels appropriate to use here again. There's just a built-in advantage for teams that understand the path to the top goes through teamwork. The Spurs have always understood that.

Dylan Harper is the perfect example but it goes back further

Before the NBA Finals ended, it felt like everyone was screaming for Harper to start over De'Aaron Fox next season. Some people even made it seem as if the former Rutgers star would be insistent on a promotion, but when he was asked about it, Harper was indifferent.

"No, I feel like regardless, I'm in the NBA. There's only like 450 people in the NBA, and I get a chance to go on the court and play with the best of the best," San Antonio's promising young guard told the interviewer.

He has already embraced the sixth-man possibility without making it a personal grievance. That's not simply maturity from a 20-year-old hooper. It's evidence that the culture in Alamo City is as strong as ever.

Manu Ginobili sacrificed. Stephen Jackson sacrificed (even if he didn't always want to). Even Tim Duncan let go of the offensive reins to empower Tony Parker and Manu.

It's the San Antonio way.

The Spurs' secret starts with the organization

Selflessness starts with the people running the front office. Not players. Too many franchises don't understand that. They tank for the "can't-miss" prospect, only to mess things up anyway because athletes can't fix broken cultures on their own. It's a fool's errand to believe otherwise.

Every contender must learn the last lesson the Ancient One taught Doctor Strange before her demise: "It's not about you." What's not about you, you ask? Nothing. Winning. Losing. Success. Failure. At least not in a team sport.

Everything is done together, and the whole gets stronger because of it. If these other franchises don't realize that by now, that's fine. The Spurs are happy to dominate another 20-year run.

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