We have a new champion in the NBA: The San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs held off the defending champion Detroit Pistons in a hard-fought Game 7. Like the rest of the series, it was a low-scoring, defensive struggle. The final score of Game 7 was 81-74. But despite the lack of points, Game 7 was by no means a boring contest. The Pistons held the lead partway through the third quarter before the Spurs stormed back and took control of the game.
Despite the fact that many commentators had be highly critical of his performance throughout the series, Tim Duncan was named the MVP of the Finals. Another solid candidate for MVP was Spurs' shooting guard, Manu Ginobili. The NBA title capped off an outstanding twleve months for Ginobili. At the end of last summer, Ginobili led team Argentina to a suprising gold medal at the 2004 Olympics.
Looking ahead to next year, it seems that both the Spurs and the Pistons should be strong contenders once again. Both teams have all their major players signed through next year. The big change heading into next year may be on Detroit's bench. Health problems may force Larry Brown to end his coaching career.
