Gregg Popovich's machine is smoother and more productive than any in the NBA. It manufactures 50-win campaigns with clockwork consistency and crowds the AT&T Center rafters with championship banners.
But the San Antonio Spurs' assembly line has seen its most dramatic change in decades. Internal development and under-the-radar additions have long fueled this dynasty. This time around, though, it's an external splash that has the Alamo City buzzing.
The Spurs were in the championship hunt before going free-agent hunting. They might have been bounced from last year's opening round, but they finished one win shy of claiming the West's No.