Between 1998 and 2014, the San Antonio Spurs finished every season with at least the second-best record in the NBA’s Southwest Division. In that span, San Antonio earned its spot in the playoffs without question and powered through some hard-fought battles en-route to five championships and six Finals appearances.
However, the days of San Antonio’s Big Three are no longer, and a new iteration of the Spurs claw at the playoff picture with three Southwest opponents ahead of them and one catching up from behind. For the first time in this millennium, it’s looking like the Spurs are bound for the lottery as the rest of the division passes them by.