NBA: Ranking the Teams With the Most Depth

1. San Antonio Spurs

Jun 20, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich talks with San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan (21), point guard Tony Parker (9), and shooting guard Manu Ginobili (left) during the fourth quarter of game seven in the 2013 NBA Finals at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

It is so easy to overlook just how consistently good the Spurs are. They finished with the league’s third-best record and were one of the best scoring and rebounding teams. Despite putting up gaudy team numbers, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan play only 32.9 and 30.1 minutes, respectively.

The Spurs’ bench, led by former Sixth Man of the Year Manu Ginobili, led the league in bench assists and were eighth in scoring. The bench corp of Ginobili, Gary Neal, Boris Diaw, Dejuan Blair, Patty Mills, Cory Joseph, Matt Bonner and the genius of Gregg Popovich cannot be underestimated.

Popovich manages minutes better than any current NBA coach. Each position has enough depth that allows for the superstars not to be overworked. The Heat have their Big Three playing a combined average of 35.3 minutes per game. In contrast, the Spurs’ Big Three plays a combined average of 28.7 minutes

The Spurs’ bench pull their own weight like no other bench in the league. If the bench can continue being effective, there may be many more seasons to come where we just forget to notice how good the Spurs really are.