2004-05 San Antonio Spurs (59-23)

Coach: Gregg Popovich

After losing in the 2nd round to the Lakers in 2004, the Spurs were ready to reclaim themselves as NBA Champions. They already had star guards Emanuel Ginobili and Tony Parker, forward Tim Duncan, and rookie guard Beno Udrih. These Spurs put together a 25-6 record entering January 2005. In March, Tim Duncan would be injured with a sprained ankle. However, the Spurs acquired veteran forward Glenn Robinson and center Nazr Mohammed to replace Duncan. From there, the Spurs won the newly-created Southwest Division by a game over the Dallas Mavericks.

In the first round, a returning Duncan and his Spurs knocked out an up-and-coming Denver Nuggets team in five games. Now, the Spurs met Northwest Division champion Seattle. This time around, it took the Spurs six games for an anticipated confrontation with the Phoenix Suns. The Spurs would win the first three games. However, the Suns would win game 4. But that is all Phoenix would get as San Antonio wins their third Western Conference Title in five games. This set the tone for a great series with defending champion Detroit. After San Antonio won the first two games at SBC Center, the Pistons would win the next two in Auburn Hills. The 5th contest in the Palace went into overtime. Robert Horry would come through in the clutch by scoring a game-winning 3-pointer to give the Spurs a 3-2 edge heading back south. After losing game 6, this set up the first 7-game series since 1994. Tim Duncan would score 25 points en route to the Spurs' 3rd NBA title. So far, the Spurs are the only team from the old ABA to win an NBA title.