4. They weren’t chasing history
Tiger Woods has no more great rival anymore in golf — at least not a human one. Having vanquished his foes, his rival is now whether he can amass enough titles to be the unquestioned greatest golfer ever. Roger Federer is the San Antonio Spurs of men’s tennis, but at least he is chasing the history of beating his sport’s ghosts in a quest for legendary status. The Spurs, along with the aforementioned lack of back-to-back titles, didn’t have players breaking records, didn’t come close to setting records for regular-season wins, didn’t sweep through the playoffs, didn’t fill the highlight reels with spectacular dunks, or do anything that made you think, “Yeah, someday I’m telling my grandkids about this.”

5. They didn’t have a steady collection of great players
Look at just about any dynasty in any sport, and part of the appeal is not just the winning, but a roster stacked with stars. In the NBA, dynasties have to have at least two Hall-of-Fame players, a Pippen for every Jordan, if you will. Duncan had an end-of-his-career David Robinson for his first two titles, but you would be hard-pressed to think of any other championship Spur who is going to Springfield, Mass., for any reason other than to stop for gas and a bathroom break on a drive to or from Boston. Duncan will be appreciated much more long after he retires because we will look back at these Spurs roster and think, “How did he win a title with these guys?” Actually, we’re kind of thinking that now.

That the Spurs got as far as they did this year with a roster older than my Catholic parish rec league basketball team is a tribute to Duncan‘s talent and drive, especially in the face of a nicked-up Manu Ginobli disappearing in the conference finals. The thing about this San Antonio dynasty is that Duncan, even at 32 and with all that postseason mileage on him, may well make it back for another title run if the Spurs can replace many of the aging parts that the Lakers wore down, and the Hornets nearly wore down, in these playoffs.

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So while this is an obituary for the Spurs’ dynasty, particularly with a young Lakers team and a highly motivated Kobe Bryant looking like they have the ability to create a dynasty of their own, it’s also possible that this might be a case of burying someone alive. The Bushes and Clintons aren’t quitters even in the face of overwhelming evidence saying they should, and the Spurs might be the exact same way. And if that happens, the Spurs will be asked, what are you still doing here?