“I wanted to be with an organization that was known for winning and can help me raise my game to the next level.” (Emphasis ours.) That’s newly acquired San Antonio Spurs guard/forward Rudy Gay, an 11-year NBA veteran, talking to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News. It doesn’t seem like a standout sentence, but look carefully. The Spurs are always looking for players who buy into the “Spurs way.” In Gay, Coach Gregg Popovich, GM RC Buford and company have found that kind of player. Gay isn’t looking, according to this sentence, just to help out and add his skills to the current Spurs mix. Gay is looking to the Spurs system to help him raise his game. It’s a distinction worth noting.
Gay knows the Spurs, who have been in the postseason for 20 straight years, offer a special opportunity to a skilled player like him. Gay, who has little postseason experience, won’t be taking that Spurs opportunity for granted. Gay will bring a winning attitude to San Antonio’s winning ways. He has recently been cleared to play as he recovers from a severe Achilles tendon injury. Gay has averaged over 18 ppg for his NBA career.
