Team comes first for Spurs

Kawhi Leonard will probably never adorn an NBA billboard in China, nor will Boris Diaw or Patty Mills.

Leonard’s too grumpy, Diaw is too lumpy and Mills is… Australian. But they are three of the unlikely cast of characters assembled by San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich in his hunt for a fifth NBA title, a holy grail which could be reached tomorrow against the more star studded Miami Heat.

The NBA is often chastised as being a sport driven by the individual rather than the team. Sometimes that can be effective as in the most recent example set by Miami who place much of the pressure on the incredibly capable shoulders of LeBron James, with occasional cameos from the other two-thirds of the big three: Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.