Their blueprint, shaded in tones of silver, white and black, is based on defense, discipline and teamwork. The San Antonio Spurs have never wavered from it, making them the NBA's current standard of excellence.

They aren't the first dominant team, nor will they be the last.

San Antonio Spurs basketball player Manu Ginobili, of Argentina, right, jokes with teammates in Cleveland, Wednesday, June 13, 2007. San Antonio leads the NBA Finals best-of-seven series against the Cleveland Cavaliers 3-0. Game 4 is Thursday. [AP]

The Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls preceded them, but nobody does it better these days than the bland-yet-becoming Spurs, now one win shy of a fourth championship in nine years ¡ª and perhaps a special place in history.

"They've become the class of this league, there's no question about it," said Utah guard Derek Fisher, whose Jazz team lost to the Spurs in the Western Conference finals.

An elite team? Undoubtedly.

A dynasty? Hmmm.

That was the word being kicked around the court inside Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday as the Spurs prepared for Thursday's Game 4 and a possible sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers, first-time finalists who have copied San Antonio's model.

However, one person didn't want in on the dynasty discussion.

"That's all psycho babble," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, using one of his favorite expressions to downplay the notion. "When I think of dynasties, two come to my mind real quick ¡ª UCLA and Bill Russell. Everything else is just talk."

Let's talk about the Spurs' run for a second.

Beginning with their 1999 title, they've qualified for the playoffs every season ¡ª no given out West ¡ª made it to the semifinals eight times and advanced to the conference finals on five occasions.

They are 3-0 in the NBA finals, and unless the cold-shooting Cavaliers begin knocking down jumpers and become the first team in history to overcome an 0-3 deficit, the Spurs will be a perfect 4-for-4 in the finals ¡ª a 1.000 batting average in any arena.

Getting their hands on a fourth Larry O'Brien Trophy would also put the Spurs with the Celtics (16), Lakers (14) and Bulls (6) as the only teams to win four titles since the league's 1947 start.

Los Angeles' three straight championships from 2000-02 are sandwiched by the Spurs, who also won it all in 2005.

Fisher was a key member on those Lakers teams led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, and although it's tough for him to admit it, Fisher feels what the Spurs have accomplished has eclipsed what he and his teammates did.

"I hate to say it," Fisher began, "but they're probably surpassing us, to be honest. We had that great four-to-five-year period, but you have to kind of look at the Bulls and the Celtics and the Lakers teams of the 80s that dominated an entire period.

"I can honestly say they're surpassing us in terms of recent dynasties and teams that have been able to sustain that level of excellence over a long period of time."

Tracing the Spurs' path to prominence leads to one point: the 1997 NBA draft lottery, when the club won the rights to draft center Tim Duncan, their unappreciated star and perhaps the greatest power forward ever.

Duncan has been the foundation around which the Spurs have built their empire, one that has been raised through savvy business decisions, adept international scouting and a family oriented philosophy laid out by owner Peter Holt and implemented by general manager R.C. Buford.

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