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Before the coronavirus crisisnecessitated suspension of the NBA season, my colleague Matthew Tynan and I hadbegun planning an appropriate journalistic response to cessation of the Spurs’NBA record streak of 22 consecutive playoff appearances. There was still achance a late-season surge could push the streak to 23, but it didn’t seemlikely.

We wanted to be ready with appropriateanalysis: How had the season gone so badly? What are the obvious implications?Who stays? Who goes? How does Spurs Nation deal with the shock?

Once Adam Silver and the league’s Boardof Governors determine the ultimate course of the 2019-20 season, we’ll getback to all of that. And, if the season resumes, we’ll follow it through to theend.

In the meantime, I recently had a longconversation (socially distanced via smartphone) with one of the most incisiveSpurs observers extant. I mentioned to retired San Antonio Express-News sportscolumnist Buck Harvey my intent to put together a list of 22 highlights fromthe 22 consecutive playoff trips, asking if I could pick his brain a bit tomake sure I wouldn’t overlook something obvious.

“You’re missing something altogether,”Buck said. “It’s even more amazing they went to the playoffs 29 times in 30years.”

See, I told you Buck was incisive.

Indeed, beginning with the 1989-90season, when David Robinson and fellow rookie Sean Elliott were issued silverand black jerseys Nos. 50 and 32, the Spurs became nearly perpetual playoffparticipants, missing only once, in 1996-97. Then, Robinson missed 72 gameswith injuries, Elliott 46. The injury adversity became a turning point for thefranchise, as Gregg Popovich replaced Bob Hill as head coach and subsequentlottery luck gave them the right to make Tim Duncan the No. 1 overall pick.

How amazing is 29 playoff appearances ina span of 30 seasons?

The Nets, brought into the NBA from theABA in 1976, just as the Spurs were, have been to the playoffs only 20 times.Period.

The Kings, who played in Rochester, N.Y.,Cincinnati and Kansas City before landing in Sacramento, in 1985, have been tothe playoffs 29 times. Over 71 seasons.

Robinson turned the Spurs into alegitimate title contender upon his arrival in The Alamo City and they werefirst or second in the Midwest Division in each of his first seven seasons, theSpurs advancing to their first Western Conference finals in 1995.

Teaming Robinson with Duncan, beginningin 1997-98, eventually produced the first two of the Spurs’ five NBAchampionships, along with a regular-season win percentage of 70.0 duringRobinson’s final six seasons, with 322 wins in 460 games.

There would be no dip in success whenRobinson retired after the Spurs’ 2002-03 season, which culminated in thefranchise’s second title. Over the next 14 seasons, through 2018-19, the Spurswon an astounding 71.6 percent of their games, 811 of 1,132. They added fourmore trips to the NBA Finals and three more championships.

They put together a streak of 20consecutive 50-win seasons, a run that ended with the 47-win 2017-18 season,the first in 20 years without Duncan on the floor. Now, the streak ofconsecutive seasons qualifying for the playoffs is also apt to end, at 22.

Few are as qualified as P.J. Carlesimoto gauge what the Spurs have done over the past 30 seasons. As Popovich’s leadassistant coach from 2001-02 through 2006-07, he had a bird’s-eye view of someof the best Spurs teams, on hand for title runs in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

“I can appreciate the year-after-yearsuccess more than a lot of guys because I coached in Portland and we had apretty great run up there, too,” said Carlesimo, head coach of the TrailBlazers from 1994-1997, smack in the middle of Portland’s 20 consecutiveplayoff seasons, second longest in league history. “I coached in Portland,Golden State, Brooklyn, Toronto and New Jersey. In all of those places, makingthe playoffs was a major accomplishment and you had to work your ass off to doit. Sometimes you had to win 50 games.

“When you do it the way the Spurs did —22 times in a row and 29-of-30 — that’s just, well, I don’t even know what tocall that because you just lose perspective. The only people who know how hardthat is and what an accomplishment that is are the other 29 teams. They look atthose numbers and it just does not happen in the NBA, except for the Spurs.Only one team in the NBA went to the playoffs that many times.

“The problem is, when you do it as welland consistently as they’ve done it people lose appreciation for what it is.Any one of those is an amazing accomplishment. Twenty-two in a row, withinjuries and different rosters? That’s happened for only one (team). It’s justhard to find a word that does it justice.”

Such serial Spurs superiority leads tothis assertion: Not since Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics in 1956-57 tojump-start the NBA’s first true dynasty (16 championships and 26 playoffappearances over 30 seasons) has a team had a better 30-year run of successthan the Spurs enjoyed from 1989-90 through 2018-19.

We can debate the relative merits ofdynastic achievements in the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s some other time. Fornow, let’s weigh San Antonio’s singular run against other teams that enjoyedsustained runs of success over the most recent 30 fully completed seasons.

Begin with the facts that demand theSpurs be the benchmark of excellence from 1989-90 through 2018-19: 29 playoffappearances; 11 conference finals; 6 NBA Finals; 5 NBA championships.

Here are the stats for the eight teamsthat also made at least 20 playoff appearances over the same period:

• Chicago Bulls: 20 playoffs; 8 conference finals; 6 NBA Finals; 6 NBA championships.
• Los Angeles Lakers: 22 playoffs; 9 conference finals; 7 NBA Finals; 5 NBA championships.
• Miami Heat: 20 playoffs; 7 conference finals; 5 NBA Finals; 3 NBA championships.
• Houston Rockets: 21 playoffs; 5 conference finals; 2 NBA Finals; 2 NBA championships.
• Portland Trailblazers: 23 playoffs; 6 conference finals; 2 NBA Finals; 0 championships.
• Utah Jazz: 22 playoffs; 6 conference finals; 2 NBA Finals; 0 championships.
• Seattle/OKC: 20 playoffs; 6 conference finals; 2 NBA Finals; 0 championships.
• Indiana Pacers: 24 playoffs; 5 conference finals; 1 NBA Finals; 0 championships.

Notice these eight teams are not listedby order of playoff appearances over the 30 seasons. Rather, I ordered themusing a highly subjective estimation of their relative domination.Championships matter, which explains placing the Bulls ahead of the Lakers.

Three other teams deserve considerationamong the most dominant of the era despite falling shy of at least 20 playoffappearances: Boston Celtics (19 playoffs, 6 conference finals, 2 NBA Finals, 1NBA title); Detroit Pistons (17 playoffs, 3 conference finals, 3 NBA Finals, 2NBA titles); Dallas Mavericks (16 playoffs, 3 conference finals, 2 NBA Finals,1 NBA title).

Here comes an admonition for Warriorsfans to take a collective chill pill. Yes, the ‘Dubs’ made 5 conference finals,5 NBA Finals and won 3 NBA titles. Some of us, however, can’t ignore those 19seasons in lottery land.

Remember: We began this discussionaround the Spurs’ NBA record of 22 consecutive playoff appearances beforemoving on (one more hat tip to the great Buck Harvey) to mind-blowingconsideration of 29 playoffs in 30 seasons.

So, Spurs fans, take a few moments tocontemplate the privilege you enjoyed for all but one of the past 30 seasons:The knowledge each spring that as soon as Fiesta time arrived in The AlamoCity, so would the NBA playoffs.