Spurs Finish Season As Champions For Fourth Time In Nine Years

Saturday, June 16th 2007, 3:21 pm

By: News On 6

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - The San Antonio Spurs cleaned out their lockers Saturday, the same as they would at the end of any season. On this day - for the fourth time in nine years - they did it as NBA champions.

"It really hasn't hit me - hit me yet that I'm an NBA champion," said Michael Finley, who won his first championship ring when the Spurs completed a four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday. "But the guys said one day I'll be riding down the road and it'll just hit me, but it hasn't happened yet."

Aside from a river parade scheduled for Sunday through downtown San Antonio, the Spurs are off for the summer.

But for finals MVP Tony Parker the excitement won't end anytime soon. The point guard is getting married this summer to actress Eva Longoria.

"Everything's good," Parker said. "Eva has been working very hard and everything is ready to go."

Even with a summer of rest, travel and life-changing events ahead of them, the Spurs couldn't help but look past the off-season and toward next season.

"I think we've got a great chance," Parker said. "I think we're going to compete, I think every year we're going to be right there."

Parker said he thinks all the "old guys," like star defender Bruce Bowen, who turned 36 Thursday, and Robert Horry, who now has seven rings and will be 37 in August, "can at least go for one more year - at least."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said it's difficult to determine the point when a team needs to get younger.

"If you don't do some things in a proactive manner then all of the sudden you're too darn old and you waited too long," Popovich said. "But you don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water. So that will be part of our evaluation this summer in moving forward, to make sure we don't get behind that curve."

The demanding Popovich - who once said he doesn't understand questions from the media that include the word "happy," since coaches are never happy - finally gave in Saturday.

"I'm happy," he said.

But he is already looking ahead.

"We're all still thrilled and trying to let it sink in, what's been accomplished," Popovich said. "It's been a great season with a bunch of great guys and wonderful for our city and so on and so forth, but life goes on. And as far as life goes, it's the draft."

The NBA draft is June 28.