The San Antonio Spurs are the NBA Champions of 2014. This is the fifth title in franchise history. The Spurs and Tim Duncan have won titles in three decades (1990s, 2000s and 2010s) but their story is not over yet.

Just like vintage Tim Duncan, there were no grand entrances, no ridiculous parties and no far-fetched promises as he decided to opt in his contract. He will play for San Antonio next season for a measly $ 10.3 million. This is the third year of his contract when he decided to cut his salary in half just to keep the team together.

His sacrifice brought the reward, as the Spurs took sweet revenge on the Miami Heat, winning the title in the most lopsided Finals series ever.

The announcement from the Spurs, courtesy of SI.com:

"The Spurs announced Monday that the 38-year-old Duncan has exercised his player option for the 2014-15 season. The five-time champion will therefore earn $10.3 million next year before becoming an unrestricted free agent when his three-year contract expires in July 2015."

After the closeout Game 5 in San Antonio, Duncan was asked about retirement: "I don't have any plans on doing anything. I'm going to figure it out when it comes. I'm not saying I'm retiring. I'm not saying I'm not retiring. I'm not saying anything. I'm going to figure it out as it goes. I've always said if I feel like I'm effective, if I feel like I can contribute, I'll continue to play. Right now I feel that way, so we'll see what happens."

Duncan simplified the Spurs secrets to winning: "We've been on our last run for the last five or six years from how everyone [in the media] wants to put it. We show up every year, and we try to put together the best teams and the best runs possible because what people say doesn't matter to us. As I said, as long as we feel we're being effective, we're going to stay out here and we're going to play. We feel like we can be effective, and we have been."

With Duncan to lead them again, any championship talk would have to pass through San Antonio. They don't have the swagger or the hoopla, they only have the banners and the rings. Something most players don't have.