Very similar cities with very similar populations. Most top young basketball players don't want to live in "rural" Denver, yet alone San Antonio.

So why did this happen for San Antonio and not Utah?

1. This is an extremely unique situation. San Antonio has never had this kind of benefit before and has been winning titles for quite some time. David West is a unique individual and doing an extremely unique thing.

2. Pop is a better and more player friendly (not that he is considered a player's coach, but his players love him) coach than Sloan was. Sloan was great, but Pop might be the best coach of all-time in the sport.

3. This is a unique year in the NBA. Salaries will increase exponentially next season. West can play for one year this year and then cash in next year when the cap skyrockets.