Kevin Willis marched into the San Antonio locker room after Game 5 of the Spurs' Western Conference final against the Dallas Mavericks earlier this month and promptly turned the air blue.
The Spurs had just coughed up a 19-point second-half lead that allowed the Dallas Mavericks to escape with the win and the veteran centre was not happy that his dream of advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time in his career was possibly jeopardized.
"He was not a happy camper," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich recalled earlier this week. "And he let the team know how long he's been waiting around to do this sort of thing. He's really been one of our leaders this year."
The tongue-lashing by Willis obviously helped as the Spurs won Game 6 against Dallas to advance to the final against the New Jersey Nets.
For Willis, a former member of the Toronto Raptors, the trip to the championship series has been a long time coming. The seven-foot centre has played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association and his 1,342 regular-season games without reaching the final are the most of any player in league history.
"It was meant to happen now," said Willis, 40. "I was close one time in Houston in 1997 and it wasn't our time. It wasn't my time, I should say.
"I've been very patient, very persistent in my work ethic, in my commitment in believing that I'd get to the Finals one day."
Despite his height, Willis has never been a great shot blocker. He is not a great jumper and has relatively short arms, which is why some refer to him jokingly as T-Rex.
His forte is rebounding and he ranks third among active NBA players with 11,719 rebounds, behind Karl Malone and Charles Oakley. He is first among active players and seventh in career offensive rebounds with 4,064.
Before the start of the regular season, Willis signed as a free agent with the Spurs, his seventh NBA team. He played for the Raptors for just over two seasons before he was traded to the Denver Nuggets in January, 2001.
During this past season, Willis played 71 games for the Spurs, primarily coming off the bench. He averaged 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds and 11.8 minutes. During the playoffs, his court time has been sliced in half and he has averaged 2.9 points and 1.7 rebounds in 15 games.
Willis did not play in San Antonio's 101-89 win over the Nets in Game 1 on Wednesday night. But he is prepared to bide his time.
"Being my first NBA Finals, it's fantastic," he said. "I look forward to getting out there on the hardwood and giving my team a boost and go from there."
Willis said no matter the outcome of this year's final, he hopes to continue playing.
"I'm going to keep going. Two more years -- who knows, it could be three years. I'm truly blessed. My body feels good, my mind is good. I can still run up and down the court. I can still be productive out there."
Willis is not the only elder statesman on the Spurs who hopes to win a ring. Guard Steve Smith, 34, is in his first final after 12 seasons while forward Danny Ferry, 36, is in a final for the first time after 13 seasons.
Starting centre David Robinson, 37, who was on the Spurs' 1999 NBA championship team, has announced this will be his final NBA season. Robinson fought off chronic pain in his knees and his back to score 14 points, block four shots and grab six rebounds in Game 1.
"I want him to go out with a flair, leave everything out on the court," Popovich said of Robinson. "I want him to dig down deep.
"If something hurts, we don't care. If there's a ball to be had, we want him to get it. If there's a call made for him, we want him to get it to the rim. We want him to just be a monster."