San Antonio's success has been built on a brotherhood, understanding that relationship building off the court lends itself to cohesion on it. The philosophy has served Gregg Popovich well as players like Tim Duncan and Tony Parker have signed contracts below market value to play for a coach they view as somewhat of a father figure. Almost every team imitates this system; few if any duplicate it.

On the eve of a Western Conference showdown against the Los Angeles Lakers, Manu Ginobili and Patty Mills offered a glimpse behind the curtain, trading barbs on Twitter in that same brotherly vein.

The exchange began with an innocuous tweet from Mills, who is still rehabbing from shoulder surgery over this past summer and shared a post-workout photo of his rather impressive 6-foot, 185-pound frame with the caption, "Keep The Passion" and, of course, a fire emoticon.

View photos Spurs backup point guard Patty Mills shared this photo on Instagram with the caption, Keep The Passion. More

This isn't the first time a pro athlete has shared such a photo. It's actually a staple of LeBron James' Instagram game. But that didn't stop Ginobili from ribbing his backcourt mate on the Spurs' second unit.

@Patty_Mills Incredible what you can do with photoshop now! — Manu Ginobili (@manuginobili) November 14, 2014

Sick burn, Manu. Except, the sharp-witted Australian countered the 37-year-old Argenitinian's jab with a knockout blow aimed at Ginobili's ever-expanding bald spot.

@manuginobili Yes It's great! You should try it out time. Could work wonders on filling in some areas that are missing #hair — Patrick Mills (@Patty_Mills) November 14, 2014

Ginobili took it all in good fun, responding with a rather impressive Photoshop of a younger version of himself with a fuller head of hair — and a nose job to boot — looking an awful lot like Casey Affleck.

@Patty_Mills Do you like this one? Not bad at all! 😉 pic.twitter.com/Ov1PTFFHV9 — Manu Ginobili (@manuginobili) November 14, 2014

Good times. Although, he could've saved himself some time by using one of the great GIFs in history.

View photos Tim Duncan cures Manu Ginobili's baldness. More

For the record, the Mills-Ginobili backcourt outscored opponents by 22.4 points per 100 possessions in the playoffs last season, according to NBA.com's stats tool — further evidence the best way to build chemistry is to publicly ridicule your teammate in front of his 2.7 million followers.

Around the NBA:

- - - - - - -

Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don't Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach