Tim Duncan is right now probably the biggest idol in the San Antonio Spurs history. TD played in 19 seasons in the NBA, showing his level, fundamentals and all the things that made him the greatest power forward of all time. He was great for the Spurs, no doubt about it, but back in the day, he thought he was going to play for a different franchise.
During a recent appearance on “The Real Ones” podcast, Duncan revealed that he was convinced he was going to play for the Boston Celtics in the 1997 NBA draft. Fortunately, that didn’t happen and he went to San Antonio, where he created a terrific association with David Robinson and then Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
“Well, I remember sitting in my buddy’s house watching it all go down. When the draft order came out, the assumption was I was going to Boston,” Duncan said, as transcribed by Aikansh Chaudhary of Essentially Sports. “In my head I was going to Boston, I just kinda knew it… Boston goes third and I remember getting up from my coach, standing on my table watching the TV like holy cr*p, I’m not going to Boston?”
“Philly comes up #2 and I’m like holy cr*p, I get to go play with David Robinson, are you kidding me? This is awesome. So as for development, I don’t know how it would have worked out. I don’t know what would have happened, but it worked out pretty perfect for me ending where I did.”
Tim Duncan on his NBA Draft Lottery experience and landing with the Spurs: pic.twitter.com/O8Bn6tUbD1
— Noah Magaro-George (@N_Magaro) January 7, 2021
He was selected as the No. 1 overall pick that night and started a magical career for the player. He was just great for the Spurs. Duncan was something else for the team; being the heart and soul of the franchise every season he spent in Texas. At the end of his career, he had five NBA championships, two NBA MVPs, three Finals MVP, was named 15 times to the All-Star, and 15 All-NBA. This man was just terrific.
TD wasn’t afraid of anything; he was a different player, even claiming he didn’t like Michael Jordan in the early stages of his career. He is the parameter for power forwards right now and one of the greatest players in NBA history. It’s unclear how things would have ended for him in Boston, but everybody is glad that he went to San Antonio instead.
