May 21, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) prior to tip-off against the Memphis Grizzlies in game two of the Western Conference finals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at AT
It was an as usual hot and steamy da...
May 21, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) prior to tip-off against the Memphis Grizzlies in game two of the Western Conference finals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at AT
It was an as usual hot and steamy day in May on the southside of San Antonio. On that 18th of May, a day that will live in infamy for any person growing up or living in San Antonio that grew up a Spurs fan. That season had been miserable. Chuck Person, Sean Elliott, David Robinson had all been on the injured list all season. They had struggled while fielding players like Jamie Feick, Cadillac Anderson, Jason Sasser, Devin Gray, and free agency failure Carl Herrera. Starting lineups included Will Perdue, Dominique WIlkins, along with Vinnie Del Negro and Avery Johnson. After David Robinson broke his foot and it was clear he would miss the rest of the season, reality had set in. No playoffs and they were headed for the lottery. I mean my god, it was the thing I’d watched during halftime of Spurs playoff games.
They would be amongst the likes of Dallas, Boston, Denver, Golden State, and ugh, the Clippers. Well wait, even that season the Clippers made the playoffs!! GOD! HOW EMBARRASSING!!! So, at the age of 16, I booted up my Apple macintosh and got online through AOL. I patiently waited as I looked up college player’s stats. The Spurs clearly needed a power forward to replace the aging and injured Terry Cummings. So the first player that stood out? Adonal Foyle. He lead the nation in rebounding at Colgate. Keith Van Horn, I didn’t like, he really made me think tall lanky and soft. Tim Duncan? Oh, yeah well the Spurs arent getting him, he’s gonna go to Boston. Boston that year had lots of draft picks, and had actually been worse than the Spurs.
May 16, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Tracy McGrady (1, back) hugs power forward Tim Duncan (21, front) during the fourth quarter in game six of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Spurs defeated the Warriors 94-82. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
I had estimated at the time, the Spurs will draft third most likely. So for weeks I followed stats, Foyle stayed up at the top of rebounds. So I figured, him next to Robinson would be fantastic! He could be a normal Rodman! How about Tony Battie? He would look good blocking shots next to D-Rob, but eh, he’d get taken too most likely. So for the longest time I ignored Duncan. Spurs weren’t getting him, but I watched him on TV and wished he would come. Logically though, nah. So time went by and finally. FINALLY! The 18th of May had come. As Russ Granik pulled the logos from the envelopes, Cleveland first. Ugly logo, next. Indiana. Tough but, another playoff compatriot in the lottery.Sacramento, Milwaukee, and Toronto went by. Totally as planned. Golden State, then New Jersey. Boston at 6! Wow I thought, 1 and 6, they’re gonna own next year. 5 Denver. Hmm, strange, guess we got 4. Vancouver, understandable but strange they weren’t allowed to have the #1 pick yet anyways.
Then Boston came out again. My jaw dropped, OMG we have one of the top 2 picks!!!! Then Granik and I remember this like yesterday, struggled opening the second envelope. As he slid the card out the Philadelphia 76ers logo was revealed and I literally jumped up and ran around the house screaming. WE GOT DUNCAN WE GOT DUNCAN WE GOT DUNCAN!!!!! Didn’t hear till later Peter Holt’s chortles of joy. As soon as everything calmed down, it was just a matter of time till June 28th rolled around and it would be official.
We fast forward to the first game. A game that any other year would’ve just been a scroll page on ESPN. A battle of two lottery teams from the previous year, San Antonio in Denver. However for us San Antonians we were glued to the TV. It was a late start, however, we stayed up. Watching Duncan next to Robinson was