San Antonio Spurs: Top 10 NBA Draft picks in franchise history
By Simon Shortt
1. Tim Duncan (PF/C) — No. 1 pick in 1997 NBA Draft
Career stats (with the Spurs): 1,392 GP,19.0 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, 2.2 BPG, 50.6 FG%, 69.6 FT%
Alvin Robertson. David Robinson. Tim Duncan. These are the three draft picks that were made to change the course of the San Antonio Spurs franchise. Robertson tried to keep them above water, but ultimately was the leader of a young team. Robinson became a Hall-of-Famer, but was never able to get the team to the NBA Finals by himself. Duncan was the player that led the franchise to where it is today. All important players in team history, but Duncan is clearly alone at the top.
Timmy came to the Spurs after being named the College Player of the Year and Wooden Award winner as a senior at Wake Forest. With the ability to score, rebound, pass and defend he was a total game-changer from the start.
He teamed with the veteran Robinson to lead the Spurs to a new league-record turnaround, improving from 20-62 in 1996-97 to 56-24 in 1997-98. He averaged 21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 blocks per game on his way to All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defensive team selections, as well as Rookie of the Year.
His second year was more of the same minus the All-Star selection, as the game was cancelled. Duncan found another way though to add some hardware, by taking the Spurs to their first NBA championship win and winning Finals MVP. In that Finals series against the Knicks, Duncan averaged 27.4 points and 14.0 rebounds per game.
His dominance continued from there, averaging 22.9 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.5 blocks per game from 1999-05. In those six years, he had six All-NBA First Team selections, five All-Defensive First Team selections and two regular season MVPs.
In the postseason, he averaged 24.3 points, 13.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.8 blocks per game, winning two more championships and two more finals MVPs. In the 2003 NBA Finals against the New Jersey Nets, Duncan averaged 24.2 points, 17.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 5.3 blocks per game.
The year 2005 is where we shift from dominant Tim Duncan to really good Tim Duncan. From 2005-06 through the 2009-10 season, he averaged 19.0 points, 10.7 rebounds 3.2 assists and 1.9 blocks per game. He went to five more All-Star games and was named to five more All-NBA teams (one First Team) and five All-Defensive teams (two First Teams). He continued to be a 20-10-3-2 guy in the postseason in all these years on the way to another championship.
From 2010-16, we saw the slow and steady decline of Tim Duncan. His numbers started to go down across the board, although he sprinkled in a few All-Star and All-NBA seasons. He got his fifth championship in 2013, where the Spurs got one more knockout against LeBron James and the Miami Heat after losing to them the previous year.
He quietly retired after 2016, his only single-digit scoring season, in very Duncan-esque fashion. He finished his career with 15 All-Star games, 15 All-NBA/All-Defensive Team selections, two MVPs, three Finals MVPs and five NBA championships.
Next: Lakers - Top 10 NBA Draft picks in franchise history
Not only is Tim Duncan the greatest player/pick in Spurs history, but he was the guy that created the San Antonio culture we know today — the quiet and unselfish demeanor that never goes away, never quits and wins year after year. For not only his play, but what he created in this franchise, Tim Duncan is easily the best draft pick in San Antonio Spurs history.