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NBA Draft: Each team’s greatest draft pick of all-time

By Daniel Lubofsky

MIAMI - NOVEMBER 12: Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat and LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers take a breather on November 12, 2009 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2009 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
MIAMI - NOVEMBER 12: Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat and LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers take a breather on November 12, 2009 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2009 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Greatest draft pick in San Antonio Spurs history: Tim Duncan

Before the 1996-97 season, the San Antonio Spurs were coming off a loss in the conference semi-finals. Led by former MVP David Robinson, they had no intentions of tanking. As fate would have it, an injured back and broken foot would limit The Admiral to just six games. This, in turn, would lead to just 20 wins for the Spurs and subsequently the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 Draft, where they would select none other than Tim Duncan.

The NBA has and likely will never see a superstar-level player quite like Duncan. Slide over for a minute his career averages of 19.0 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. The Big Fundamental was the ultimate unselfish player and maybe the best culture-setter there ever was.

There’s a reason San Antonio made the playoffs in all of Duncan’s 19 in the league and never fell below 50 wins in any one of them — Excluding one lockout-shortened 50-game 1998-99 season. There’s a reason the Spurs won five championships sprinkled as far back as 1999 all the way to 2014. And there’s a reason the Spurs have arguably the best culture among all 30 NBA teams.

Yes, an elite coach and other talented players certainly played a large part, but at the center of it all was Duncan. He never cared about his individual numbers, nor was he particularly interested in traditional fame that came from a player of his stature. It’s as simple as saying all he cared about was winning.

Granted, a lot of players have claimed their willingness to do whatever it takes to win both games and championships, but Duncan was one of the few whose actions spoke louder than his words. When the NBA drifted out towards the perimeter, Duncan happily took a backseat to Tony Parker, who won Finals MVP in 2007. When Kawhi Leonard emerged as the Finals MVP in 2014, he was happy to transition the state of the franchise to a new era.

There was a game during the 2015-16 season against the Warriors where a perfectly healthy and able Duncan played just eight minutes off the bench in an eight-point victory. This was a version of Timmy that would retire following the season, but there wasn’t so much as a peep of disdain out of his mouth following the game.

Duncan is unquestionably both the greatest power forward ever and a top-10 player all-time. His talent on the court doesn’t compare to his character off it, something that will leave a far greater legacy in San Antonio than his numbers and titles ever will.

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