Cool, thanks
On this day in 1997, the Spurs made Tim Duncan the number 1 pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. He was projected to be Otis Thorpe at worst and Hakeem Olajuwon at best. I think it's safe to say that he blew away everybody's expectations of his career. He and David Robinson were the first 2 No. 1 overall picks of the lottery era (since 1985) to win a championship with the team that drafted them.
Here is The Big Fundamental's draft day scouting report:
http://www.ibiblio.org/craig/draft/1...t/scout/c.html
I recently had a conversation with a former Kobe;laker /current GS / pending Laker fan if they get Lebron/George. He tried to tell me, a Spurs fan that watches their games regularly and not just the playoffs, that Robinson was "trash"(his exact words). haha. Now, I had to explain to him that Robinson dead in his prime was a better player than Tim Duncan. Everyone in my area knows Duncan is my favorite player of all time. I told him, there is absolutely nothing Duncan could do that Robinson couldn't. Robinson was just in a better era surrounded by some mediocre players. And Being that Duncan is my favorite player of all time, I broke it down to him in a non biased manner. Ya see, younger NBA fans only remember the Admiral in his later years. And one of the biggest myths ever is that Hakeem shut Robinson down in the 95 WCF. Now Hakeem was playing out of his mind giving David that work, but Robinson in no way shape or form was "locked down".
Robinson is one of the greatest of all time and was more physically gifted than Duncan, but Duncan was one of the smartest basketball players you'll ever see. DRob had a good basketball head, but wasn't as smart. Duncan could completely control a game on both sides of the court by way of his abilities and leadership.
Duncan had a back to the basket game and great footwork which is something David Robinson didn't have.
Lol st posting about a player they have only heard of.. .. sad
This.
David had almost zero low post game. They were really two totally different players. I won’t say either was better than the other, but Duncan had better footwork and general skill and David was a freak of an athlete.
one thing Duncan did benefit from was David guarded the best post player on a regular basis..
and yes David’s later year (while still impressive) were nothing like his prime
Re-written inToday's NBA
language
Poop (Scout:Kevin Lachance)
Duncan is the best true center available in the draft and a lock to be the
first center taken, so somewhere at the bottom of the first round.
He has the ability to become a serviceable big man
in today's NBA but will be limited due to his inability to be 6'8" donkey
who flexes his arms after every shot like
5x Defensive player of the year Draymond Green.
In terms of physical skills Duncan has great mobility. He is capable of
consistantly beating his man down the court. He has coveted Wingspan and
excellent timing for blocking shots. His footwork on post moves is
constantly improving. Too bad post moves are now irrelevant, what he really needs
is to develop a three point shot so he can backpedal like James Harden
after crossing over a guy and starting him down.
In terms of basketball skills, Duncan has the total package. But fundamental
skills are irrelevant, what he really needs is an uncle who can manage his
salary into the ground like Kawhi Leonard.
Duncan handles the ball better than most post players. Again a nice-to-have
yet useless skill since all he really needs to do in Today's NBA as a center
is catch lobs and set moving screens.
Duncan greatest attribute is his defense. But who cares about that,
that doesn't sell tickets and isn't important to new Spurs head coach Mike D'Antoni.
The Spurs used to have several defensive centerpieces, that is before they acquired
twelve max salary hall of famers to keep up with the current dominant teams.
Despite his overall game he has a few things to work on. His biggest
need is a new wife. He will also need to adjust to Seattle, the new home of the Spurs.
He needs to continue to develop is offensive game. One
concern is his low free throw percentage (64%). However, no one cares about freethrows
when the new rule is players are awarded 5 free points for swiping the ball up through the
defender's arms at the top of the 3 point line.
As NBA Scouting Director, Marty Blake says "He will be okay, maybe on the level of a Clint Capela,
but teams will be better suited to draft Trey Young.".
Last edited by phxspurfan; 06-25-2018 at 11:37 PM.
Yea, that's pretty much how I saw it at the time. Except I would have not put the best to come out of college in the last ten years; I would have put the best to come out of college since Larry Bird!
Lolz. Nice work tbh
Half-truth at a minimum!
Today's NBA
Man, how I miss Timmy.
I would agree with that.
What is with these scouts barely being able to spell? Olajuwan? Daughtery?!
What do you expect when you hire barely literate former players who were gifted their degrees in civics?
Younger NBA fans don't remember Robinson lmfao. He retired 15 years ago. We all just got old.
Dave, is that you?
GREAT find! I never read Tim's college scouting reports before...Thanks Thomas82 !
I have always looked for a video of Duncan's Draft Lottery. I cannot find that anywhere. Most every other year's draft lottery is up on Youtube.
So have I.....still no luck for me either.
I miss the big fella. Spurs basketball ain’t the same without him.![]()
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