48MoH: 1-on-1 with the previous no. 21

[duncan228]

1-on-1 with the previous no. 21
by Jesse Blanchard
48 Minutes of

A forgotten year in San Antonio Spurs history, the 1996-1997 season in many ways set the foundation for the culture of the Spurs. Before the multiple foreign All-Star imports stolen with late draft picks, or mining Europe for role players, or even before Tim Duncan–back when an inexperienced front office Gregg Popovich was acquiring the Vernon Maxwells, Charles Smiths, and Carl Herreras of the world–there was a MASH unit of players led by a future hall of famer wearing a familiar no. 21 jersey.

Dominique Wilkins signed with the San Antonio Spurs before the 1996-1997 season looking to get back in the NBA and perhaps win a le as an experienced backup small forward to Sean Elliott. Instead, Wilkins found himself playing a prominent role on a losing team decimated by injuries and poor depth, leading the team in scoring at 18.2 points per game and adding 6.4 rebounds.

In a stretch, Wilkins loosely represented the prototype for all future acquisitions for Popovich. In one move Popovich acquired a veteran role player with something to prove (the former human highlight film was trying to get back in the NBA at the end of his career), that role player was found overseas (Wilkins played in Greece the season before), and of course, small ball (Wilkins alternated between all three front court positions due to injuries).

Last week I was able to briefly catch up with Dominique Wilkins before the Spurs 108-92 victory over the Atlanta Hawks and get a few of his thoughts on the 1996-1997 season.

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[ClingingMars]

You know, that’s an amazing game. I haven’t really gotten a chance to play, but I’ve seen it a couple times and it’s amazing how life-like and realistic it is. It’s not easy holding me under 25 points.

damn right!