Game Thread Mar 29, 2023 06:00PM MT: Jazz at Spurs

[NUMBERICA]

The Spurs dynasty was based on a Big Three. The other two guys were Manu Ginobili (drafted at #57) and Tony Parker (drafted at #28).

Sure! But that stuff is relatively easy when you have a legit nucleus as simple and easy to build around as Tim Duncan.

 

[homeytennis]

Sure! But that stuff is relatively easy when you have a legit nucleus as simple and easy to build around as Tim Duncan.

Tony Parker who the Jazz whiffed on to draft Raul Lopez instead.

 

[Hearsky]

Anyone who is a fan of "tanking for Duncan" should be a fan of what the Celtics did that year, not the Spurs.
1) Celtics had best odds (twice as good total as Spurs)
2) Celtics had 2 lottery picks
3) Celtics finished with the lowest record of all teams eligible for #1
4) Celtics planned to tank all year. Spurs were meant to make a playoff run.

So in terms of tanking Celtics did everything right and Spurs just had incredible bad luck followed by incredible good luck.

Well, you can't end there. Now the rest of the story........Celts ended up drafting Chauncey Billups at #3 and traded him 51 games into his rookie year. And, Ron Mercer at #6 who played two years with the Celts. Tank didn't work out so well for them. It ain't the panacea most think.