When Tim Duncan was picked by the San San Antonio Spurs in 1997, David Robinson was an eight-year superstar and the face of the franchise. As the season went on, it became apparent that the power forward from the Virgin Islands was the team's future.
While basketball is ultimately a team sport, politics and the quest for power will inevitably become a factor in the future.
David Robinson on Tim Duncan’s impact
According to The Admiral, this was never the case when Duncan became his teammate. He even feels that The Big Fundamental was the best thing that ever happened to him.
“Tim was maybe the best thing that happened to me in my whole career,” Robinson said, per Hoops Hype . “Obviously, having owners like Red McCombs and Peter Holt was fantastic, and coaches like Larry Brown and Pop were phenomenal. But I can say that Tim is probably the best thing that ever happened to me. He helped me as an individual to grow up and be a better a player. He helped us achieve the long-term goals that we set, winning championships.”
When The Admiral was the only Spurs superstar, the team performed decently and was a pretty good playoff team. But their inability to go the extra mile proved something was missing.
According to David, Duncan was the last piece of the puzzle. Not only did Timmy-D help him win two NBA Championships, but the Big Fundamental helped the Spurs become a winning team for close to two decades, making it one of the most memorable dynasties ever.
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Iron sharpens iron
Though Robinson didn’t go into specifics about how Timmy helped him become a better player, former Spurs point guard Avery Johnson shared what it was like during practices. According to the retired guard, the Big Fundamental schooled The Admiral , who was a member of the All-Defensive Teams multiple times.
“We really couldn’t believe what we were seeing,” Avery Johnson said via The Ringer. “Tim dominated David, who I thought was a pretty good defender [he chuckled]. It got to the point where Pop [Popovich] had David spend the rest of training camp on Tim’s team.”
It would’ve been nice to see video clips of those duels between the two legendary bigs. It’s a battle of two different styles. While Tim relied on his mastery of the fundamentals, David was just an athletic freak. Avery’s claim that Duncan beat the hell out of Robinson didn’t matter. What’s important is that the two became the best versions of each other because of each other.
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