The 1996-1997 San Antonio Spurs limped, actually and figuratively, to a 20-win season.
Standout middle David Robinson missed the primary 18 video games of the season as he labored his means again from a again harm, and the Spurs started the 12 months with a 2-13 file. Head coach Bob Hill was fired after 18 video games, and changed by common supervisor Gregg Popovich. Whereas Robinson returned after the primary 18 video games, he then suffered a damaged foot after taking part in simply six contests for San Antonio.
He missed the remainder of the season and San Antonio completed with a 20-62 file.
Nonetheless, that was not the worst file within the NBA that 12 months. That honor went to the Vancouver Grizzlies, who completed 14-68. However whereas the Grizzlies had one of the best odds of successful the first-overall choice within the 1997 NBA Draft lottery, as an growth crew the earlier 12 months they have been ineligible for that choose.
As an alternative, the crew with the second-best odds of incomes the highest choose was the Boston Celtics. Boston completed 15-67 that season, and with two lottery picks the Celtics have been within the driver’s seat for the primary choose.
Nonetheless San Antonio, with the third-best odds, gained the lottery.
And the rights to Tim Duncan.
(As an apart, within the lead-up to the 1997 NBA Draft Popovich, then entrenched because the San Antonio head coach, took a while on ESPN to carry a pre-draft chat with followers. One Celtics fan requested him flat out what it could take for San Antonio to commerce the rights for the primary choose to Boston, and Popovich was variety and well mannered sufficient to answer, and make it clear {that a} transfer can be unlikely.
Thus, my temporary time as an NBA insider got here to an finish.)
The remaining, in fact, is historical past. San Antonio went on to win two NBA titles with the pairing of Robinson and Duncan, and San Antonio would win three extra throughout Duncan’s tenure with the group.
May historical past, by some means, repeat itself right here in 2025?
Second-year star Victor Wembanyama is anticipated to overlook the remainder of the 2025 NBA season after he was identified with a deep vein thrombosis in his proper shoulder. In line with experiences, the Spurs imagine that is an remoted prevalence, and anticipate Wembanyama to make a full restoration.
In the intervening time, the Spurs have a 23-29 file and sit 14th out of 15 groups within the NBA’s Western Convention.
Additionally they sit tenth within the present NBA Draft order.
Proper now San Antonio has only a 3% likelihood at securing the highest choose within the 2025 NBA Draft, and a 13.9% likelihood of securing a choose within the High 4 choices. However with Wembanyama sidelined for the remainder of the season, it’s unlikely that the Spurs out of the blue flip issues round within the standings.
As an alternative, it’s much more probably that San Antonio’s losses mount, and their odds of securing a choose contained in the High 5 — or higher — enhance.
Within the newest SB Nation NBA Mock Draft the Spurs chosen Texas G Trey Johnson, however the harm to Wembanyama probably places them able to land a real difference-maker. Think about a wholesome Wembanyma returning for subsequent 12 months with somebody like Ace Bailey or Asa Newell, together with the not too long ago acquired De’Aaron Fox.
Or, dare we are saying, Cooper Flagg? Khaman Maluach? May the Spurs kind an up to date model of The Twin Towers? Flagg is a consensus No. 1 choose in NBA mock drafts proper now, so that’s in all probability an excessive amount of of an ask, however you may excuse the Spurs fan in your life for dreaming.
However Flagg’s Duke teammate Maluach is rising up draft boards, and giving San Antonio a pair of seven-footers within the entrance courtroom can be imposing.
So whereas the Wembanyma information is a bitter capsule to swallow for Spurs followers, there’s a brilliant aspect. Whereas this can be very unlikely that San Antonio might really repeat historical past, and land the first-overall choose as they did in 1997 after shedding David Robinson, there’s a likelihood that the silver lining to the Wembanyma harm is a choose within the high 5.
Which might set San Antonio up for one more stretch of success in 2026 and past.