Grant Hill Speaks on Tim Duncan's Near Spurs Departure to Magic
The San Antonio Spurs used the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft to select Tim Duncan. He went on to lead them to five championships while earning two MVPs, 15 All-NBA nods, and 15 All-Defensive Team nods all in part of a Hall of Fame career.
All 19 seasons of Duncan's NBA career were played as a member of the Spurs. However, it wasn't always a guarantee that he would play exclusively in San Antonio. It's already well-documented that in 2000, Duncan had strongly considered departing the Spurs to sign with the Orlando Magic — until he decided otherwise.
On SHOWTIME's All the Smoke, Grant Hill revealed his insight into the Magic's failed recruiting efforts to sign Duncan. Hill added further context to the rumor that coach Doc Rivers not allowing family members on the team plane turned off Duncan from coming to play in Orlando with him and Tracy McGrady.
"So what happened was, Tim and I had the same agent, so we went down together, and Tim was more him at the time than I was. I was still- I had New York, I had a couple of other things I was looking at, but Tim wanted to be in Orlando if he were to leave. And so we were down there, they're hosting us, they had a pretty good season, Doc Rivers' first year coaching them... And so while we were there, everything was going well, like I felt this could happen. I know it's hard for people to think now of Tim Duncan anywhere else.
"I remember like it was yesterday, we went to dinner, and Tim's girlfriend asked Doc a question: 'can wives and girlfriends travel on the team plane?' You gotta understand, back then it didn't happen, it happens now, but back then it didn't happen. So Doc says, 'no, it's a business trip, it doesn't happen. I don't allow that'. I didn't know that San Antonio had started doing that, and so that's why.
"We got back to the hotel that night, and it was funny because Tamia and I were in the hotel room almost like the hotel room was bugged, so we're whispering to each other and she's like, 'he ain't coming'. I said, 'what do you mean?' She was like, 'when she asked that question, her whole body language changed with the response'."
It's safe to say that Duncan probably doesn't have any regrets about how his free agency in 2000 played out. He went on to achieve incredible results with the Spurs while leading what ended up being one of the most successful dynasties in league history.
The Magic surely would have liked to form a "Big 3" with Duncan, Hill, and McGrady in what surely would have been a championship-winning combination. Orlando has yet to win a championship in their franchise's history. They came closest to achieving that feat with Dwight Howard in 2009.
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