25 most memorable moments from Tim Duncan’s career
By Brad Rowland
David Robinson breaks foot – December 23, 1996
At first glance, this is going to sound like a ridiculous way to “start” Tim Duncan’s career arc, but upon further examination, it rings true.
Robinson, a Hall of Fame big man in his own right, played in only six games during the 1996-1997 season, and his campaign was cut short by the broken foot. As a result, the Spurs were able to lose enough games to secure a significant amount of ping-pong balls for the 1997 NBA Draft Lottery and, well, you know the rest.
The 7-foot Robinson would return in full force for the 1997-1998 season and beyond, setting the stage for the “Twin Towers” portion of Duncan’s career. There is a perfectly reasonable argument behind the fact that Duncan would have been this level of player in any situation, but the Spurs provided him with the best possible support system throughout a lengthy NBA career, and it is tough to flatly assume that would have been the case everywhere.
Let’s just remember that, without the broken foot, Duncan probably never lands in San Antonio.
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