Expected to be picked up by the San Antonio Spurs, Victor Wimbanyama is expected to be placed under the wing of a team legend.
Throughout the 2022-23 season, NBA fans have been noticing teams that haven’t lived up to expectations. why is that? Well, that would increase their chances of winning the first pick in the NBA lottery, which then allows them to pick French phenom Victor Wimpanyama. The lucky team to win the first pick was the San Antonio Spurs, who tied the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets for best odds at 14 percent.
It is a foregone conclusion that Tottenham will choose Wimpanyama this summer. When that happens, Tottenham will associate him with one of their legends.
According to NBA reporter Mark Stein (subscription required)Hall of Famer Tim Duncan is expected to visit the Spurs facility to work with Wembanyama.
Tim Duncan expected to work with Victor Wimbanyama after he was drafted No. 1 overall
At the behest of longtime Tottenham patriarch Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan has agreed to join Pope’s coaching staff for the 2019-20 campaign which was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This season has been enough for Duncan to reaffirm what many suspected and what he already knew – coaching full time just isn’t for him – but the expectation is that he will regularly visit the team’s training facility to work with Wimpanyama when Spurs are home,” Stein writes, h / t determination of the ovaries.
It is only fitting that Wimpanyama should learn from one of the best old men to ever wear a Spurs uniform. In addition, the two would have one thing in common – they were two of the three players selected first overall by Tottenham. The other player was David Robinson, another legendary big man.
Duncan was drafted again in 1998, and became an instant difference-maker, making the All-Star Game and winning Rookie of the Year honors in his senior season. From there, Duncan made it to the All-Star Game and the All-NBA Team 15 times, won the NBA championship five times, was named NBA Finals MVP three times, and won the league’s Most Valuable Player award twice.
In his 19 years as a player, Duncan is the franchise’s all-time leader in points (26,496), total rebounds (15,091), blocks (3,020), minutes played (47,368), and games played (1,392).
San Antonio now has the #1 pick, as they can pick Wembanyama. If they do, they sure hope he has a similar career to Duncan. Based on Stein’s comments, it appears the team will be asking Duncan to work with him to launch his career.