(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
It’s almost impossible to think of Tim Duncan somewhere other than the San Antonio Spurs.
He became an integral part of their success from day one, leading them to an NBA championship in almost no time and forming an elite and deadly duo with David Robinson.
But there was a time when Duncan was actually considering leaving Gregg Popovich’s side, and the Orlando Magic were pretty close to signing him.
Multiple stories have emerged from that free agency period, but now, 23 years later, Grant Hill finally shed some light on why he didn’t sign with them.
Doc fumbled
Grant Hill explains how close Tim Duncan was to leaving San Antonio for Orlando in the summer of 2000. pic.twitter.com/QQ0IHxkLAD
— SHOWTIME Basketball (@shobasketball) June 29, 2023
In an appearance on Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson’s “All the Smoke,” Hill told the story of how he, his wife Tamia, Duncan, his girlfriend, and Doc Rivers — who was the Magic’s coach at the time — got together for dinner.
Duncan’s girlfriend asked Rivers whether wives and girlfriends could travel with the team — which the Spurs allowed — to which Rivers responded that he wouldn’t allow that because it was a business trip.
The rest, as you may know by now, is history.
Hill claimed that his wife was positive Duncan wasn’t going to sign with the Magic because her girlfriend’s body language changed as soon as Rivers answered that question.
Duncan stayed in San Antonio and went on to become one of the greatest — if not the greatest — power forwards of all time, helping the franchise win five NBA championships and become one of the most iconic dynasties in NBA history.
What could’ve been?
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