Twin Towers (San Antonio Spurs)

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"Twin Towers"
Tim Duncan
David Robinson

In NBA basketball, the term Twin Towers refers to the duo of

frontcourt of the San Antonio Spurs from 1997 through 2003. Both players were selected first overall by the Spurs in the NBA draft; Robinson was selected in 1987 and Duncan was selected in 1997
. Robinson and Duncan spent their entire careers with the Spurs, and they played together from 1997 to 2003. The Twin Towers are known for their scoring, for their stifling defense, and for helping lead the Spurs to NBA championships in 1999 and 2003.

Players

David Robinson

Main article: David Robinson

David Robinson played four years of college basketball at Navy prior to being selected first overall in 1987 by the Spurs. Robinson began college with no expectations of playing in the NBA, but like Duncan, won numerous national player of the year awards in his senior season. Robinson led Navy to the Elite Eight in the 1986 NCAA tournament as a #7 regional seed.[1] Robinson was selected as the #1 overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft, but had to wait two years to join the Spurs because of his active-duty obligation with the Navy.

Prior to Robinson's arrival, the Spurs were one of the worst teams in the NBA as they were just coming off of a 21-61 record. Robinson led the Spurs to the greatest single season turnaround in NBA history at the time in his rookie season, as he led the Spurs to a 56-26 record and to the second round of the

NBA Playoffs where they would lose to the eventual Western Conference champions Portland Trail Blazers in seven games.[2] Robinson would be unanimously named the NBA rookie of the year
that season.

Robinson's success would continue on as he was named NBA MVP in 1995 and one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history,[3] and he would lead the Spurs to the playoffs in each of the next six seasons, but he would only lead the Spurs to the Western Conference finals once in that span, where he would go head-to-head against chief rival Hakeem Olajuwon as the Spurs would fall to the Houston Rockets in six games.

The 1996–97 season was a particularly frustrating season for the Spurs as Robinson would hurt his back in preseason play and would not return until December, and six games after he finally returned, he suffered a season-ending injury as he broke his foot. As a result, the Spurs finished the season with a dismal 20-62 record.

Tim Duncan

Main article: Tim Duncan

Prior to being selected number one overall by the Spurs in the 1997 NBA Draft, Tim Duncan played at Wake Forest for four years. Despite many speculations that Duncan would go pro early and would be the number one pick if he did so, he would not go pro until he graduated from college and played all four of his years with Wake Forest.[4] Despite never making the Final Four, Duncan's college career at Wake Forest was considered to be a success.

In his sophomore season, Duncan led Wake Forest to a win over a Rasheed Wallace-led North Carolina squad in the ACC Championship Game and would also lead Wake Forest to a #1 seed in the 1995 NCAA tournament and a trip to the Sweet 16, but despite Duncan's 12 points and 22 rebounds in their Sweet 16 game, Wake Forest would lose to Oklahoma State 71–66 in the Sweet 16. Duncan would be named to the All-ACC 1st team that season.[4]

Duncan's leadership at Wake Forest stepped up in his junior year as Wake Forest lost his teammate Randolph Childress to graduation and selection in the 1995 NBA draft. Despite playing on an inexperienced squad, Duncan would lead Wake Forest to a 26–6 record, including a 12–4 record in ACC play, a second consecutive ACC tournament championship, and a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight, where despite 14 points, 16 rebounds, and six assists from Duncan, Wake Forest would fall to eventual national champion Kentucky 83–64. Duncan would be named ACC Defensive Player of the Year and ACC Player of the Year for a remarkable season with Wake Forest.[4]

Despite a disappointing senior season losing in the semifinals of the ACC tournament and getting beat by Stanford in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Duncan had an impressive year that season as he won numerous national player of the year awards, including being a unanimous pick for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and the Naismith Award, and was voted ACC Player of the Year again.[4]

"Twin Towers" era

After having the third-worst record in the 1996–97 season, the San Antonio Spurs won the NBA draft lottery, giving them the #1 pick in the 1997 NBA draft.[5] With that #1 pick, they drafted Tim Duncan.[6] Paired together, the 7'1"[7] Robinson and the 6'11"[8] Duncan became known as the Twin Towers.[9][10] The Twin Towers played together for the Spurs from 1997 to 2003.[11] Both Robinson and Duncan were skilled offensive players,[12] and the Twin Towers also anchored the Spurs' formidable defense.[6][13] The duo helped lead the team to NBA championships in 1999 and 2003.[11]

Duncan quickly became a dominant force in the NBA as he was named to the

1998 NBA Playoffs, which is the first of what would become a 21-year playoff streak for the San Antonio Spurs, which would last Tim Duncan's entire career with the Spurs
.

In Duncan's playoff debut, he had a bad first half and with the Spurs trailing the Phoenix Suns 50-45 at halftime, Suns coach Danny Ainge decided to put less defensive pressure on Duncan, and as a result, would finish Game 1 with 32 points and 10 rebounds as the Spurs would emerge with a 102-96 victory in Game 1.[14] The Spurs would end up winning the series 3-1, thanks to strong performances by Robinson and Duncan, and would go on to face the Utah Jazz in the second round of the NBA Playoffs where Duncan would go head-to-head against Hall of Fame power forward Karl Malone. Duncan would end up outscoring Malone in the first two games of the series by a margin of 33-25 in Game 1[15] and by a margin of 26-22 in Game 2[16] but despite that, the Spurs ended up losing both of the first two games heading back to San Antonio down 0-2. Malone would end up outscoring Duncan in the next three games, doing so by a margin of 18-10 in Game 3 (which the Spurs ended up winning),[17] 34-22 in Game 4,[18] and 24-14 in Game 5[19] to eliminate the Spurs from the playoffs in five games en route to winning the Western Conference championship.

Before the start of the

Collective Bargaining Agreement
. This lockout lasted for 202 days, well into the regular NBA season, before an agreement was finally reached, resulting in a shortened 50-game season.

The Twin Towers were able to lead the Spurs to an NBA-best 37-13 record in the shortened 50-game season, earning home court advantage throughout the playoffs as a result. The Spurs breezed through the NBA Playoffs as they beat the

NBA Finals MVP.[25]

The success of the "Twin Towers" would continue through the

NBA Playoffs
. However, Duncan would suffer a season-ending knee injury and as a result, the Spurs lost to the Suns 3-1 in the first round of the playoffs.

2001 NBA Playoffs. The Spurs cruised to the Western Conference Finals with a 3-1 win over the Timberwolves and a 4-1 win over the Dallas Mavericks in the first round and conference semifinals, respectively, but the Spurs would end up getting swept by the eventual NBA Champion, Los Angeles Lakers, in the Western Conference Finals, who were led by NBA superstar duo Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant
.

The "Twin Towers" would lead the San Antonio Spurs to another Midwest Division title the following season, this time finishing as the #2 seed in the Western Conference. The Spurs would end up beating the Seattle SuperSonics in five games in the first round (note: prior to the 2002–03 NBA season, all first round series were best-of-five series). In the conference semifinals series against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Spurs would take a lead going into the fourth quarter in all five games as Duncan had steady production in this series with a double-double in every game, but the Spurs were unable to hold off Kobe Bryant's fourth quarter heroics and were only able to win one game in that series as a result. After posting 34 points and 25 rebounds in Game 5, Duncan stated his frustration: "I thought we really had a chance at this series. The Lakers proved to be more than we could handle. Again, we had a (heck) of a run at it. We had opportunities to win games and make it a different series, but that's just the way the ball rolls sometimes." Also, Robinson said "Tim [Duncan] was like Superman out there", and conceded that the Lakers were simply better, just like in the last playoffs campaign.[26] Tim Duncan would be named the NBA MVP for the 2001–02 season.[27]

The

Sportsmen of the Year".[31]

Aftermath

On November 10, 2003, the Spurs retired David Robinson's jersey no. 50.[32][33] He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.[34]

The next era for Duncan began during Robinson's final season, as the Spurs drafted Tony Parker in the first round of the 2001 NBA draft and Manu Ginóbili joined the Spurs in time for the 2002–03 NBA season after they drafted him in the second round of the 1999 NBA draft.[citation needed] Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili went on to form San Antonio's Big Three. The Big Three of Duncan, Parker, and Ginóbili would play together until 2016[35] and would win NBA titles in 2005, 2007, and 2014[36] before Duncan's retirement from the NBA on July 11, 2016.[37] Duncan's No. 21 jersey was retired by the Spurs on December 18, 2016.[38] On May 13, 2021, Duncan was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame.[39]

References

  1. ^ Montville, Leigh (1996-04-29). "Trials Of David". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  2. NBA.com
    .
  3. ^ "The NBA at 50". NBA.com. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  4. ^ a b c d Tim Duncan Biography Archived 2012-01-15 at the Wayback Machine, jockbio.com. Retrieved April 19, 2007.
  5. ^ Johnson, Jared (August 11, 2013). "Grading Each San Antonio Spurs Draft Pick Since Tim Duncan". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  6. ^ a b O'Neill, Isaac (February 7, 2021). "Brick by Brick: Tim Duncan". Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  7. ^ "David Robinson: "Tim Duncan is probably the best thing that ever happened to me"". Hoopshype.com. March 23, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  8. ^ Stein, Marc (September 26, 2019). "N.B.A. Will Get to the Bottom of How Tall Its Players Are". The New York Times. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via NYTimes.com.
  9. ^ Smith, Sam (February 14, 1999). "'TOWERS' THEORY FAULTY FOR SPURS?". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  10. ^ "Twin Towers elevate Spurs; Duncan, Robinson look to go farther than previous tandems". baltimoresun.com. June 2, 1999. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Garcia, Jeff (April 25, 2020). "Before joining the Spurs, David Robinson knew Tim Duncan was a special player". News4SanAntonio.com. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  12. ^ Garcia, Jeff (September 14, 2020). "Shaquille O'Neal: I wasn't Tim Duncan, David Robinson". News4SanAntonio.com. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  13. ^ "SAN ANTONIO SPURS". OrlandoSentinel.com. October 26, 2001. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  14. ^ "San Antonio Spurs at Phoenix Suns, April 23, 1998". Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved 2011-12-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Basketball-reference. Retrieved August 30, 2007.
  15. ^ "San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz, May 5, 1998". Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2011-12-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Basketball-reference. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
  16. ^ "San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz, May 7, 1998". Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved 2011-12-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Basketball-reference. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
  17. ^ "Utah Jazz at San Antonio Spurs, May 9, 1998". Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved 2011-12-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Basketball-reference. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
  18. ^ "Utah Jazz at San Antonio Spurs, May 10, 1998". Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved 2011-12-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Basketball-reference. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
  19. ^ "San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz, May 12, 1998". Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  20. ^ New York Knicks at San Antonio Spurs Box Score, June 16, 1999 Retrieved July 19, 2016
  21. ^ New York Knicks at San Antonio Spurs Box Score, June 18, 1999 Retrieved July 19, 2016
  22. ^ San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks Box Score, June 21, 1999 Retrieved July 19, 2016
  23. ^ San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks Box Score, June 23, 1999 Retrieved July 19, 2016
  24. ^ San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks Box Score, June 25, 1999 Retrieved July 19, 2016
  25. ^ "Duncan, Robinson lead San Antonio to first NBA title". Sports Illustrated. June 28, 1999. Retrieved April 29, 2007.
  26. ^ "Lakers Roll Past Spurs, Eye Clash With Kings". NBA.com. March 14, 2002. Retrieved January 13, 2008.
  27. ^ Badger, T.A. (May 10, 2002). "It's official: Duncan captures MVP award". USA Today. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
  28. ^ "Transcript of David Robinson Retirement Press Conference". San Antonio Spurs.
  29. ^ "Spurs, Tim, Dunk Lakers, Head to Conference Finals". NBA.com. May 15, 2003. Retrieved June 17, 2007.
  30. ^ Williams, Bryan (June 15, 2003). "Feels Like the First Time". NBA.com. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
  31. ^ "Duncan, Robinson share SI sportsman award". Sports Illustrated. December 8, 2003. Retrieved June 16, 2007. {{cite magazine}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
  32. ^ Duarte, Jeph (August 25, 2017). "David Robinson: The Foundation of the Spurs Way". Pounding The Rock.
  33. ^ "The San Antonio Spurs retired David Robinson's jersey at the SBC..." Getty Images. 11 November 2003.
  34. ^ Eddy, Art. "David Robinson: New 2013 FIBA Hall of Fame Inductee's Career Highlights". Bleacher Report.
  35. ^ "San Antonio Spurs Retire The Jersey Of Former Player Tony Parker". KERA News. November 12, 2019.
  36. ^ "San Antonio Spurs Big Three The Last Of Its Kind". Air Alamo. 12 July 2016.
  37. ^ "TIM DUNCAN ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT". San Antonio Spurs.
  38. ^ "Emotions Flow as Tim Duncan's No. 21 Jersey Is Retired at AT&T Center". San Antonio Report. December 19, 2016.
  39. ^ "Watch Tim Duncan's humble Hall of Fame induction speech". May 16, 2021.
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