After a few down seasons, the San Antonio Spurs are relevant again.
He won the NBA draft lottery on Tuesday, which will give him the opportunity to draft French phenom Victor Vembanyama with the No. 1 pick when the draft takes place late next month.
There has been a lot of hype surrounding Vembanayama, with many believing that he has the potential to become the best player in the game within a few years.
When the Spurs had the No. 1 pick in 1987 and 1997, they took David Robinson and Tim Duncan, respectively, and they won 56 games in both of their rookie seasons.
This has set the bar very high for Vembanyama next season.
The success level is high with the San Antonio No. 1 pick.
The Spurs went 56–26 in his first season with David Robinson and 56–26 in his first season with Tim Duncan.
Those are the two best records by a team with a rookie No. 1 pick in the lottery era (since 1985). pic.twitter.com/UBS2h7wZjr
– ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 17, 2023
Vembanayama, who stands at least 7-foot-2 tall (some sources list his height as 7-foot-5), has impressive ball-handling skills and overall fluidity for a man as tall as he is. .
But even if he is to face promotion, Spurs will have to build a winning team around him, and that will take some time.
When they drafted Robinson, he did not make his debut for two years because he had to serve two years in the Navy, and in the meantime, they were able to get him some assistance, including Terry Cummings, Rod Strickland and Sean Elliott. were involved.
San Antonio became a perennial contender with Robinson, and after missing most of the 1996–97 season due to injury, Duncan joined an already strong team when he was healthy.
This time around, the Spurs are lacking in quality, experienced players, but one should expect them to be aggressive this season, especially since they will have plenty of salary cap space.
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Spurs are already seeing the benefits of the No. 1 pick