When you think of the San Antonio Spurs franchise, one name comes to mind. Tim Duncan. ‘The Big Fundamental’ personified every value an athlete for San Antonio should possess. Despite being one of the greatest power forwards, Duncan was an understated personality off the court preferring to stay out of the media’s eye and simply let his play do all the talking.
Duncan was every coach’s dream player. Stuck to the fundamentals of basketball, nothing fancy but executed at the highest level possible. After his retirement in 2016, as expected Duncan fell off the NBA grid and has maintained quite a sedentary lifestyle. However, we got a rare sighting of the legendary power forward at Victor Wembanyama‘s introductory dinner with the Spurs franchise.
Tim Duncan and other Spurs legends hosted Victor Wembanyama for dinner
Victor Wembanyama was recently selected first overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2023 NBA draft. He joins Tim Duncan and David Robinson as the only other first-overall picks in the franchise. The Spurs have a storied dynasty but unlike Duncan, Wembanyama will be joining a severely shorthanded team.
Nonetheless, Wemby was hosted for dinner by previous luminaries of the franchise, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Manu Ginobili, Sean Elliot, and head coach Gregg Popovich.
Victor Wembanyama with Spurs legends Sean Elliott, David Robinson, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan 🔥
(via @vicw_32) pic.twitter.com/SF59SMRjD3
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) June 25, 2023
Victor commented on the dinner saying “In probably a couple of hours, I learned more about the NBA than in my whole life before,” Wembanyama said. “It’s so comforting to see the people who are so important to the city of San Antonio and to the franchise are such kind people and generous.”They genuinely wanted to share with me their experience. I feel like they’ve already started to take great care of me.”
When pictures of the get-together were posted, fans were more interested in Tim Duncan’s new look. During his playing career, Duncan opted for a professional and clean look, usually sporting a low haircut with stubble, but it seems he’s let loose since retirement.
I’ll never get used to Duncan with long hair.
— Jake Robison (@JakeARobison) June 25, 2023
If I wasn’t actually alive to see it for myself I would think those guys NEVER played basketball …..why they look like Great Grandfathers especially Tim Duncan l
— CoachAlston (@CoachSamAlston) June 25, 2023
Fans also made hilarious observations about how Wembanyama seems to dwarf even the biggest of NBA centers, considering that both David Robinson and Tim Duncan are a little above and below 7 feet tall. Wemby who is listed at 7’4 makes the 2 NBA players look like regular humans in this photo.