“I literally dropped my hamburger on the ground” – Popovich’s reaction to the Spurs winning the draft lottery to pick Duncan originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Wake Forest power forward Tim Duncan was the consensus number one pick of the 1997 NBA Draft. The San Antonio Spurs had a 22 percent chance of winning the draft lottery, but Gregg Popovich wasn’t betting on it, as the Boston Celtics held the better odds at 28 percent. As such, Pop opted to remain in the big tent while the other Spurs staff watched the draft lottery unfold in the stands.
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“There was no way we had a chance to get the No. 1 pick,” Popovich said, via the San Antonio News-Express. “I just stayed in the tent where the food and the beer were. I’m the only guy in the tent. Everybody vacated.”
Spurs vs. 76ers
With food and drink in hand, Popovich sat alone in a tent and watched the draft lottery develop. It came down to the Spurs and the Philadelphia 76ers, which had a 12.24 percent chance to land the first pick.
Sixers coach Larry Brown hoped to land the first pick but was nonetheless happy if Pop, the best man at his wedding, won. Lo and behold, the Spurs were awarded the first overall pick — a major shock to everyone, especially Gregg, who was still all alone in the tent.
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“So I’m watching this little TV, eating a burger and drinking a beer, and they get to the pick that was supposed to be us. But it was somebody else. I couldn’t believe it. I was so shocked that I literally dropped my hamburger on the ground. It was unbelievable. One of us was going to get Duncan,” Pop said.
“All these people come rushing in the tent, just rushing at me. They were congratulating me like I had done something. I didn’t do anything but eat a burger, and they were rushing me, telling me what a good job I had done,” he added.
Blessing
The Spurs finished 13th in the Western Conference with a 20-62 record. Injuries hammered San Antonio throughout the year. All-Star center David Robinson played just six games due to back and foot injuries. Sean Elliott played 39 contests due to a knee injury, while Chuck Person missed the entire regular season due to an off-season back injury.
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“It’s not supposed to work this way, really,” said Spurs president Jack Diller. “A team with the talent we have is not supposed to win the lottery and add somebody like Duncan. But the injuries put us in there.”
The 76ers, Sacramento Kings, and a slew of basketball analysts immediately deemed the Spurs championship contenders after they won the draft lottery.
“When you get a Tim Duncan, you are getting something really, really special, not only as a basketball player, but with an incredible attitude. He uses the glass as well as any young player I’ve seen. You don’t see many young kids use it like he does. He’s just got the total package,” Celtics head coach Rick Pitino said.
It didn’t take long for such predictions to come to fruition. By his second year in the league, Duncan had collected a suite of individual accolades, including one All-Star selection, two NBA First Team selections, one All-Defensive First Team selection, and one All-Defensive Second Team selection. However, the most notable achievement was the hardware TD won for the team: a Larry O’Brien trophy, or to be more precise, five of them.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.