It all happened in the 1997 NBA Draft. The Spurs had the first pick in the draft after finishing 20-62 the previous season. Many NBA fans were in disbelief with the Spurs season as they had won at least 55 games in the previous three seasons. They did face injuries to David Robinson and Sean Elliott, but it was still truly unexpected.
Tim Duncan was seen as the consensus first pick. Duncan, a power forward out of Wake Forest had a dominant four-year career with the Demon Deacons.