On Tuesday night, the San Antonio Spurs learned that they were the lucky recipients of the 2023 number-one overall pick in the NBA Draft. What this means is that they have secured the rights to one of the greatest, if not the greatest, draft prospects in NBA history, Victor Wembanyama. Historically, the Spurs have done great things with their previous number-one picks, selecting two all-time great big men in Tim Duncan and David Robinson. With their 2023 pick, will Victor Wembanyama be the next in line to carry that torch?
It sure appears to be that way, as Wembanyama is a 7’0’’ demi-god who can do a little bit of everything on the court. For the Spurs, Wembanyama has a great chance to top the list of the best draft picks in team history. I have already mentioned Duncan and Robinson as being atop that list, but how about the players who weren’t number one overall? The Spurs are one of the most well-run organizations in NBA history and have a long track record of making the right decisions in the NBA Draft. With this in mind, we thought we would take a deeper dive into Spurs’ history and rank their greatest draft picks ever regardless of what spot the player was selected from.
These are the 10 greatest draft picks in San Antonio Spurs history.
Honorable MentionLeandro Barbosa
Credit: Fadeaway World
Career Stats: 10.6 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG
Awards And Achievements: 1x NBA Champion, 1x Sixth Man Of The Year
The player that gets an honorable mention for our greatest draft picks in San Antonio Spurs draft picks history is Leandro Barbosa. He was the 28th overall pick of the Spurs in 2003 but would never play a game for the team in his career. Barbosa was traded by San Antonio just as quickly as they drafted him, sending him to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a 2005 first-round draft pick.
Barbosa would spend nine seasons with the Suns in total and average 11.7 PPG over that time. In 2007, Barbosa won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award with the Suns when he averaged 18.1 PPG, 4.0 APG, and 1.2 SPG in 80 games played, 62 of which came from the bench. In 2015, Barbosa served as a key defensive play off the bench for the Golden State Warriors. He would go on to help them win the NBA championship that season before later becoming a member of their coaching staff in retirement.
10. Goran Dragic
Credit: Fadeaway World
Career Stats: 13.3 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 2.6 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.2 BPG
Awards And Achievements: 1x Most Improved Player, 1x All-Star, 1x All-NBA Team Selection
Another player who was drafted by the Spurs and never suited up for them is Goran Dragic. The Spurs drafted Dragic in the second round of the 2008 NBA Draft and, coincidentally enough, also traded him to the Suns on draft night. The Spurs acquired Malik Hairston and a 2009 Second Round pick in exchange for Dragic, which they later used to select DeJuan Blair. Dragic has gone on to have a pretty decent career over the last 15 seasons.
In 2013-14 with the Suns, Dragic would earn the only All-NBA Team selection of his career. He averaged 20.3 PPG, 5.9 APG, and 1.4 SPG that season and was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player. In 2018, Dragic earned the only All-Star selection of his career while with the Miami Heat. He averaged 17.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 4.8 APG to claim the selection. In 2020, he would help lead them to the NBA Finals, only to suffer an injury and see the Heat fall short against the Lakers.
9. Sean Elliott
Credit: Fadeaway World
Career Stats: 14.2 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.4 BPG
Awards And Achievements: 1x NBA Champion, 2x All-Star
Finally, we get to a player that actually suited up for the Spurs after being drafted by them. Sean Elliott was the third overall pick of the Spurs in the 1989 NBA Draft, being selected after only Pervis Ellison and Danny Ferry. Elliott would play 11 of his 12 seasons in the NBA, with San Antonio taking just one season to play with the Pistons in 1994. Elliott was dealt to the Spurs in exchange for Dennis Rodman but would be traded back again that summer and finish out his career with the team.
Elliott would earn the first All-Star selection of his career in 1993 when he averaged 17.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 3.8 APG, and 1.0 SPG in 70 games played. Three seasons later, Elliott would earn another All-Star selection when he averaged 20.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 2.7 APG for the Spurs in 77 games played. In 1999, Elliott would start all 17 playoff games for San Antonio and averaged 11.9 PPG as they went on to win their first NBA championship in franchise history.
8. Dejounte Murray
Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 14.0 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.3 BPG
Awards And Achievements: 1x All-Star, 1x All-Defensive Team Selection
Dejounte Murray is the youngest and most recent selection on this entire list. Murray was selected with the 29th pick by San Antonio in the 2016 NBA Draft. In his first two seasons with the team, Murray struggled to earn starting minutes on the court and adapt to Coach Gregg Popovich’s system. He would miss his entire third season with a torn ACL as well, making it a tough start to his Spurs career.
When he returned from injury, Murray earned the starting point guard job immediately. He quickly developed into one of the best two-way point guards in the league and, by 2021, was the best player on San Antonio’s roster. In 2022, Murray became an All-Star for the first time. He averaged 21.1 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 9.2 APG, and 2.0 SPG. With this effort, Murray was also named to an All-Defensive Team for the first time after taking home the steals title. Murray just completed his first season as a member of the Atlanta Hawks, averaging 20.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 6.1 APG, and 1.5 SPG.
7. Kevin Duckworth
Credit: Fadeaway World
Career Stats: 11.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.5 BPG
Awards And Achievements: 1x Most Improved Player, 2x All-Star
Recently, we named Kevin Duckworth as one of the greatest players named Kevin in NBA history. It also turns out he is one of the greatest draft picks in Spurs’ history, even if he played only 14 games for them in his career. Duckworth was the Spurs’ second-round pick in the 1986 NBA Draft but was traded to Portland after just 14 games in exchange for Walter Berry.
In just his second full season with Portland in 1989, Duckworth became an All-Star for the first time. He averaged 18.1 PPG and 8.0 RPG for the Trail Blazers that season. Duckworth would earn the second All-Star selection of his career two seasons later with the Trail Blazers as he averaged 15.8 PPG and 6.6 RPG in 81 games played as their starting center. Did San Antonio let a legendary big man escape their grapes? I’d say they ended up making up for it.
6. John Paxson
Credit: Fadeaway World
Career Stats: 7.2 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG
Awards And Achievements: 3x NBA Champion
John Paxson is mostly known for his time alongside Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls during their first three-peat as NBA champions from 1991 thru 1993. Paxson began his career with the Spurs as their 19th overall pick in the 1983 NBA Draft. Paxson would spend two seasons with the Spurs appearing in 127 games while making only one start as their point guard. In 1985, he signed with the Bulls as a free agent, where he would spend the next decade of his career.
Paxson was never an offensive juggernaut or a defensive mastermind, but he did play an important role with Chicago. In nine years with the Bulls, he averaged just 7.6 PPG and 3.7 APG. The biggest moment in his career came in Game 6 of the 1993 NBA Finals. With 3.9 seconds on the clock and the Bulls trailing by two, Paxson became the unlikely hero as he drained a three-pointer to lift the Bulls to their third straight NBA championship. Paxson may not be a household name to many outside Chicago, but he earned his stripes with a solid 11-year career in the NBA.
5. Alvin Robertson
Credit: Malcolm Emmons – USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 14.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 5.0 APG, 2.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG
Awards And Achievements: 1x Defensive Player Of The Year, 1x Most Improved Player, 4x All-Star, 1x All-NBA Team Selection, 6x All-Defensive Team Selection
Alvin Robertson is one of the greatest players in San Antonio Spurs’ history, and it isn’t really close. Robertson was the seventh overall pick of the Spurs in the 1984 NBA Draft and ended up becoming one of the best guards in the entire draft class. After coming off the bench in his rookie year, Robertson earned the starting job in his second year. He would make three straight All-Star teams from there and was named the Defensive Player of the Year in 1986.
Robertson won back-to-back steals titles with San Antonio in 1987 and 1988 as well and would add a third with the Bucks in 1991. In his five seasons with the Spurs, he averaged 16.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 5.4 APG, and 2.9 SPG. In 1989, he was traded to the Bucks in exchange for Terry Cummings and a second-round pick. Robertson would finish his career with the Bucks, Raptors, and Pistons before retiring in 1996.
4. Manu Ginobili
Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 13.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG
Awards And Achievements: 4x NBA Champion, 1x Sixth Man Of The Year, 2x All-Star, 2x All-NBA Team Selection
Manu Ginobili wasn’t supposed to be one of the greatest international players ever when the Spurs drafted him in the second round of the 1999 NBA Draft. As his career unfolded, that fact became inevitable as he progressed into one of the best bench players and most clutch performers ever. Ginobili took three seasons to play in Italy before debuting for the Spurs in 2002. By his third season, Manu was the starter for San Antonio as they went on to win their third title since 1999.
After adding another championship in 2007, Ginobili made his way to the bench, where he could become more effective for the team. In his second full season off the bench, Ginobili earned Sixth Man of the Year honors averaging 19.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 4.5 APG, and 1.5 SPG. Three seasons later, he would earn the second and final All-Star selection of his career, averaging 17.4 PPG, 4.9 APG, and 1.5 SPG. Ginobili helped the Spurs win his fourth championship in 2014 and would end up retiring following the 2018 season. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022.
3. Tony Parker
Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 15.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 5.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG
Awards And Achievements: 4x NBA Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 6x All-Star, 4x All-NBA Team Selection
To this day, Tony Parker remains one of the most underrated players in NBA history. Parker was the 28th overall pick of the Spurs in the 2001 NBA Draft out of France. He would spend the next 17 seasons with the team, helping them win four NBA championships over that time. He became the starting point guard for the Spurs immediately upon arrival and went on to be the greatest at the position in franchise history.
Parker would earn a total of six All-Star appearances in his career with the Spurs and four selections to the All-NBA team. In 2007, Parker earned Finals MVP honors in a sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers for his third and the Spurs’ fourth NBA championship. In 2014, Parker earned an All-Star appearance for the final time and went on to become one of the few players to win an NBA championship without the help of another All-Star teammate, although Kawhi Leonard won Finals MVP and was just as important to the title. Parker was selected to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023, becoming the first French-born player to do so in NBA history.
2. David Robinson
Credit: Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 21.1 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.4 SPG, 3.0 BPG
Awards And Achievements: 2x NBA Champion, 1x MVP, 1x Defensive Player Of The Year, 1x Rookie Of The Year, 10x All-Star, 10x All-NBA Team Selection, 8x All-Defensive Team Selection
If it wasn’t for the man who sits atop this list below, David Robinson would be far and away the greatest draft pick in Spurs history. Robinson was the first overall pick of the Spurs in 1987 but took two seasons to finish his commitment to the U.S. Navy. Upon arrival in 1989-90, Robinson immediately turned a struggling franchise into a serious contender with his God-like athleticism and two-way play that rivaled the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O’Neal.
Out of 14 seasons in the NBA, Robinson was only ever not selected to be an All-Star four times. In 1990, he was the clear Rookie of the Year, and in 1992, he captured his first and only Defensive Player of the Year award. In 1995, he was named the MVP when he averaged 27.6 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 1.7 SPG, and 3.2 BPG. In 1999 and 2003, Robinson helped the Spurs capture the first two championships in franchise history alongside the player who happens to be sitting at number one just below as they formed one of the best frontcourts in NBA history.
1. Tim Duncan
Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 19.0 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, 0.7 SPG, 2.2 BPG
Awards And Achievements: 5x NBA Champion, 3x Finals MVP, 2x MVP, 1x Rookie Of The Year, 15x All-Star, 1x All-Star Game MVP, 15x All-NBA Team Selection, 15x All-Defensive Team Selection
As we look back on the greatest draft picks in San Antonio Spurs history, Tim Duncan is the only choice for the greatest. Duncan was selected first overall in 1997 out of Wake Forest and would spend the entirety of his 19 seasons with the franchise that selected him. It didn’t take long for Duncan to make an impact on the team, capturing Rookie of the Year honors in 1998 and then leading the Spurs to their first NBA championship in 1999.
Duncan would add two more Finals MVP awards in 2003 and 2005, as well as two MVP awards in 2002 and 2003. His 2003 MVP came with an NBA championship, making him one of 12 players to win MVP, a championship, and Finals MVP in the same season. Duncan is still known as the greatest player in Spurs’ history, period, and the greatest power forward in NBA history. His two-way impact has been matched by very few through the 76-year history of the league and still somehow remains underrated to this day because he did it quietly and honorably. The only question that remains is if San Antonio is getting another Duncan when they inevitably draft Victor Wembanyama with this year’s first overall pick.
