Tim Duncan was one of the last few lifers in the NBA. This legend spent his entire career with the San Antonio Spurs, and it's really hard to imagine the Hall of Fame big man playing for any other team. As it turns out, however, Duncan nearly joined the Orlando Magic early in his career in a potential Big 3 with Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady.
Hill recently guested on the Legends Lounge with Trill Withers podcast and one of the subjects of the discussion centered around his departure from the Detroit Pistons. After spending the first six years of his career in Detroit, Hill ended up leaving the Pistons to join the Magic. He teamed up with Tracy McGrady to form a formidable duo in Orlando. As it turns out, it was nearly a Big 3 with Timmy D:
“Orlando, Miami, San Antonio, Chicago, New York, all these teams came knocking and Orlando just felt like the right fit,” Hill said. “I knew (Tracy McGrady) was coming. There was also a chance, Tim Duncan. We were kind of building our own Big 3, if you will. It didn't quite pan out that way though.”
What a trio that would have been. We all know how Duncan won no less than five championships in San Antonio, so it's hard not to imagine him finding a similar level of success in Orlando with Hill and McGrady.
When asked how close Duncan was to leaving the Spurs, Grant Hill revealed that he felt the 15-time All-Star nearly had one foot out the door:
“I don't know,” Hill admitted. “I mean, he was definitely interested and you see Tim now in his career and you can't imagine him anywhere else. … I don't know how real it was or how much he really was seriously thinking, but I know when we went on our visit, I thought we had him, and turns out we didn't.”
This will probably be one of the biggest what-ifs in the history of the NBA. These are three Hall of Fame players, and it would have been amazing to see all of them together on the same team during their prime.
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