When San Antonio Spurs generational talent Victor Wembanyama earned First Team honors on the NBA's All-Defensive list, he did something that not even franchise GOAT Tim Duncan accomplished. While there's no way to top Duncan when All-NBA teams are announced, Wemby can join the game's greatest power forward in one regard. No Spurs rookie has made the first, second or third All-NBA team since Duncan.
Tim Duncan's All-NBA history
When Duncan earned a first team nod in 1998, he became the first rookie to make the league's top squad since Larry Bird in 1980. It marked the first of eight consecutive selections to the ceremonial team, a span that encompassed his two NBA MVP's in 2002 and '03 and the first three NBA championships ('99, '03, '05) in Spurs history. The Hall-of-Famer made the first team again in 2007 and '13, leading the Silver and Black to the Finals in each of those two seasons, including another title in '07.
By the time his legendary 19-year career was over, Duncan had 15 All-NBA selections with three appearances on the Second Team (2006, '08, '09) and two on the Third Team ('10, '15). Interestingly enough, the top overall pick of the 1997 NBA Draft didn't receive All-NBA honors in '14, when he helped guide San Antonio to its fifth and most recent championship.
Spurs All-NBA history
Behind Duncan's 15 All-NBA selections, David Robinson ranks second in franchise history with ten. “The Admiral” earned first team nods in 1991, '92, '95 and '96. His only league MVP came in '95 when Robinson led the organization on its best season to that point with 62 wins and a trip to the Conference Finals where it lost to the eventual champion Houston Rockets. The first pick of the 1987 draft made the Second Team in '94 and '98 and the third team in '90, '93, '00 and '01. Similar to Duncan in 2014, Robinson curiously didn't receive All-NBA recognition during either season in which he won a championship, including in '99 when he was easily the team's second best player.
George Gervin made seven All-NBA teams and would've made more had the NBA featured a third team during his days. The franchise's first star, the “Iceman” earned First Team honors consecutively from 1978 to '82 with a couple of Second Team nods sandwiched around that five year span.
Kawhi Leonard fills out the list of Spurs who've made the league's first team. The two-time Defensive Player of the year's two nods with the Spurs both came on the First Team in 2016 and '17.
Hall of Fame point guard Tony Parker earned four All-NBA selections. His three nods on the Second Team coincided with the franchise's return to a championship level from 2012-'14. He made the Third Team in '09.
Fellow Hall-of-Famer and fellow “Big 3” member Manu Ginobili earned All-NBA Third Team spots in 2008 when he won the league's Sixth Man of the Year and in '11.
Rounding out the list of Spurs who've made All-NBA teams are LaMarcus Aldridge (Second Team 2015, '18 and Third Team '16), Alvin Robertson who made the Second Team when he won the Defensive Player of the Year in '86, and Dennis Rodman, whose Third Team appearance came in that aforementioned '95 campaign.
Wembanyama's first bid to join this group revolves around a Rookie of the Year, All-Defensive First Team season that saw him average 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, a league leading 3.6 blocks, 3,9 assists and 1.2 steals in just 29.7 minutes per game.
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