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“His whole thing was, I think, about the experience, the journey, the guys in the locker room,” Blucas said. “If it wasn’t like that, Tim wasn’t interested. He played the game to win, but he played the game for his friendships and for that time together with those guys. He was a guy that wanted to enjoy the moment he was in at that point, as opposed to just looking ahead and always dreaming up.”

Popovich learned as much firsthand during the pre-Draft process.

“Pop being crazy, he thought Scot Pollard was who we should Draft,” Buford said. But once it became clear the plan was to select Duncan No. 1 overall, Popovich booked a flight to the Virgin Islands to spend time with Duncan.

“He learned about Tim’s family, how important Tim’s mother was, who he lost when he was 14,” Buford said. “I think Pop shared stories about who he was, his background, and Pop doesn’t open up to that a lot now. I think they really got to know each other, and when Pop came back, he didn’t disclose anything other than, ‘This is a really good person, and this is somebody we’re gonna love taking this journey with.’”

Popovich immediately saw all the attributes in Duncan that made him special.

“It was pretty obvious he was highly intelligent, had a great sense of humor, was serious about the game,” Popovich said. “Winning was what he was concerned with, nothing else. He was fun to be around. Those were probably the qualities I noticed first when I spent that time with him.”

What Popovich couldn’t have expected is the depth of it all.

Take a look back at how Tim Duncan and coach Gregg Popovich developed their close bond throughout Duncan’s career.

Before Duncan ever played a game in the NBA, his former agent, Lon Babby — who later worked with the Phoenix Suns as a front office e

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