3 Spurs One-Hit Wonders We Wish Hadn't Disappeared
By Nick Porr
The San Antonio Spurs normally don't miss when they sign and draft players. They are possibly the most revered franchise in all of sports due to their next man up culture and smart leadership. The Spurs have had plenty of stars play their entire career for them (Tim Duncan and David Robinson to name a couple), but these players had their time in San Antonio cut too short.
These three former Spurs spent too little time with the franchise, and ended up becoming one-hit wonders for the franchise.
3. Garrett Temple
Garrett Temple went undrafted out of LSU, and began to work his way into the NBA in 2009-2010. That season, Temple signed 10-day contracts with the Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, and San Antonio before the Spurs extended his contract for the rest of the season. Temple played a total of 16 regular season games for the Spurs highlighted by a 15-point performance against the Kings before he was waived in November 2010. Temple is now averaging 10.3 PPG on the Brooklyn Nets.
2. DeJuan Blair
DeJuan Blair was taken by the San Antonio Spurs with the No. 37 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. Blair immediately impressed, earning a spot on the 2009-2010 All-Rookie Second Team. Blair continued to improve in four seasons in San Antonio, putting up 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 2011-2012. Blair quickly disappeared from the NBA. He left the Spurs for the Dallas Mavericks in 2013, and was out of the league by age 26.
1. Kevin Duckworth
The San Antonio Spurs could've had twin towers long before Tim Duncan came to town. The Spurs took Kevin Duckworth with the No. 33 pick in the 1986 NBA Draft. He never got the chance to prove himself, and was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers after just 14 games. Duckworth would evolve into a great player, earning the 1987-1988 Most Improved Player Award and two All-Star Selections. Pairing him with 1987 No.1 overall pick David Robinson could've been fun.