Tim Duncan: The Former Swimmer -- November 23, 1997

Pre-game press release - The 0-8 Golden State Warriors know they can beat the San Antonio Spurs. After all, last year the Warriors won all 4 meetings by an average of 17 points. Of course, nitpickers would point out that the Spurs were without injured All-star center David Robinson and forward Tim Duncan, this year's #1 overall draft pick. Duncan, the early favorite for Rookie of the Year honors, credits his lunch pail work ethic to his time spent in the water as a youth. "Growing up, I was a swimmer and swimming's kind of an individual sport where you have to push yourself a lot." A teenage champion in the 400m freestyle, Duncan didn't take up basketball until Hurricane Hugo destroyed the swimming pool at his Virgin Islands high school in 1989. Which brings us back to the Warriors, who look to be in deep water tonight.

By the way, the Spurs destroyed the Warriors 108-87. Tim Duncan scored 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.