“Tim Duncan wanted to be an Olympian”: How the Big Fundamental nearly took up swimming over becoming one of the greatest ballers of all time

Tim Duncan is considered by many to be the greatest Power Forward ever. However, there was a time he aimed to be the No.1 swimmer in the US!

The San Antonio Spurs drafted a gem of a player in 1997 when they selected Tim Duncan, coming in from Wake Forest University, Duncan was a polished player.

He spent his entire career in Texas. Leading the team to five NBA Championships. He also raked in two NBA regular-season MVP awards and was a 15-time All-Star in his 19 seasons with the NBA.

Safe to say he left the league with a legacy as one of the greatest to ever ‘lace ’em up’! Averaging around 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game.

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It’s hard to imagine Timmy being anything else apart from a basketball player. Although, there was once a time when he did dedicate himself to another sport.

Tim Duncan nearly became an Olympic level swimmer before he took up basketball

The Big Fundamental is an NBA Legend. There is no one who can deny his Hall of Fame status. He has truly achieved all that could be achieved by an NBA superstar.

However, there was a point in his life when he wanted to be a legendary swimmer rather than a legendary hooper!

Duncan was training for the 1992 Olympics, where he hoped to compete as a swimmer like his sister. Unfortunately, Hurricane Hugo and a deathly fear of sharks prevented Tim who was ranked Top-16 in the US from reaching this goal.

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An unfortunate turn of events for the US Olympic Swimming team, but a blessing for all NBA fans around the world who got to see the Big Fundamental in action.