NBA legend turned his biggest phobia into $242,000,000 career after tragic event

NBA legend Tim Duncan ended up in basketball after his biggest phobia meant a change in sports and ended up netting up almost $250m.

Duncan represented the San Antonio Spurs for nearly two decades between 1997 and 2016, and in that time raked in a cool $242m in earnings thanks to his exploits on the basketball court.

Duncan became an NBA champion five times and was named the NBA Finals MVP on three occasions, and was also crowned the NBA's most valuable player twice.

After retiring from playing, Duncan later became a coach and was an assistant at the Spurs between 2019 and 2020.

Duncan, who is now aged 48, hails from the island of Saint Croix in the US Virgin Islands, which are situated in the eastern part of the Caribbean Sea.

Duncan was born in 1976 and was a teenager when Saint Croix was among several places including Guadaloupe, Puerto Rico and South Carolina to be hit by Hurricane Hugo.

The cyclone ended up causing 107 deaths in total across all locations affected and created damage worth £11bn as it wreaked havoc in the area.

On Saint Croix itself, Category 4 winds made landfall and across the US Virgin Islands, the natural disaster caused three deaths and caused $500m worth of damage.

Tim Duncan. (Image: Getty)

Another consequence of the cyclone on Saint Croix was that the island's only Olympic-sized swimming pool was destroyed.

Duncan had been a keen swimmer in his youth and even harboured desires to represent the US at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, after his older sister Tricia accomplished this feat by competing in the breaststroke at the Seoul Olympics in 1998.

But after Saint Croix's sole Olympic-sized swimming pool was no longer an option following its destruction in the natural disaster, it meant the ocean was the only option available for Duncan to practice swimming.

However, owing to Duncan having a fear of sharks, it meant his desire to be a swimmer cooled and was dropped, leading to the 6ft 11in Duncan opting to play basketball instead.

As per Basketball Network, Duncan's father William said: "He didn't have a desire to swim because it was in the ocean.

"He didn't like that because he knew the sharks were over there. So because of that, he took up basketball."

Despite Hurricane Hugo being a tragic event and it having a big impact on Duncan's life and future career choice, it ended up being one which was incredibly fruitful and rewarding for him.