The one common factor in all of the San Antonio Spurs' success over the past two decades has been Tim Duncan. As of Monday morning, that will be no longer. The big man announced his retirement after 19 seasons, all of which were spent with the Spurs.
The 40-year-old has one heck of a resume, including five NBA titles, two NBA MVPs, three Finals MVPs, and 15 All-Star appearances. Many players and coaches around the league were reflecting on his amazing career, with just about all of them putting him as one of the top-10 players of all-time.
Recently-retired Kobe Bryant commented on the announcement, saying "I loved everything about him on the court."
Duncan's final game was a 113-99 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals on May 12th. He recorded 19 points, five rebounds, and one block in 34 minutes in that contest.
His career numbers stand alone from the rest, including his accomplishments with head coach Gregg Popovich. The two of them have the most victories for a player-coach duo in NBA history with 1,001. Duncan's own record of 1,072-438 in the regular season is tops in NBA history as well.
Since being drafted out of Wake Forest with the top overall pick in 1997, Duncan won the Rookie of the Year Award immediately, and then went on to lead his Spurs to 19 straight regular seasons with at least a .600 win percentage. He finishes his career with averages of 19.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.2 blocks. He ranks 14th all-time in total points, sixth in rebounds, and fifth in blocks.
Duncan is only the third player in NBA history with 1,000 career wins, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Parrish. The endless list of accomplishments and statistics puts Tim Duncan as a no-doubt Hall of Famer, and guarantees that his play on the court will never be forgotten.
The 40-year-old has one heck of a resume, including five NBA titles, two NBA MVPs, three Finals MVPs, and 15 All-Star appearances. Many players and coaches around the league were reflecting on his amazing career, with just about all of them putting him as one of the top-10 players of all-time.
Recently-retired Kobe Bryant commented on the announcement, saying "I loved everything about him on the court."
Duncan's final game was a 113-99 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals on May 12th. He recorded 19 points, five rebounds, and one block in 34 minutes in that contest.
His career numbers stand alone from the rest, including his accomplishments with head coach Gregg Popovich. The two of them have the most victories for a player-coach duo in NBA history with 1,001. Duncan's own record of 1,072-438 in the regular season is tops in NBA history as well.
Since being drafted out of Wake Forest with the top overall pick in 1997, Duncan won the Rookie of the Year Award immediately, and then went on to lead his Spurs to 19 straight regular seasons with at least a .600 win percentage. He finishes his career with averages of 19.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.2 blocks. He ranks 14th all-time in total points, sixth in rebounds, and fifth in blocks.
Duncan is only the third player in NBA history with 1,000 career wins, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Parrish. The endless list of accomplishments and statistics puts Tim Duncan as a no-doubt Hall of Famer, and guarantees that his play on the court will never be forgotten.
