San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan smiles from the bench during the second half of the San Antonio Spurs 111-89 win over the Boston Celtics in an NBA basketball game in Boston Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014.
Advertisement
Duncan’s glittering career saw him become a five-time NBA champion, a three-time NBA Finals MVP, a two-time league MVP and a 15-time All-Star. “These two were what I call “unfadeable” big men”. Since drafting Duncan, the Spurs won five championships and posted a 1,072-438 regular season record, giving the team a. 710 winning percentage, which is the best 19-year stretch in NBA history and was the best in all of the NBA, NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball over the last 19 years.
Popovich will discuss Duncan’s decision to retire at a news conference Tuesday. The Spurs originally drafted Duncan as the first overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. Playing for only one coach in his National Basketball Association career, Duncan and Gregg Popovich will go down as the most successful player-coach tandem in history, with 1,001 wins to their name. The 1998 Rookie of the Year was named NBA MVP twice (2002, 2003) and NBA Finals MVP three times (1999, 2003 and 2005).
The Detroit Pistons have reportedly found a third center as the San Antonio Spurs did not match Detroit’s offer for restricted free agent Boban Marjanovic.
Duncan averaged 19 points and 10.8 rebounds per game during his career, figures that rose to 21.2 and 11.7 respectively during the playoffs. In NBA history, Duncan is fifth all-time in double-doubles (841) and blocks, sixth in rebounding and 14th in scoring.
With 15,091 rebounds (10.8 per game), Duncan is sixth on the all-time list.
Advertisement
Duncan, whose longevity was virtually unmatched, was a force on both ends of the court while racking up numerous individual awards that will ensure he is inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Parish are the only players with more career victories.
