In keeping with his understated ways, Tim Duncan writes a letter to say goodbye to the National Basketball Association. A brief press release from the Spurs informed Duncan disciples that their hero would step away.
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The very next year, Duncan brought San Antonio its first National Basketball Association championship and won his first finals MVP award. He also made the NBA All-Defensive First Team eight times. “All of us in the National Basketball Association family thank him for his profound impact on the game”.
Duncan played for Coach Gregg Popovich his entire 19-year career.
The San Antonio Spurs coach is more of a “I’ll see you when I see you”, type of guy. Thank you to the fans all over the world. “#BestPFEver #Legend” LeBron James? tweeted Monday evening. He’s made livings for hundreds of us, staff and coaches, over the years and never said a word, just came to work everyday.
It’s a day Popovich knew was coming. What a HUGE honour to have played with him for 14 seasons! “One team. #ThankYouTD”, the Spurs tweeted on Monday.
Spanish star Pau Gasol, who during his career has played power forward and centre, has reportedly agreed to join San Antonio on a two-year deal worth US$30 million, after spending the last two seasons with the Chicago Bulls – and it now looks like he will help fill the void left by Duncan. Duncan says that’s the beauty of it, that for the first time in 20 years, he doesn’t have a plan. Duncan struggled with his knees last season. But his teammates have and thats why his teammates love him, because hes been the best teammate anyone can ever imagine.. Unbreakable power forward. No ‘bow could break him. “Nothing could break him”.
No news conference. No public rally.
All Duncan proceeded to do was score 19 points in 34 minutes – after scoring in single digits and playing fewer than 30 minutes in all nine Spurs playoff games before that. Leonard is similarly soft-spoken to Duncan, and he seems like the prime candidate to take over as San Antonio’s quiet leader. The NBA legend’s curtain call on his illustrious career caused nearly the entire city of San Antonio to come out in droves outside the Alamo Dome-the original arena where the Spurs played before moving to the AT&T Center in 2002-like they had just won their sixth NBA title.
“I don’t think we’re going to see Timmy going up and down the sidelines much”, Popovich said. “Everybody does it differently”.
For Popovich, it’s Duncan over everything.
“When you think of a Spurs game, you think of the opening tip and Timmy cradling the ball and looking down at Pop and Manu and Tony”, Kerr told ESPN. Thats really who he is.
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“They’ll still be the Spurs based on what they’ve built”.
