Caribbean-born professional basketball player Tim Duncan has announced his retirement from the NBA after a glittering career spanning 19 years.
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The Spurs reached the play-offs in every one of his 19 seasons.
Duncan went on to thank the fans, coaches and his teammates who helped him complete one of the greatest careers in National Basketball Association history.
I moved to San Antonio in 2003, when I was two years old, and the first connection I made in this city was with the Spurs. Duncan is one of only five players in league history with 14 All-NBA selections. Bryant scored far more but also lost more, unable to match Duncan’s fantastic consistency during 19 straight playoff seasons and an NBA-record 17 consecutive 50-win seasons.
But if the board of governors need to know the essence of Duncan’s greatness, they should consider the variables that contributed most to his endurance in addition to the fact that the Spurs tracked his playing time obsessively, even incurring $250,000 fines if it meant giving their franchise player enough rest time.
He was drafted No. 1 overall in 1997 and played 19 seasons for the same organization.
No news conference. No public rally.
“Nineteen seasons. Five rings”. Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge tweeted.
San Antonio were eliminated in the play-offs this past season by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Duncan embodied both, a player who for years could either dominate offensively, defensively, or both, without the desire for praise or paycheck that came with it.
He is in the sixth rank on the all-time list with 15,091 rebounds.
Kidd, who starred at Cal from 1992-94 after graduating from St. Joseph Notre Dame High in Alameda, delved into the matter on the day Tim Duncan retired.
He also took salary cuts to accommodate other star players – flamboyant Argentine shooting guard Manu Ginobili and quick French point guard Tony Parker.
He was emotional about Duncan’s departure. He is just the second player in history to earn Finals MVP honors in his first three appearances in the Finals, joining Michael Jordan, who was named Finals MVP all six times he played in the championship series.
Shaquille O’Neal told ESPN: “Greatest power forward of all time”.
Duncan says he has no regrets after deciding to end his career with five championships and two MVP awards. When asked if he tried convincing Duncan not to retire, Pop said, “No”. Though he collected endorsement deals from top brands like Nike, Duncan always shied away from the NBA’s massive spotlight and never once dealt with any controversy away from the court.
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This is why you are so special to me, and so special to sports fans everywhere.
