spAll sports TV channels’ tickers were pretty damn long detailing career records and statistics upon Tim Duncan’s retirement Monday.
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From the soft touch on his signature bank shot to his footwork and mastery of fundamentals to his even-keeled temperament, Duncan’s remarkable consistency transformed a good National Basketball Association franchise into one of the best in pro sports. This was not a random event, as his head coach Brett Brown was once the assistant coach under San Antonio’s head coach Gregg Popovich.
For almost two decades, Duncan became synonymous with winning and helped the Spurs form one of the greatest dynasties in sports history.
There were moments of humor, too, like Popovich saying Duncan made him wear the clothes he gave him – including the shirt he donned Tuesday – or else he wouldn’t play.
Papa Duncan is truly looking down from heaven, immensely proud the job that Pop did to live up to his promise. Duncan didn’t ask for anything in his final year. The Silver and Black finished a league-best 37-13 that season and went on to win their first championship.
The Spurs, meanwhile, would go on to win three more championships with Duncan as Tony Parker manned the point instead.
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“I’m trying to wrap my head around why I’m standing here and he’s not”, Popovich said. “But he’s why I’m standing”, Popovich told reporters. The stat: Los Angeles Lakers all time regular season and post-season scorer. Just coming second to him was an honor in itself. When the last question was answered, the coach turned, put his hands in his pockets and silently walked into a new era for the San Antonio Spurs. This is actually also one of the most admirable things about him because even though he’s already pushing 40 years old, he still show the same dedication to the game.
Prior to the NBA, Duncan enjoyed a successful career at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.
For 19 years, the city had a legend to call its own, and now, it’s time to say goodbye to our Timmy, who announced yesterday that he is retiring. He spoke about Duncan’s humility and how it helped established the Spurs culture and excellence, calling the superstar “irreplaceable”. But his teammates have and thats why his teammates love him, because hes been the best teammate anyone can ever imagine..
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No showboating, no chest pounding, no showing-up another player, no cheap or hard fouls (he averaged 2.4 personal fouls per game), no me, me, me.
