Bryant always did things differently, from his much-flashier wardrobe to his much larger bank account last season as the NBA’s highest-paid player, which prevented the Lakers from the building options that Duncan’s salary afforded the Spurs.
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The first pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, Duncan led a storybook career that included five NBA championships, two MVP awards and 15 NBA All-Star nods. The Spurs had a winning percentage of at least. How many times have we seen in the last decade in either an NBA or college basketball game a player make a huge spectacle after a dunk only to leave his team a man short on defense as the other team scores an easy basket at the other end, or a baseball player admiring a long drive only to be thrown out at second base as it hits off the top of the wall? “This is what I will cherish the most”. Tim apparently played a role in the choosing of the shirt for the occasion according to Coach Pop. If only he chose an “I Feel Like Duncan” shirt instead, that would’ve set the internet on fire. The towers as they were called and did they ever live up to all of the expectations.
Gregg Popovich spoke for about 15 minutes, sometimes unable to hide his emotions, all the while wearing a T-shirt that had Tim Duncan’s face printed on the front. It never mattered who was waiting in the East, aside from the Detroit Pistons in 2004. In classic Timmy fashion, he responded two nights later with a double-double in a win over the Raptors. San Antonio won titles in 1999, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2014. To exemplify the close bond the two have with one another, Popovich said that, out of all the people in the world, he would want to have dinner with Duncan. “They’re the only one we got”, he says. Brand would later join Duncan in the Rookie of the Year fraternity, and he held his own against the defending champion with 24 points and six rebounds.
“Even though I knew it was coming, I’m still moved by the news”. Together? San Antonio could have paired the best passing point guard of a generation with the best power forward of all-time.
Duncan often credited his teammates and coaches for his success, and never seemed to take much stock his personal achievements, even though they are considerable. He showed what it meant to put everything on the line for your team, without wanting any of the glory for himself. His only retirement interview was in his home with one of his best friends.
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Duncan is perhaps the National Basketball Association paragon of Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy paradigm, “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far”. Popovich told a story about when Duncan’s father, who died in 2002, told the Spurs coach he needed to ensure his son would not be changed by fame or fortune.
