NBA superstar Tim Duncan is walking away from the game.
Tim Duncan, the greatest power forward in the storied history of the NBA has retired from the game.
Mirroring the way he’s played the game for the last 19 seasons, Duncan’s announcement wasn’t a flashy one, it was reserved, and it certainly got the job done.
Never a player who went looking for the limelight, Duncan was a model of consistency on and off the court.
A quiet superstar.
A dominating force.
The was no media circus of a press conference, no hour-long ESPN special to announce his decision. Just an announcement put out by the Spurs.
After 19 seasons, Tim Duncan announces retirement » https://t.co/kQimgv8oIB#ThankYouTD pic.twitter.com/aLua8MRZtS
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) July 11, 2016
That’s classic Tim Duncan, team-first, even in retirement.
The 40-year-old put together one of the most storied careers of all-time. He won five NBA titles, two MVP awards and made the All-Star team a staggering 15 times.
He may have known this was his last season for a while now. During what now officially goes down as his last NBA game, Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals, the Spurs were down big to the Thunder after the third. While Coach Popovich took the majority of the starters out, after a brief talk with Duncan, he left Duncan in to play the entirety of the fourth quarter. Clearly, Duncan knew his time was about up and wanted to enjoy every last moment he had.
Having played 19 seasons with the same team, Duncan ties John Stockton for second all-time, with only Kobe Bryant and his 20 seasons with the Lakers ahead of him.
Duncan and Popovich teamed to set a record for the most wins by a player and coach combination in NBA history at 1,001.
The ultimate winner, Duncan’s 1,072-438 regular-season record since being drafted marks the best 19-year stretch in NBA history.
Duncan ends his career posting averages of 19.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 blocks per game. He ranks 14th all-time in points (26,496), 6th in rebounds (15,091) and 5th in blocks (3,020).
He’s a surefire, first-ballet Hall-of-Famer.
