An ode to Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan deserves this. For all he has done in his NBA career, Duncan deserves a proper goodbye. While the game got younger, faster and brighter, The Big Fundamental was always there, getting older and dawning the colorless silver and black.
But as the game got faster, Duncan slowed it down. And was still dominant. Duncan was the perfect San Antonio Spur, and for that he will retire as a top 10 player of all-time and the best Power Forward to ever play the game.
Duncan was a silent assassin that led the Spurs to 1,000 regular season victories and five NBA championships. He was one of only three players to win 1,000 career games and of those players, Duncan had the highest winning percentage.
Career 1,000 game winners
Player Name | Wins | Win Pct. |
Kareem Abdul-Jabar | 1,074 | .688 |
Robert Parrish | 1,014 | .629 |
Tim Duncan | 1,001 | .719 |
Duncan finishes his storybook career as one of four players to rank in the top 15 of career points, rebounds and blocks, while his 157 career postseason victories rank 2nd of all-time.
Duncan averaged 19 points per game over his career, while adding 11 rebounds and 2 blocks per game.
Duncan is the NBA's all-time leader in career postseason double-doubles with 164, and won two MVP's and 3 NBA Finals MVP's over the course of his career.
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
I mention all of these stats, because it is something Duncan would never do. As NBA fans have learned over the years, Duncan has always been a quiet, humble superstar. He is not the type to proclaim "I'm the best player in the world" as Lebron once did, and he's not the one to talk about his ranks in history.
He was a man amongst boys when he came into the league, and his best contributions are not written on paper. Duncan was the face of a franchise that has became one of the most consistent winners in the history of sports.
Duncan will be forever missed in the NBA, and his imprint on this league will never be forgotten.
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