After 19 incredible seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan will officially hang up his cleats, the future Hall of Famer announced Monday.
After 19 seasons, Tim Duncan announces retirement » https://t.co/kQimgv8oIB#ThankYouTD pic.twitter.com/aLua8MRZtS
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) July 11, 2016
Thus ends a truly remarkable career. After being selected first overall in the 1997 NBA Draft, Duncan won five NBA titles, three Finals MVPs and two MVPs. He reached 15 All-Star games and was named first-team all-NBA 10 times. He scored more points than all but 13 other NBA players and pulled down more rebounds than all but five. Put it all together and Duncan was undeniably a top-12 player of all-time.
And somehow Duncan accomplished all the above with the most unassuming persona of any superstar in American history. He didn’t do many interviews or appear in many commercials. He was never caught in a scandal or even criticized for a controversial comment. On the court, his game was about box-outs and bank-shots, not dunks and deep threes. He showed that flash may be fun but fundamentals are effective too. You can love Duncan or you can feel neutral toward him, but it’s hard to imagine hating him.
Naturally, Duncan went out with a quote-less press release. There was no retirement tour or chucktastically thrilling farewell game. There wasn’t even a drawn-out public back-and-forth about whether or not to call it quits. He was ready to retire, so he announced he would retire. Simple as that.
The Spurs will be fine — Pau Gasol should be an upgrade over Duncan, at this stage — but the NBA will certainly miss its quiet superstar, the man who spent 19 seasons as one of the league’s best players without attracting much spotlight.
See you in Springfield, Timmy.
