Tim Duncan
Encyclopedia
Timothy Theodore "Tim" Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American
professional basketball
player for the San Antonio Spurs
of the National Basketball Association
(NBA). The 6-foot 11-inch (2.11 m), 255-pound (116 kg) power forward
/center
is a four-time NBA champion, two-time NBA MVP
, three-time NBA Finals MVP, and NBA Rookie of the Year. The Spurs team captain, he is a 13 time NBA All-Star and the only player in NBA history to be selected both All-NBA
and All-Defensive Teams
during each of his first 13 seasons.
Duncan started out as a swimmer and only began playing basketball in ninth grade after Hurricane Hugo
destroyed the only Olympic-sized pool on Saint Croix. He soon became a standout for St. Dunstan's Episcopal High School, and had an illustrious college career with the Wake Forest University
Demon Deacons
, winning the Naismith College Player of the Year
, USBWA College Player of the Year and John Wooden awards in his final year. Duncan graduated from college before entering the 1997 NBA Draft
as the number one pick, and his list of accomplishments, remarkable consistency, and leadership in the Spurs' NBA championship runs in 1999
, 2003
, 2005
, and 2007
have led basketball experts to consider him to be one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history.
Off the court, Duncan is known for his quiet and unassuming ways, as well as his active philanthropy. He holds an honors degree in psychology and created the Tim Duncan Foundation to raise general health awareness and fund education and youth sports in various parts of the United States.
. In school, Duncan was a bright pupil and dreamt of becoming an Olympic-level swimmer like his sister, Tricia
. His parents were very supportive and Duncan excelled at swimming, becoming a teenage standout in the 50, 100 and 400 meters freestyle
and aiming to make the 1992 Olympic Games
as a member of the United States Team.
When Hurricane Hugo
destroyed the island's only Olympic-sized swimming pool in 1989, Duncan was forced to swim in the ocean and he quickly lost his enthusiasm for swimming because of his fear of sharks. Duncan was dealt another emotional blow when his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer
and died one day before his 14th birthday. In her last days, she made Duncan and his sisters promise to finish college with a degree, which would later explain Duncan's reluctance to leave college early. Duncan never swam competitively again, but was inspired by his brother-in-law to turn to basketball.
Duncan initially had difficulties adapting to the game he thought would help relieve his pain and frustration. Nancy Pomroy, the athletic director of the St. Croix Country Day School was quoted: "[Duncan] was so huge. So big and tall, but he was awfully awkward at the time." He overcame this to become a standout for the St. Dunstan's Episcopal High School, averaging 25 points per game as a senior. His play attracted the attention of several universities, despite having only picked up the game in ninth grade. Wake Forest University
basketball coach Dave Odom
in particular grew interested in Duncan after the 16-year-old allegedly played NBA star Alonzo Mourning
to a draw in a 5-on-5 pick-up game. Odom was searching for a tall, physical player to play near the basket. Given the weak level of basketball in the Virgin Islands, Odom was wary about Duncan at first, especially after first meeting him and thinking him to be inattentive; Duncan stared blankly at Odom for most of the conversation. However, after the first talk, Odom understood that this was just Duncan's way of paying attention, and discovered that he was not only athletically talented, but also a quick learner. Eventually, despite scholarship offers by the University of Hartford
, the University of Delaware
and Providence College
, Duncan joined Odom's Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
, but lost main scorer Rodney Rogers
, who had entered the 1993 NBA Draft
. Coach Dave Odom
had considered red-shirting Duncan, but was forced to play him after fellow freshman big man Makhtar N'Diaye
was ruled out due to NCAA rules violations and eventually transferred to Michigan
. Duncan struggled with early transition problems and was even held scoreless in his first college game, but as the year progressed, he and teammate Randolph Childress
led the Deacons to a 20–11 win–loss record. Duncan's style of play was simple but effective, combining an array of low-post moves, mid-range bank shots and tough defense. He was chosen to represent the U.S. in the 1994 Goodwill Games
. Meanwhile, Duncan worked towards a degree in psychology and also took classes in anthropology and Chinese literature. Despite focusing heavily on basketball, Wake Forest psychology department chairperson Deborah Best was quoted: "Tim [...] was one of my more intellectual students. [...] Other than his height, I couldn't tell him from any other student at Wake Forest." Duncan also established his reputation as a stoic player, to the extent that opposing fans taunted him as "Mr. Spock", the prototypical logical, detached character from Star Trek
.
In the 1994–95 NCAA season
, the sophomore was soon called one of the most eligible NBA prospects, along with his peers Joe Smith, Rasheed Wallace
and Jerry Stackhouse
. Los Angeles Lakers
general manager Jerry West
suggested that Duncan might become the top pick in the 1995 NBA Draft
if he went early, but Duncan assured everyone he had no intention of going pro
until he graduated, even though the NBA was planning to add a rookie salary cap
in 1996. He was giving up a lot of money, but was determined to stay in school. In that season, he led the Demon Deacons into the Atlantic Coast Conference
(ACC) championship game against a Rasheed Wallace-led North Carolina Tar Heels
. During that game, Duncan neutralized the threat of Wallace, while Childress sealed the win with a jump shot with four seconds left in overtime
. In the NCAA
Tournament, the Demon Deacons reached the Sweet 16, and playing against Oklahoma State, Duncan scored 12 points to go with 22 rebounds and eight blocks, outplaying Bryant Reeves
, but his team lost 71–66. Still, Duncan ended the year averaging 16.8 points
and 12.5 rebounds
per game, was named Defensive Player of the Year and became the third-best shot-blocker
in NCAA history with 3.98 blocks per game. He was also voted All-ACC First Team, a feat he would repeat in each of his two remaining years at Wake Forest.
In the following 1995–96 NCAA season
, Wake Forest had to deal with the loss of Childress, who entered the NBA. This provided an opportunity for Duncan to show his leadership qualities, and his inexperienced team lost only four games in the entire ACC season. The Demon Deacons won the ACC Finals again, but in the Sweet 16, Duncan came down with flu, and his team missed the Final Four
by one win. He completed another remarkable season with averages of 19.1 points and 12.3 rebounds per game, and was again voted Defensive and ACC Player of the Year. At the season's end the Wake Forest star was rumored to enter the 1996 NBA Draft
, but in the end, he stayed in college.
In the 1996–97 NCAA season
, Duncan was helped by the addition of future NBA player Loren Woods
, a 7'1" player who eased the pressure on Duncan close to the basket. The Demon Deacons won their first 13 games, but then got into a slump and failed to win a third ACC title. The NCAA campaign was just as frustrating, as Stanford University
led by future NBA point guard
Brevin Knight
eliminated Duncan's team with a 72–66 win. Duncan finished with an individually impressive season though, averaging 20.8 points, 14.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists
per game while shooting .606 from the field
and winning the Defensive Player of the Year for an unprecedented third straight season. He earned first-team All-America
honors for the second time, and was a unanimous pick for both USWBA and Naismith College Player of the Year
. Duncan led the 1996–97 NCAA Division I in rebounding, was 10th in blocked shots (3.3 bpg) and 28th in scoring (20.8 ppg). He was voted ACC Player of the Year again and won the 1997 John Wooden Award as the NCAA's best overall male player based on the votes of sportscasters and newswriters.
In contrast to contemporary prep-to-pro players like Kevin Garnett
, Jermaine O'Neal
, Tracy McGrady
or Kobe Bryant
, Duncan stayed at college for a full four years. During that period, he was a two-time ACC Player of the Year, and an unprecedented three-time NABC Defensive Player of the Year
. The center also made the All-ACC Tournament between 1995 and 1997, the All-ACC First Team between 1995 and 1997, and was named Most Valuable Player
of the 1996 ACC Tournament. Further, 1996 was the year where he led the conference in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocked shots, becoming the first player in conference history to lead all four of those categories. Overall, Duncan led his team to a 97–31 win–loss record and finished his college career as the second-leading shot blocker in NCAA history, and remains one of only ten players with more than 2,000 career points and 1,500 career rebounds. He was also the first player in NCAA history to reach 1,500 points, 1,000 rebounds, 400 blocked shots and 200 assists. He left college as the all-time leading shot-blocker in ACC history with 481 blocks—second in NCAA annals behind Colgate's
Adonal Foyle
and third on the ACC career rebounding list with 1,570 rebounds. With his college degree in his hands, Duncan finally made himself eligible for the 1997 NBA Draft
.
drafted Duncan with the first draft pick. The Spurs were coming off an injury-riddled 1996–97 season; their best player, David Robinson
—himself a number one draft pick in 1987
—was sidelined for most of the year, and they had finished with a 20–62 win–loss record. However, as the 1997–98 season approached, the Spurs were considered a notable threat in the NBA. With an experienced center
in Robinson and the number one pick in Duncan, the Spurs featured one of the best frontcourt
s in the league. Duncan and Robinson became known as the "Twin Towers", having earned a reputation for their exceptional defense close to the basket, forcing opponents to take lower percentage shots from outside. From the beginning, Duncan established himself as a quality player: in his second-ever road game, he grabbed 22 rebounds against opposing Chicago Bulls
power forward Dennis Rodman
, a multiple rebounding champion and NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Duncan was voted to the 1998 NBA All-Star Game
by coaches. Later, when Duncan played against opposing Houston Rockets
Hall-of-Fame
power forward Charles Barkley
, Barkley was so impressed he said: "I have seen the future and he wears number 21." In his rookie season, Duncan lived up to expectations of being the number one draft pick, starting in all 82 regular-season games, and averaging 21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 blocks per game. His defensive contributions ensured that he was elected to the All-Defensive Second Team
and was also named NBA Rookie of the Year, having won the NBA Rookie of the Month award every single month that season. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich
lauded Duncan's mental toughness, stating his rookie's "demeanor was singularly remarkable", Duncan always "put things into perspective" and never got "too upbeat or too depressed." Center Robinson was equally impressed with Duncan: "He's the real thing. I'm proud of his attitude and effort. He gives all the extra effort and work and wants to become a better player."
The Spurs qualified for the 1998 NBA Playoffs
as the fifth seed, but Duncan had a bad first half in his first playoff game against the Phoenix Suns
, causing Suns coach Danny Ainge
to play Duncan with less defensive pressure. The rookie capitalized on this by finishing Game 1 with 32 points and 10 rebounds and recording 32 points and 10 rebounds in Game 2, contributing to a 3–1 victory over the Suns. However, the Spurs lost in the second round to the eventual Western Conference Champions Utah Jazz
. In this series, Duncan was pitted against Hall-of-Fame power forward Karl Malone
. Duncan outscored Malone in the first two games which the Spurs lost, but as the series progressed, the more experienced Malone shut Duncan down on defense and dominated on offense, outscoring the young power forward in Games 3 to 5 18–10, 34–22 and 24–14 respectively.
During the lockout
-shortened 1998–99 season, the Spurs started with a lackluster 6–8 record and Popovich came under fire from the press. However, Duncan and Robinson stood behind their coach, and finished the season with a 31–5 run. The sophomore averaged 21.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.5 blocks in the regular season, making both the All-NBA and All-Defense First Teams. In the 1999 NBA Playoffs
, the Spurs defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves
3–1, swept the Los Angeles Lakers
and the Portland Trail Blazers
4–0, and defeated the Cinderella story
New York Knicks
4–1 in the Finals
. In this series, a large contingent of Virgin Islanders flew over to support their local hero, and were not disappointed. In the first two games, the "Twin Towers" outscored their Knicks counterparts Chris Dudley
/Larry Johnson with 41 points, 26 rebounds and nine blocks versus five points, 12 rebounds and zero blocks. After a Game 3 loss in which Duncan was held scoreless in the third quarter and committed three turnovers
in the last quarter, Duncan rebounded with 28 points and 18 rebounds in a Game 4 win, and in Game 5, the Spurs protected a 78–77 lead seconds from the end with the ball in the Knicks' possession. Double team
ed by Duncan and Robinson, Knicks swingman
Latrell Sprewell
missed a last-second desperation shot, and after closing out the series with a strong 31-point and 9-rebound showing in Game 5, Duncan was named Finals MVP, bringing San Antonio their first-ever NBA championship. The accolades for the Spurs soon arrived, with Sports Illustrated
reporting that the San Antonio "monkey has been shed", and that the Spurs were no longer known as the "San Antonio softies". The magazine praised Finals MVP Duncan, who was later quoted: "This is incredible. We kept our focus and we pulled it out." Sports Illustrated journalist and retired NBA player Alex English
added: "Duncan came up big each time they went to him with that sweet turnaround jumper off the glass. He was the man tonight [in Game 5]." And Popovich later said to losing coach Jeff Van Gundy
: "I've got Tim [Duncan] and you don't. That's the difference."
In the 1999–2000 season, Duncan further cemented his reputation. He averaged 23.2 points, 12.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.2 blocks per game, earned another pair of All-NBA and All-Defense First Team call-ups, and was co-MVP with Shaquille O'Neal
of the NBA All-Star Game. However, the Spurs had a disappointing post-season. Duncan injured his meniscus
shortly before the end of the regular season and was unable to play in even one post-season game. Consequently, the Spurs were eliminated in the first round of the 2000 NBA Playoffs
, losing 3–1 to the Phoenix Suns. Nonetheless, Duncan rebounded in the next season, and with strong regular-season averages of 22.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 blocks, earned himself yet another pair of All-NBA and All-Defensive First Team call-ups. In the 2001 NBA Playoffs
, the Spurs eliminated the Timberwolves 3–1, defeated the Dallas Mavericks
4–1, but then bowed out against the Lakers led by superstars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant
, losing in four straight games. Sports Illustrated described the series as a "[m]erciless mismatch", and Duncan was criticized as "silent when the Spurs need him most".
On the back of two consecutive playoff disappointments, Duncan improved statistically in the 2001–02 season. He averaged career highs in scoring (25.5 points per game, including a league-leading 764 field goals and 560 attempted free throws) and rebounding (12.7 boards per game, and his accumulated 1042 boards again led the league), and also averaged 3.7 assists and 2.5 blocks per game, both career highs. Coupled with another pair of All-NBA and All-Defensive First Team call-ups, he was named the league's Most Valuable Player
, joining teammate David Robinson as the only Spurs members to earn the honor. On the other hand, Duncan's team struggled with the fact that the aging Robinson was no longer able to sustain his level of performance, and backup center-forward Malik Rose
had to step in more often. In the 2002 NBA Playoffs
, the Spurs were outmatched by the Lakers. Up against star center O'Neal once more, the Spurs were defeated 4–1 by the eventual champions. Duncan, who managed 34 points and a franchise-high 25 rebounds in Game 5, stated his frustration: "I thought we really had a chance at this series. The Lakers proved to be more than we could handle. Again, we had a (heck) of a run at it. We had opportunities to win games and make it a different series, but that's just the way the ball rolls sometimes." Nevertheless, NBA.com praised Duncan as "phenomenal" and criticized his supporting cast, stating Duncan "made 11-of-23 shots and 12-of-14 free throws, adding four assists and two blocks [a]nd once again, he did not have enough help." Also, Robinson said "Tim [Duncan] was like Superman out there", and conceded that the Lakers were simply better, just like in the last playoffs campaign.
The 2002–03 season saw Duncan enjoy another standout season in which he averaged 23.3 points, a career-high 12.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.9 blocks per game, and yet another dual All-NBA and All-Defense First Team call-up, resulting in his second NBA Most Valuable Player Award. At age 38, Robinson announced that year as his last season, and his playing time was cut by coach Popovich to save his energy for the playoffs. The Spurs qualified easily for the playoffs
, concluding the regular season as the Conference number one seed with a 60–22 record. Although San Antonio now had new offensive threats in Tony Parker
and Manu Ginóbili
, during the playoffs, it was Duncan's performance in the semi-finals against the Los Angeles Lakers which was singled out for praise by Popovich, who stated: "I thought in Game 5 and Game 6, he [Duncan] was astounding in his focus. He pulled everyone along these last two games." In the series, Duncan was matched up against forward Robert Horry
, dominated him the entire series and closed out the series in style; Duncan finished Game 6 with 37 points and 16 rebounds, allowing Spurs coach Popovich to call timeout
with 2:26 left to instruct his team not to celebrate excessively. The Spurs made it to the finals
, and defeated the New Jersey Nets
88–77 in Game Six to win their second ever NBA championship. Helped by an inspired Robinson, Duncan almost recorded a quadruple double in the final game, and was named the NBA Finals MVP. Duncan said of the victory: "We were all confident that something would happen, that we would turn the game to our favor, and it did", but felt sad that Robinson retired after winning his second championship ring. Following this successful Spurs campaign, Robinson and Duncan were named Sports Illustrateds 2003 "Sportsmen of the Year
".
Before the 2003–04 season began, the Spurs lost their perennial captain David Robinson to retirement. Embracing the lone team leader role, Duncan led a reformed Spurs team which included Slovenia
n center Rasho Nesterovič, defensive stalwart Bruce Bowen
, Argentinian shooting guard
Ginóbili and young French point guard Parker. Coming off the bench were clutch
shooting power forward Robert Horry
, versatile Hedo Türkoğlu and veterans Malik Rose and Kevin Willis
. In retrospect, Robinson commented that at first, Duncan was reluctant to step into the void, still needing some time to truly develop his leadership skills. Statistically though, Duncan remained strong; after another convincing season with averages of 22.3 points, 12.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.7 blocks, he led the Spurs into the Western Conference Semifinals
. There, they met the Los Angeles Lakers again, split the series 2–2, and in Game 5, Duncan made a toughly defended jump shot which put the Spurs ahead by one point with 0.4 seconds left to play. Despite the little time remaining, Lakers point guard Derek Fisher
hit a buzzer beater
for an upset Lakers win. In the end, the Spurs lost the series 4–2, and Duncan attributed the strong Lakers defense as one of the reasons for the loss.
Duncan and his Spurs looked to re-assert themselves in the next 2004–05 season. Despite their new captain's slight statistical slump (20.3 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.6 blocks per game), the Spurs won the second seed for the 2005 NBA Playoffs
by winning 59 games. In the first round, the Spurs eliminated the Denver Nuggets
four games to one, and met the Seattle SuperSonics
in the semi-finals. After splitting the first four games, Duncan led his team to two decisive victories, setting up a meeting with the Phoenix Suns
, known for their up-tempo basketball. The Spurs managed to beat the Suns at their own game, defeating them 4–1 and earning a spot in the 2005 NBA Finals
against the Detroit Pistons
. In the Finals, Duncan was pitted against Detroit's defensively strong frontcourt anchored by multiple NBA Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace
. After two convincing Game 1 and 2 wins for the Spurs, the Pistons double team
ed Duncan and forced him to play further from the basket. Detroit won the next two games and the series was eventually tied at 3–3, but Duncan was instrumental in Game 7, recording 25 points and 11 rebounds as the Spurs defeated the Pistons. NBA.com reported that "[w]ith his unique multidimensional talent, Duncan depleted and dissected the Pistons... He was the fulcrum of virtually every key play down the stretch", and coach Popovich added: "[Duncan's] complete game is so sound, so fundamental, so unnoticed at times, because if he didn't score, people think, 'Well, he didn't do anything'. But he was incredible and he was the force that got it done for us." Detroit's center Ben Wallace remarked: "He put his team on his shoulders and carried them to a championship [...t]hat's what the great players do." Duncan won his third NBA Finals MVP Award, joining Michael Jordan
, Shaquille O'Neal, and Magic Johnson
as the only players in NBA history to win it three times.
During the 2005–06 season, Duncan suffered from plantar fasciitis
for most of the season, which was at least partly responsible for his sinking output (18.6 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 blocks per game), and also for his failure to make the All-NBA First Team after eight consecutive appearances. The big man came back strong in the 2006 NBA Playoffs
against the Dallas Mavericks, where he outscored rival power forward Dirk Nowitzki
32.2 to 27.1 points, with neither Nowitzki nor Mavericks center Erick Dampier
able to stop Duncan with their man-to-man defense. But after splitting the first six games, Duncan became the tragic hero of his team in Game 7. Despite scoring 39 points in regulation time and fouling out both Dampier and Keith Van Horn
, Duncan only made one of seven field goal attempts in overtime against Mavericks reserve center DeSagana Diop
, and the Spurs lost Game 7.
The following season however was another championship year for Duncan and the Spurs. Duncan averaged 20.0 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 blocks per game in the regular season, and was selected as a Western Conference starter for the 2007 NBA All-Star Game
, his ninth appearance in the event. In the playoffs
, he led the Spurs to a 4–1 series win over the Denver Nuggets in the opening round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs, a 4–2 win over the Phoenix Suns in the second round, and a 4–1 win against the Utah Jazz
in the Western Conference Finals, setting up a meeting with the Cleveland Cavaliers
in the Finals
. There, the Spurs swept the Cavaliers 4–0, earning Duncan his and San Antonio's fourth ever championship. Duncan proclaimed that that championship was "the best" of his four championships, and acknowledged he played "sub-par" and thus received only one vote for NBA Finals MVP from a panel of ten. His colleagues were more appreciative of Duncan; among others, ex-teammate David Robinson referred to the Spurs titles as the "Tim Duncan era", and lauded his leadership. Coach Popovich also praised Duncan: "Tim is the common denominator. He's [had] a different cast around him [in] '99, '03 and '05. He's welcomed them all. [...] But he is that easy to play with, and his skills are so fundamentally sound that other people can fit in." NBA commissioner David Stern
added: "[Duncan] is a player for the ages. I'm a tennis fan, and Pete Sampras
is one of the greats. OK, he wasn't Andre Agassi
or John McEnroe
. He just happens to be one of the greatest players of all time. You take great players as you find them."
-led Hornets, San Antonio were badly defeated 101–82 as Duncan played one of the worst playoff games in his career, recording only 5 points and 3 rebounds. The Spurs dropped the next game as well, but recovered in Games 3 and 4, with Duncan putting up a team-high 22 point/15 rebound/4 block performance in the game that tied the series. Duncan then recorded 20 points and 15 rebounds in Game 6, and the Spurs relied on their experience to seal the series in Game 7. However, arch-rivals Los Angeles Lakers defeated San Antonio in five games in the Conference Finals, and the Spurs once again failed to capture back-to-back NBA championships.
Duncan started the 2008–09 season
with strong showings in points and rebounds per game. However, by mid-season, his performance declined and he was subsequently diagnosed with chronic knee tendinosis
. Despite Duncan having problems with his knee and the team losing the services of shooting guard Ginóbili for most of the season, San Antonio qualified for the playoffs
as the third seed with a 54–28 record. Coupled with an aging supporting cast (Bowen, Michael Finley
and Kurt Thomas
were all in their late 30s), however, the Spurs were only considered fringe contenders for the championship. As it turned out, Duncan and Parker were not enough to help the Spurs avoid a 4–1 defeat by Dallas, and the Spurs were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2000.
With the Spurs looking to provide a more solid supporting cast in the 2009–10 season
, they acquired Richard Jefferson
, Theo Ratliff
, Antonio McDyess
, DeJuan Blair
, and Keith Bogans
. The team got off to a 5–6 start, but a series of double double performances by Duncan gave them a 9–6 record by the end of November. Duncan was subsequently named the Western Conference Player of the Week for the last week of November. Even at 34 years of age, he remained a constant 20–10 threat, being only one of three players in the league at the mid-season to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. On January 21, 2010, Duncan was named as the starting forward for the West for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. After securing yet another 50-win season, the Spurs qualified for the playoffs
as the seventh seed, and defeated Dallas 4–2 in the first round, only to lose 4–0 to Phoenix in the next round.
Eleven games into the 2010–11 season
, Duncan became the Spurs' all-time leader in points scored and games played. Along the way, the Spurs compiled a 12-game winning streak to go 13–2 after 15 games. On November 30, 2010, Duncan recorded his third career triple-double against the Golden State Warriors
. 12 days later, in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers
, Duncan became the 94th player in NBA history to play 1000 games. Through his 1000th game, the Spurs have been 707–293; only Scottie Pippen
(715–285) had a better record with his team through his first 1000 games. The Spurs were 29–4 after 33 games—one of the ten best starts in NBA history–and led the league at 35–6 halfway through the season. Although Duncan produced career-lows in points and rebounds per game, the Spurs ended the regular season as the first seed in the West for the 2011 NBA Playoffs
, and were second in the league (to Chicago). Despite finishing with a 61–21 record, however, the Spurs could not avoid being upset in the first round, 4–2, by the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies
.
| style="text-align:left;"| 1997–98
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 82||82||39.1||.549||.000||.662||11.9||2.7||.7||2.5||21.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1998–99
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 50||50||39.3||.495||.143||.690||11.4||2.4||.9||2.5||21.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1999–00
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 74||74||38.9||.490||.091||.761||12.4||3.2||.9||2.2||23.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2000–01
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 82||82||38.7||.499||.259||.618||12.2||3.0||.9||2.3||22.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2001–02
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 82||82||40.6||.508||.100||.799||12.7||3.7||.7||2.5||25.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2002–03
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 81||81||39.3||.513||.273||.710||12.9||3.9||.7||2.9||23.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2003–04
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 69||68||36.6||.501||.167||.599||12.4||3.1||.9||2.7||22.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2004–05
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 66||66||33.4||.496||.333||.670||11.1||2.7||.7||2.6||20.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2005–06
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 80||80||34.8||.484||.400||.629||11.0||3.2||.9||2.0||18.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2006–07
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 80||80||34.1||.546||.111||.637||10.6||3.4||.8||2.4||20.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2007–08
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 78||78||34.0||.497||.000||.730||11.3||2.8||.7||2.0||19.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2008–09
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 75||75||33.6||.504||.000||.692||10.7||3.5||.5||1.7||19.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 78||77||31.3||.519||.182||.725||10.1||3.2||.6||1.5||17.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010–11
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 76||76||28.3||.500||.000||.716||8.9||2.7||.7||1.9||13.4
|-class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:left;"| Career
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 1053 || 1051 ||35.8 ||.508 ||.182 ||.688||11.4||3.1||.7||2.3||20.6
|-class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:left;"| All-Star
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 13||12||22.2||.560||.333||.765||9.5||2.2||1.0||.6||10.5
| style="text-align:left;"| 1998
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 9||9||41.6||.521||.000||.667||9.0||1.9||.6||2.6||20.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1999
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 17||17||43.1||.511||.000||.748||11.5||2.8||.8||2.7||23.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2001
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 13||13||40.5||.488||1.000||.639||14.5||3.8||1.1||2.7||24.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2002
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 9||9||42.2||.453||.333||.822||14.4||5.0||.7||4.3||27.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2003
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 24||24||42.5||.529||.000||.677||15.4||5.3||.6||3.3||24.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2004
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 10||10||40.5||.522||.000||.632||11.3||3.2||.8||2.0||22.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2005
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 23||23||37.8||.464||.200||.717||12.4||2.7||.3||2.3||23.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2006
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 13||13||37.9||.573||.000||.718||10.5||3.3||.9||1.9||25.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2007
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 20||20||36.8||.521||.000||.644||11.5||3.3||.6||3.1||22.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2008
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 17||17||39.2||.449||.200||.626||14.5||3.3||.9||2.1||20.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2009
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 5||5||32.8||.532||.000||.607||8.0||3.2||.6||1.2||19.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 10||10||37.3||.520||.500||.478||9.9||2.6||.7||1.7||19.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2011
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 6||6||35.3||.478||.000||.625||10.5||2.7||.5||2.5||12.7
|-class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:left;"| Career
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 176||176||39.5||.502||.167||.678||12.4||3.4||.7||2.6||22.7
and college players because of the NBA lockout
. Duncan's first chance at playing for the national team came in 1999 when he was called up to the Olympic Qualifying Team. He averaged 12.7 ppg, 9.1 rpg and 2.4 bpg and led the team to a 10–0 finish en route to a qualifying berth for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but a knee injury forced him to stay out of the Olympic Games
themselves.
In 2003, Duncan was also a member of the USA team that recorded ten wins and qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics
. He started all the games he played in and averaged team bests of 15.6 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.56 bpg, while shooting 60.7 percent from the field. At the Olympics itself, the team lost three games on its way to a bronze medal. The record represented more losses in a single year than in the 68 previous years combined. It was also the first time since NBA professionals became eligible that the U.S. men's basketball team returned home without gold medals. After the tournament, Duncan commented, "I am about 95 percent sure my FIBA
career is over. I'll try not to share my experiences with anyone." In total, Duncan was a member of five USA Basketball teams and played in 40 international games.
Duncan starts at the power forward
position, but can also play center
. With a double-double career average in points and rebounds, he is considered one of the most consistent players in the NBA. He has earned All-NBA and All-Defensive
honors every season since his rookie year in 1998 while being a perennial candidate for the Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year
awards. Regarded as one of the league's best interior defenders, Duncan also ranks consistently as one of the top scorers
, rebounders
and shot-blockers
in the league. As of the 2009–10 season, he is ranked third in regular season point-rebound double-doubles. His main weakness remains his free throw
shooting, with a career average of less than 70%.
Apart from his impressive statistics, Duncan has gained a reputation as a good clutch player, as evidenced by his three NBA Finals MVP awards and his playoff career averages being higher than his regular-season statistics. Eleven-time NBA champion Bill Russell
further compliments Duncan on his passing ability, and rates him as one of the most efficient players of his generation, a view shared by 19-time NBA All-Star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
. Because of his versatility and success, basketball experts have spoken of Duncan as one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history, while coach Popovich and team-mates Parker and Ginóbili have also credited much of San Antonio's success to him. Duncan's detractors, however, label him as "boring" because of his simple but effective style of play (thus earning him the nickname "The Big Fundamental"). Following his first championship ring in 1999, Sports Illustrated
described him as a "quiet, boring MVP", a characterization which persists today.
Duncan himself commented on his "boring" image, stating: "If you show excitement, then you also may show disappointment or frustration. If your opponent picks up on this frustration, you are at a disadvantage." Sports journalist Kevin Kernan commented on his ability to relax and stay focused, stating that having a degree in psychology, Duncan often not only outplays, but outpsychs his opponents. Duncan has also stated that he especially likes his bank shot, saying: "It is just easy for me. It just feels good."
, named the ACC Male Athlete of the Year, won the John R. Wooden Award
, and was selected as the Naismith College Player of the Year
(all 1997). In 2002, Duncan was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team
honoring the 50 greatest players in ACC history. In his debut year in the NBA (1998), he was voted Rookie of the Year and elected into the All-NBA Rookie Team, made the first of 13 NBA All-Star Teams (1997–98 and 1999–2000 to 2010–11), 13 All-NBA Teams (1997–98 to 2008–09; nine First Team nominations), and 13 All-Defensive Teams (1997–98 to 2009–10; eight First Team nominations). With these impressive performances, Duncan is one of only four players to receive All-NBA First Team honors in each of his first eight seasons (1998–2005), along with Hall of Famers Bob Pettit
(ten seasons), Larry Bird
(nine seasons), and Oscar Robertson
(nine seasons), and is the only player in NBA history to receive All-NBA and All-Defensive honors in his first 13 seasons (1997–98 to 2009–10).
Duncan was also named by the Association for Professional Basketball Research as one of "100 Greatest Professional Basketball Players of The 20th Century", the youngest player on that list. In the 2001–02 season, he won the IBM
Player Award and The Sporting News
(TSN) MVP Award, becoming the third player to ever win the NBA MVP, IBM Player and TSN Player Awards in the same season. On February 18, 2006, he was named one of the Next 10 Greatest Players on the tenth anniversary of the release of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
by the TNT
broadcasting crew. In 2009, Duncan was ranked 8th by Slam Magazine
in their list of the Top 50 NBA players of All Time. Sports Illustrated named him its NBA Player of the Decade.
. Like their younger brother, they were gifted athletes: Cheryl was a championship swimmer before she became a nurse, and Tricia swam for the U.S. Virgin Islands at the 1988 Summer Olympics
in Seoul
. He married his wife Amy in 2001, and the couple had their first child, daughter Sydney, in the summer of 2005, and a second child, a son, during the summer of 2007. Amy oversees the Tim Duncan Foundation, which has been established to serve the areas of health awareness/research, education, and youth sports/recreation in San Antonio, Winston-Salem, and the United States Virgin Islands. The Foundation holds two major fundraiser
s each year: the annual Tim Duncan Bowling for Dollar$ Charity Bowl-A-Thon and the annual Slam Duncan Charity Golf Classic. Between 2001 and 2002, the Foundation raised more than $350,000 to help fight breast and prostate cancer
. In those two years, Duncan was named by Sporting News as one of the "Good Guys" in sports. The Spurs captain also supports the Children's Bereavement Center, the Children's Center of San Antonio and the Cancer Therapy and Research Center.
Duncan cites his late mother Ione as his main inspiration. Among other things, she taught him and his sisters the nursery rhyme "Good, Better, Best. Never let it rest / Until your Good is Better, and your Better is your Best", which he adopted as his personal motto. On and off the court, he believes that the three most important values are dedication, teamwork and camaraderie. The Spurs captain has also stated that he chose #21 for his jersey because that was his brother-in-law's college number, since he was Duncan's main basketball inspiration, and cites Hall-of-Fame Los Angeles Lakers
point guard Magic Johnson
as his childhood idol.
For his mixture of success and low-key personality, Duncan has been honored with the St. Croix Medal of Honor, the highest award that the territorial government can bestow on a citizen, and has been celebrated in several "Tim Duncan Day" ceremonies. In 2000, St. Croix Senate president Vargrave Richards
said: "He is a quiet giant. His laid-back attitude is the embodiment of the people of St. Croix, doing things without fanfare and hoopla."
Regarding his own personality, Duncan compares himself to Will Hunting of the movie Good Will Hunting
, which centers around the genial and antagonistic character of Will Hunting, portrayed by Matt Damon
. He stated: "I'm just a taller, slightly less hyperactive version of the Damon character in the movie. I really enjoyed how he probed people and found out their weaknesses just by asking questions and stating outlandish remarks." He also admitted shunning the limelight because "[fame] is not me". Off the court, he has stated that his best friend is former Spurs colleague Antonio Daniels
, who himself describes Duncan as a cheerful, funny person off the hardwood.
Duncan also loves Renaissance fair
s and the fantasy role playing game Dungeons & Dragons
. An avid video game player, he acknowledges a certain joy of playing "himself" on basketball video games. Duncan states if he had the chance, he would challenge NBA legends Wilt Chamberlain
and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
to a one-on-one game.
The satirical newspaper The Onion
has repeatedly poked fun of Duncan's low key and cerebral reputation and its contradiction with the stereotype of outlandish celebrity athlete behavior with headlines such as "Tim Duncan Hams It Up For Crowd By Arching Left Eyebrow Slightly" and "Tim Duncan Offers To Do Taxes For Entire Spurs Team".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player for the San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
of the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA). The 6-foot 11-inch (2.11 m), 255-pound (116 kg) power forward
Power forward (basketball)
Power forward is a position in the sport of basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF". It has also been referred to as the "post" position. Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low...
/center
Center (basketball)
The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
is a four-time NBA champion, two-time NBA MVP
NBA Most Valuable Player Award
The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1955–56 NBA season. The winner receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, which is named in honor of the first commissioner of the NBA who served from 1946 until his retirement...
, three-time NBA Finals MVP, and NBA Rookie of the Year. The Spurs team captain, he is a 13 time NBA All-Star and the only player in NBA history to be selected both All-NBA
All-NBA Team
The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. The team has been selected in every season of the...
and All-Defensive Teams
NBA All-Defensive Team
The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches; the coaches are not allowed to vote for players on their own team...
during each of his first 13 seasons.
Duncan started out as a swimmer and only began playing basketball in ninth grade after Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo was a classical, destructive and rare Cape Verde-type hurricane which struck the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St. Croix, Puerto Rico and the USA mainland in South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane during September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season...
destroyed the only Olympic-sized pool on Saint Croix. He soon became a standout for St. Dunstan's Episcopal High School, and had an illustrious college career with the Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
Demon Deacons
Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team participates in the Atlantic Coast Conference and their homecourt is the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Their only Final Four appearance was in 1962 and through the years they have produced several NBA players. The Demon Deacons have...
, winning the Naismith College Player of the Year
Naismith College Player of the Year
The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men's and women's collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of the inventor of basketball , Dr. James Naismith....
, USBWA College Player of the Year and John Wooden awards in his final year. Duncan graduated from college before entering the 1997 NBA Draft
1997 NBA Draft
The 1997 NBA Draft took place on June 25, 1997 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although the Celtics had the second worst record in the 1996-97 season and the best odds of winning the lottery with two picks, the Spurs, usually a model of winning and consistency, lost David Robinson to an injury early...
as the number one pick, and his list of accomplishments, remarkable consistency, and leadership in the Spurs' NBA championship runs in 1999
1999 NBA Finals
The 1999 NBA Finals was the championship round of the shortened 1998–99 NBA season or the 1999 season. The San Antonio Spurs of the Western Conference took on the New York Knicks of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Spurs holding home court advantage...
, 2003
2003 NBA Finals
The 2003 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2002–03 NBA season. The San Antonio Spurs of the Western Conference took on the New Jersey Nets of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Spurs holding home court advantage. The series was played under a best-of-seven format. The Spurs...
, 2005
2005 NBA Finals
The 2005 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2004-05 National Basketball Association season. The San Antonio Spurs of the Western Conference faced the Detroit Pistons of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Spurs holding home court advantage. The series was played under a...
, and 2007
2007 NBA Finals
The 2007 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2006-07 National Basketball Association season, and was the conclusion of the 2007 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs and the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland...
have led basketball experts to consider him to be one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history.
Off the court, Duncan is known for his quiet and unassuming ways, as well as his active philanthropy. He holds an honors degree in psychology and created the Tim Duncan Foundation to raise general health awareness and fund education and youth sports in various parts of the United States.
Early life
Duncan is the only son of Ione and William Duncan, a midwife and a mason respectively, joining his two older sisters Cheryl and Tricia in a middle-class family in Christiansted, a town on Saint Croix, one of the main islands composing the United States Virgin IslandsUnited States Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
. In school, Duncan was a bright pupil and dreamt of becoming an Olympic-level swimmer like his sister, Tricia
Tricia Duncan
Patricia Duncan is a retired swimmer for the U. S. Virgin Islands who participated in the 1988 Summer Olympics. She is the older sister of NBA basketball player Tim Duncan.-References:*...
. His parents were very supportive and Duncan excelled at swimming, becoming a teenage standout in the 50, 100 and 400 meters freestyle
Freestyle swimming
Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...
and aiming to make the 1992 Olympic Games
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
as a member of the United States Team.
When Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo was a classical, destructive and rare Cape Verde-type hurricane which struck the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St. Croix, Puerto Rico and the USA mainland in South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane during September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season...
destroyed the island's only Olympic-sized swimming pool in 1989, Duncan was forced to swim in the ocean and he quickly lost his enthusiasm for swimming because of his fear of sharks. Duncan was dealt another emotional blow when his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
and died one day before his 14th birthday. In her last days, she made Duncan and his sisters promise to finish college with a degree, which would later explain Duncan's reluctance to leave college early. Duncan never swam competitively again, but was inspired by his brother-in-law to turn to basketball.
Duncan initially had difficulties adapting to the game he thought would help relieve his pain and frustration. Nancy Pomroy, the athletic director of the St. Croix Country Day School was quoted: "[Duncan] was so huge. So big and tall, but he was awfully awkward at the time." He overcame this to become a standout for the St. Dunstan's Episcopal High School, averaging 25 points per game as a senior. His play attracted the attention of several universities, despite having only picked up the game in ninth grade. Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
basketball coach Dave Odom
Dave Odom
Dave Odom is a retired American men's college basketball coach, who most recently coached at the University of South Carolina...
in particular grew interested in Duncan after the 16-year-old allegedly played NBA star Alonzo Mourning
Alonzo Mourning
Alonzo Harding Mourning, Jr. is a former American professional basketball player, who played most of his 15-year NBA career for the Miami Heat....
to a draw in a 5-on-5 pick-up game. Odom was searching for a tall, physical player to play near the basket. Given the weak level of basketball in the Virgin Islands, Odom was wary about Duncan at first, especially after first meeting him and thinking him to be inattentive; Duncan stared blankly at Odom for most of the conversation. However, after the first talk, Odom understood that this was just Duncan's way of paying attention, and discovered that he was not only athletically talented, but also a quick learner. Eventually, despite scholarship offers by the University of Hartford
University of Hartford
The University of Hartford is a private, independent, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in West Hartford, Connecticut. The degree programs at the University of Hartford hold the highest levels of accreditation available in the US, including the Engineering Accreditation Commission of...
, the University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
and Providence College
Providence College
Providence College is a private, coeducational, Catholic university located about two miles west of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States, the state's capital city. With a 2010–2011 enrollment of 3,850 undergraduate students and 735 graduate students, the College specializes in academic...
, Duncan joined Odom's Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Wake Forest University
The Demon Deacons had previously reached the Sweet 16NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
, but lost main scorer Rodney Rogers
Rodney Rogers
Rodney Ray Rogers is a retired American basketball player who last played power forward for the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers.-Early life:...
, who had entered the 1993 NBA Draft
1993 NBA Draft
The 1993 NBA Draft took place on June 30, 1993 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Anfernee Hardaway, Allan Houston, and Jamal Mashburn all looked like possible Hall of Famers until their careers were cut...
. Coach Dave Odom
Dave Odom
Dave Odom is a retired American men's college basketball coach, who most recently coached at the University of South Carolina...
had considered red-shirting Duncan, but was forced to play him after fellow freshman big man Makhtar N'Diaye
Makhtar N'Diaye (basketball)
Makhtar Vincent N'Diaye is a Senegalese former basketball player who played as a power forward and center. He played for the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1999 to became the first player from Senegal to join and play in the National Basketball Association.Born in Diourbel, N'Diaye came to the United...
was ruled out due to NCAA rules violations and eventually transferred to Michigan
Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Michigan. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association . The Wolverines play home basketball games at the...
. Duncan struggled with early transition problems and was even held scoreless in his first college game, but as the year progressed, he and teammate Randolph Childress
Randolph Childress
Randolph Childress is an American former professional basketball player who last played in Italy for Cestistica San Severo...
led the Deacons to a 20–11 win–loss record. Duncan's style of play was simple but effective, combining an array of low-post moves, mid-range bank shots and tough defense. He was chosen to represent the U.S. in the 1994 Goodwill Games
Goodwill Games
The Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...
. Meanwhile, Duncan worked towards a degree in psychology and also took classes in anthropology and Chinese literature. Despite focusing heavily on basketball, Wake Forest psychology department chairperson Deborah Best was quoted: "Tim [...] was one of my more intellectual students. [...] Other than his height, I couldn't tell him from any other student at Wake Forest." Duncan also established his reputation as a stoic player, to the extent that opposing fans taunted him as "Mr. Spock", the prototypical logical, detached character from Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
.
In the 1994–95 NCAA season
1994 in basketball
-World Championship:*Men**United States 137, Russia 91*Women**United States 100, Australia 95-Professional:*Men**1994 NBA Finals: Houston Rockets over the New York Knicks 4-3...
, the sophomore was soon called one of the most eligible NBA prospects, along with his peers Joe Smith, Rasheed Wallace
Rasheed Wallace
Rasheed Abdul Wallace is a retired American professional basketball power forward and center who played from 1995 to 2010 in the National Basketball Association...
and Jerry Stackhouse
Jerry Stackhouse
Jerry Darnell Stackhouse is an American professional basketball player who plays both shooting guard and small forward. He most recently played for the Miami Heat. He is now an NBA TV analyst but remains as an eligible free agent....
. Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
general manager Jerry West
Jerry West
Jerry Alan West is a retired American basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . His nicknames include "Mr...
suggested that Duncan might become the top pick in the 1995 NBA Draft
1995 NBA Draft
The 1995 NBA Draft took place on June 28, 1995 at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It marked the first NBA draft for the two Canadian expansion teams, Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies...
if he went early, but Duncan assured everyone he had no intention of going pro
Professional sports
Professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. Professional athleticism has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations...
until he graduated, even though the NBA was planning to add a rookie salary cap
Salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap is a cartel agreement between teams that places a limit on the amount of money that can be spent on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both...
in 1996. He was giving up a lot of money, but was determined to stay in school. In that season, he led the Demon Deacons into the Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
(ACC) championship game against a Rasheed Wallace-led North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina Tar Heels
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the athletic teams for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the Tar Heel State...
. During that game, Duncan neutralized the threat of Wallace, while Childress sealed the win with a jump shot with four seconds left in overtime
Overtime (sports)
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw. In most sports, this extra period is only played if the game is required to have a clear winner, as in single-elimination...
. In the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Tournament, the Demon Deacons reached the Sweet 16, and playing against Oklahoma State, Duncan scored 12 points to go with 22 rebounds and eight blocks, outplaying Bryant Reeves
Bryant Reeves
Bryant Reeves is an American retired professional basketball player for the NBA's Vancouver Grizzlies...
, but his team lost 71–66. Still, Duncan ended the year averaging 16.8 points
Point (basketball)
Points in basketball are used to keep track of the score in a game. Points can be accumulated by making field goals or free throws ....
and 12.5 rebounds
Rebound (basketball)
A rebound in basketball is the act of successfully gaining possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds in basketball are a routine part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made...
per game, was named Defensive Player of the Year and became the third-best shot-blocker
Block (basketball)
In basketball, a block , not to be confused with blocking, occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player. The defender must not touch the offensive player's hands or otherwise a foul is called. In order to be legal, the block must occur while the shot...
in NCAA history with 3.98 blocks per game. He was also voted All-ACC First Team, a feat he would repeat in each of his two remaining years at Wake Forest.
In the following 1995–96 NCAA season
1995 in basketball
-Professional:*Men**1995 NBA Finals: Houston Rockets over the Orlando Magic 4-0. MVP: Hakeem Olajuwon*** 1995 NBA Playoffs***1994–95 NBA season***1995 NBA Draft**Eurobasket: Yugoslavia 96, Lithuania 90*Women**Eurobasket Women: Ukraine def. Italy...
, Wake Forest had to deal with the loss of Childress, who entered the NBA. This provided an opportunity for Duncan to show his leadership qualities, and his inexperienced team lost only four games in the entire ACC season. The Demon Deacons won the ACC Finals again, but in the Sweet 16, Duncan came down with flu, and his team missed the Final Four
Final four
Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...
by one win. He completed another remarkable season with averages of 19.1 points and 12.3 rebounds per game, and was again voted Defensive and ACC Player of the Year. At the season's end the Wake Forest star was rumored to enter the 1996 NBA Draft
1996 NBA Draft
The 1996 NBA Draft was the 50th draft in the National Basketball Association . It was held on June 26, 1996 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the Turner Network Television...
, but in the end, he stayed in college.
In the 1996–97 NCAA season
1996 in basketball
-1996 Olympics:*Men: United States of America 96, Yugoslavia 69*Women: United States of America 111, Australia 87-Professional:*Men**1996 NBA Finals: Chicago Bulls over the Seattle SuperSonics 4-2...
, Duncan was helped by the addition of future NBA player Loren Woods
Loren Woods
Loren Woods is an American professional basketball player, currently playing with Zob Ahan Isfahan BC in the Iranian Basketball Super League...
, a 7'1" player who eased the pressure on Duncan close to the basket. The Demon Deacons won their first 13 games, but then got into a slump and failed to win a third ACC title. The NCAA campaign was just as frustrating, as Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
led by future NBA point guard
Point guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
Brevin Knight
Brevin Knight
Brevin Adon Knight is an American retired professional basketball point guard who played with nine teams in the NBA from 1997 to 2009. Knight played college basketball at Stanford University and was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1997...
eliminated Duncan's team with a 72–66 win. Duncan finished with an individually impressive season though, averaging 20.8 points, 14.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists
Assist (basketball)
In basketball, an assist is attributed to a player who passes the ball to a teammate in a way that leads to a score by field goal, meaning that he or she was "assisting" in the basket. There is some judgment involved in deciding whether a passer should be credited with an assist...
per game while shooting .606 from the field
Field goal percentage
Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Three-point field goals are included in this percentage. Instead of using scales of 0 to 100%, the scale .000 to 1.000 is commonly used. A higher field goal percentage denotes...
and winning the Defensive Player of the Year for an unprecedented third straight season. He earned first-team All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
honors for the second time, and was a unanimous pick for both USWBA and Naismith College Player of the Year
Naismith College Player of the Year
The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men's and women's collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of the inventor of basketball , Dr. James Naismith....
. Duncan led the 1996–97 NCAA Division I in rebounding, was 10th in blocked shots (3.3 bpg) and 28th in scoring (20.8 ppg). He was voted ACC Player of the Year again and won the 1997 John Wooden Award as the NCAA's best overall male player based on the votes of sportscasters and newswriters.
In contrast to contemporary prep-to-pro players like Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett
Kevin Maurice Garnett is an American professional basketball player who currently plays power forward for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association . After a high school basketball career at Farragut Career Academy which included winning a national player of the year award, he...
, Jermaine O'Neal
Jermaine O'Neal
Jermaine Lee O'Neal is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics. The 6 ft 11 in , 255 lb forward-center had a successful high school career and declared his eligibility for the 1996 NBA Draft straight out of high school...
, Tracy McGrady
Tracy McGrady
Tracy Lamar McGrady, Jr., is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Detroit Pistons.Entering the league after graduating from high school, McGrady eventually became a seven-time All-Star. He led the league in scoring in 2003 and 2004. He has also played for the Toronto...
or Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school...
, Duncan stayed at college for a full four years. During that period, he was a two-time ACC Player of the Year, and an unprecedented three-time NABC Defensive Player of the Year
NABC Defensive Player of the Year
The NABC Defensive Player of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches to recognize the top defensive player in United States college basketball...
. The center also made the All-ACC Tournament between 1995 and 1997, the All-ACC First Team between 1995 and 1997, and was named Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
of the 1996 ACC Tournament. Further, 1996 was the year where he led the conference in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocked shots, becoming the first player in conference history to lead all four of those categories. Overall, Duncan led his team to a 97–31 win–loss record and finished his college career as the second-leading shot blocker in NCAA history, and remains one of only ten players with more than 2,000 career points and 1,500 career rebounds. He was also the first player in NCAA history to reach 1,500 points, 1,000 rebounds, 400 blocked shots and 200 assists. He left college as the all-time leading shot-blocker in ACC history with 481 blocks—second in NCAA annals behind Colgate's
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
Adonal Foyle
Adonal Foyle
Adonal David Foyle is a retired Vincentian-American former professional basketball center. He was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the eighth overall selection of the 1997 NBA Draft. He played ten seasons with the team until the team bought out his contract on August 13, 2007. At the...
and third on the ACC career rebounding list with 1,570 rebounds. With his college degree in his hands, Duncan finally made himself eligible for the 1997 NBA Draft
1997 NBA Draft
The 1997 NBA Draft took place on June 25, 1997 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although the Celtics had the second worst record in the 1996-97 season and the best odds of winning the lottery with two picks, the Spurs, usually a model of winning and consistency, lost David Robinson to an injury early...
.
"Twin Towers" (1997–2003)
In the 1997 NBA Draft, the San Antonio SpursSan Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
drafted Duncan with the first draft pick. The Spurs were coming off an injury-riddled 1996–97 season; their best player, David Robinson
David Robinson (basketball)
David Maurice Robinson is a retired American NBA basketball player, who played center for the San Antonio Spurs for his entire NBA career. Based on his prior service as an officer in the United States Navy, Robinson earned the nickname "The Admiral". He and teammate power forward Tim Duncan were...
—himself a number one draft pick in 1987
1987 NBA Draft
The 1987 Draft of the National Basketball Association was held on June 22, 1987 in New York City, New York.This draft is notable for the selection of two future members of the NBA 50 Greatest Players list, David Robinson and Scottie Pippen. Other notable selections include Reggie Miller, Kevin...
—was sidelined for most of the year, and they had finished with a 20–62 win–loss record. However, as the 1997–98 season approached, the Spurs were considered a notable threat in the NBA. With an experienced center
Center (basketball)
The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
in Robinson and the number one pick in Duncan, the Spurs featured one of the best frontcourt
Frontcourt
Frontcourt is a term used in basketball referring to the small forward, power forward, and center positions as a cohesive unit....
s in the league. Duncan and Robinson became known as the "Twin Towers", having earned a reputation for their exceptional defense close to the basket, forcing opponents to take lower percentage shots from outside. From the beginning, Duncan established himself as a quality player: in his second-ever road game, he grabbed 22 rebounds against opposing Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
power forward Dennis Rodman
Dennis Rodman
Dennis Keith Rodman is a retired American Hall of Fame professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, he was nicknamed "Dennis the Menace" and "The...
, a multiple rebounding champion and NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Duncan was voted to the 1998 NBA All-Star Game
1998 NBA All-Star Game
The 1998 NBA All-Star Game was the 48th edition of the North American National Basketball Association All-Star Game. The event was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The East won the game 135–114. This game was the debut of Kobe Bryant as the youngest all-star in NBA history at 19...
by coaches. Later, when Duncan played against opposing Houston Rockets
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...
Hall-of-Fame
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
power forward Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley
Charles Wade Barkley is a former American professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Sir Charles" and "The Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley established himself as one of the National Basketball Association's most dominating power forwards...
, Barkley was so impressed he said: "I have seen the future and he wears number 21." In his rookie season, Duncan lived up to expectations of being the number one draft pick, starting in all 82 regular-season games, and averaging 21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 blocks per game. His defensive contributions ensured that he was elected to the All-Defensive Second Team
NBA All-Defensive Team
The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches; the coaches are not allowed to vote for players on their own team...
and was also named NBA Rookie of the Year, having won the NBA Rookie of the Month award every single month that season. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich
Gregg Popovich
Gregg Popovich is an American basketball coach, and is currently the head coach of the National Basketball Association's San Antonio Spurs. With the resignation of Jerry Sloan as head coach of the Utah Jazz on February 10, 2011, Popovich is the longest tenured coach in the NBA and also the...
lauded Duncan's mental toughness, stating his rookie's "demeanor was singularly remarkable", Duncan always "put things into perspective" and never got "too upbeat or too depressed." Center Robinson was equally impressed with Duncan: "He's the real thing. I'm proud of his attitude and effort. He gives all the extra effort and work and wants to become a better player."
The Spurs qualified for the 1998 NBA Playoffs
1998 NBA Playoffs
The 1998 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1997-98 NBA season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls winning their sixth championship of the decade by defeating the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz four...
as the fifth seed, but Duncan had a bad first half in his first playoff game against the Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...
, causing Suns coach Danny Ainge
Danny Ainge
Daniel Ray "Danny" Ainge is an American basketball manager and retired professional basketball and baseball player, currently serving as President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics....
to play Duncan with less defensive pressure. The rookie capitalized on this by finishing Game 1 with 32 points and 10 rebounds and recording 32 points and 10 rebounds in Game 2, contributing to a 3–1 victory over the Suns. However, the Spurs lost in the second round to the eventual Western Conference Champions Utah Jazz
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
. In this series, Duncan was pitted against Hall-of-Fame power forward Karl Malone
Karl Malone
Karl Anthony Malone , nicknamed "The Mailman", is a retired American professional basketball power forward who spent the majority of his career with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association . Malone spent his first 18 seasons with the Jazz and formed a formidable duo with his teammate...
. Duncan outscored Malone in the first two games which the Spurs lost, but as the series progressed, the more experienced Malone shut Duncan down on defense and dominated on offense, outscoring the young power forward in Games 3 to 5 18–10, 34–22 and 24–14 respectively.
During the lockout
Lockout (industry)
A lockout is a work stoppage in which an employer prevents employees from working. This is different from a strike, in which employees refuse to work.- Causes :...
-shortened 1998–99 season, the Spurs started with a lackluster 6–8 record and Popovich came under fire from the press. However, Duncan and Robinson stood behind their coach, and finished the season with a 31–5 run. The sophomore averaged 21.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.5 blocks in the regular season, making both the All-NBA and All-Defense First Teams. In the 1999 NBA Playoffs
1999 NBA Playoffs
The 1999 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1998-99 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs by defeating the eighth-seeded Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks four games to one...
, the Spurs defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Founded in 1989, the team is currently owned by Glen Taylor...
3–1, swept the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
and the Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...
4–0, and defeated the Cinderella story
Cinderella (sports)
In American and Canadian sports, a Cinderella or "Cinderella Story" refers to a team or player who advances much further in a tournament or career than originally anticipated. Cinderellas tend to gain much media and fan attention as they move closer to the championship game at the end of the...
New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
4–1 in the Finals
1999 NBA Finals
The 1999 NBA Finals was the championship round of the shortened 1998–99 NBA season or the 1999 season. The San Antonio Spurs of the Western Conference took on the New York Knicks of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Spurs holding home court advantage...
. In this series, a large contingent of Virgin Islanders flew over to support their local hero, and were not disappointed. In the first two games, the "Twin Towers" outscored their Knicks counterparts Chris Dudley
Chris Dudley
Christen Guilford "Chris" Dudley is a retired American basketball player who played 16 years and 886 games in the NBA for five different teams. A journeyman center, he was known primarily for his defensive skill as a rebounder and shot blocker...
/Larry Johnson with 41 points, 26 rebounds and nine blocks versus five points, 12 rebounds and zero blocks. After a Game 3 loss in which Duncan was held scoreless in the third quarter and committed three turnovers
Turnover (basketball)
In basketball, a turnover occurs when a player from one team gives possession to a member of the opposing team by losing the ball. This can result from the ball being stolen, the player making mistakes such as stepping out or throwing the ball out of bounds, or committing a violation or committing...
in the last quarter, Duncan rebounded with 28 points and 18 rebounds in a Game 4 win, and in Game 5, the Spurs protected a 78–77 lead seconds from the end with the ball in the Knicks' possession. Double team
Double team
In basketball, a double team is a defensive alignment in which two defensive players are assigned to guard a single offensive player....
ed by Duncan and Robinson, Knicks swingman
Swingman
A Swingman is a basketball term denoting a player who can play both the small forward and shooting guard positions, and, in essence, swing between the shooting guard and small forward positions." Swingmen males are often between 6'5" and 6'8" .John Havlicek, who played for the Boston Celtics in...
Latrell Sprewell
Latrell Sprewell
Latrell Fontaine Sprewell is a former American professional basketball player. During his time as a professional, Sprewell was named to the NBA All-Star game during four seasons, and played for the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, and the Minnesota Timberwolves...
missed a last-second desperation shot, and after closing out the series with a strong 31-point and 9-rebound showing in Game 5, Duncan was named Finals MVP, bringing San Antonio their first-ever NBA championship. The accolades for the Spurs soon arrived, with Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
reporting that the San Antonio "monkey has been shed", and that the Spurs were no longer known as the "San Antonio softies". The magazine praised Finals MVP Duncan, who was later quoted: "This is incredible. We kept our focus and we pulled it out." Sports Illustrated journalist and retired NBA player Alex English
Alex English
Alexander English is a retired American basketball player and former assistant coach of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association who played at the forward position...
added: "Duncan came up big each time they went to him with that sweet turnaround jumper off the glass. He was the man tonight [in Game 5]." And Popovich later said to losing coach Jeff Van Gundy
Jeff Van Gundy
Jeffrey William "Jeff" Van Gundy is a former American basketball head coach. He coached most recently with the National Basketball Association's Houston Rockets...
: "I've got Tim [Duncan] and you don't. That's the difference."
In the 1999–2000 season, Duncan further cemented his reputation. He averaged 23.2 points, 12.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.2 blocks per game, earned another pair of All-NBA and All-Defense First Team call-ups, and was co-MVP with Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...
of the NBA All-Star Game. However, the Spurs had a disappointing post-season. Duncan injured his meniscus
Meniscus (anatomy)
In anatomy, a meniscus is a crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that, in contrast to articular disks, only partly divides a joint cavity. In humans it is present in the knee, acromioclavicular, sternoclavicular, and temporomandibular joints; in other organisms they may be present in other...
shortly before the end of the regular season and was unable to play in even one post-season game. Consequently, the Spurs were eliminated in the first round of the 2000 NBA Playoffs
2000 NBA Playoffs
The 2000 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1999–2000 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers win their first championship in twelve years by defeating the Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers...
, losing 3–1 to the Phoenix Suns. Nonetheless, Duncan rebounded in the next season, and with strong regular-season averages of 22.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 blocks, earned himself yet another pair of All-NBA and All-Defensive First Team call-ups. In the 2001 NBA Playoffs
2001 NBA Playoffs
The 2001 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2000–01 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers winning their second consecutive championship by defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers...
, the Spurs eliminated the Timberwolves 3–1, defeated the Dallas Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...
4–1, but then bowed out against the Lakers led by superstars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school...
, losing in four straight games. Sports Illustrated described the series as a "[m]erciless mismatch", and Duncan was criticized as "silent when the Spurs need him most".
On the back of two consecutive playoff disappointments, Duncan improved statistically in the 2001–02 season. He averaged career highs in scoring (25.5 points per game, including a league-leading 764 field goals and 560 attempted free throws) and rebounding (12.7 boards per game, and his accumulated 1042 boards again led the league), and also averaged 3.7 assists and 2.5 blocks per game, both career highs. Coupled with another pair of All-NBA and All-Defensive First Team call-ups, he was named the league's Most Valuable Player
NBA Most Valuable Player Award
The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1955–56 NBA season. The winner receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, which is named in honor of the first commissioner of the NBA who served from 1946 until his retirement...
, joining teammate David Robinson as the only Spurs members to earn the honor. On the other hand, Duncan's team struggled with the fact that the aging Robinson was no longer able to sustain his level of performance, and backup center-forward Malik Rose
Malik Rose
Malik Jabari Rose is an American former professional basketball player, and current broadcaster, serving as a studio analyst for the New York Knicks, and the lead color analyst for the NBA D-League team, the Austin Toros.-High school and college:Rose graduated from Overbrook High School in...
had to step in more often. In the 2002 NBA Playoffs
2002 NBA Playoffs
The 2002 NBA Playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2001–02 season. This would be the final postseason that held a best-of-5 first-round series; next year's postseason would see those series expanded to a best-of-7 format...
, the Spurs were outmatched by the Lakers. Up against star center O'Neal once more, the Spurs were defeated 4–1 by the eventual champions. Duncan, who managed 34 points and a franchise-high 25 rebounds in Game 5, stated his frustration: "I thought we really had a chance at this series. The Lakers proved to be more than we could handle. Again, we had a (heck) of a run at it. We had opportunities to win games and make it a different series, but that's just the way the ball rolls sometimes." Nevertheless, NBA.com praised Duncan as "phenomenal" and criticized his supporting cast, stating Duncan "made 11-of-23 shots and 12-of-14 free throws, adding four assists and two blocks [a]nd once again, he did not have enough help." Also, Robinson said "Tim [Duncan] was like Superman out there", and conceded that the Lakers were simply better, just like in the last playoffs campaign.
2003 NBA Playoffs
The 2003 NBA playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2002-03 NBA season. This postseason was notable for being the first time all series were conducted in a best-of-7 format. It was also the only time in playoff history that no team was swept in a first-round series....
, concluding the regular season as the Conference number one seed with a 60–22 record. Although San Antonio now had new offensive threats in Tony Parker
Tony Parker
William Anthony "Tony" Parker is a French professional basketball player who currently plays for the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA....
and Manu Ginóbili
Manu Ginobili
Emanuel David "Manu" Ginóbili is an Argentine professional basketball player. Coming from a family of professional basketball players, he is a member of the Argentine men's national basketball team and the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association .Ginóbili spent the early part of...
, during the playoffs, it was Duncan's performance in the semi-finals against the Los Angeles Lakers which was singled out for praise by Popovich, who stated: "I thought in Game 5 and Game 6, he [Duncan] was astounding in his focus. He pulled everyone along these last two games." In the series, Duncan was matched up against forward Robert Horry
Robert Horry
Robert Keith Horry Jr. is a retired American basketball player and current sports commentator. He played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association , winning seven championships, the most of any player not to have played on the 1960s Boston Celtics...
, dominated him the entire series and closed out the series in style; Duncan finished Game 6 with 37 points and 16 rebounds, allowing Spurs coach Popovich to call timeout
Sport time-out
In sports, a time-out is a halt in the play. This allows the coaches of either team to communicate with the team, e.g., to determine strategy or inspire morale. Time-outs are usually called by coaches or players, although for some sports, TV timeouts are called to allow media to air commercial breaks...
with 2:26 left to instruct his team not to celebrate excessively. The Spurs made it to the finals
2003 NBA Finals
The 2003 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2002–03 NBA season. The San Antonio Spurs of the Western Conference took on the New Jersey Nets of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Spurs holding home court advantage. The series was played under a best-of-seven format. The Spurs...
, and defeated the New Jersey Nets
New Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
88–77 in Game Six to win their second ever NBA championship. Helped by an inspired Robinson, Duncan almost recorded a quadruple double in the final game, and was named the NBA Finals MVP. Duncan said of the victory: "We were all confident that something would happen, that we would turn the game to our favor, and it did", but felt sad that Robinson retired after winning his second championship ring. Following this successful Spurs campaign, Robinson and Duncan were named Sports Illustrateds 2003 "Sportsmen of the Year
Sportsman of the Year
Since its inception in 1954, Sports Illustrated magazine has annually presented the "Sportsman of the Year" award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." Both Americans and non-Americans are eligible, though in the past the...
".
Leader of the Spurs (2003–2007)
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n center Rasho Nesterovič, defensive stalwart Bruce Bowen
Bruce Bowen
Bruce Bowen Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player. The 6'7", 200-lb. Bowen played small forward and graduated from Edison High School and Cal State Fullerton...
, Argentinian shooting guard
Shooting guard
The shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team...
Ginóbili and young French point guard Parker. Coming off the bench were clutch
Clutch (sports)
In American sports terminology, "clutch" means performing well under extreme pressure. It often refers to high levels of production in a critical game, such as Game 7 of a best-of-seven series, the last hole of a Major Championship golf tournament, or the final minute in a close match...
shooting power forward Robert Horry
Robert Horry
Robert Keith Horry Jr. is a retired American basketball player and current sports commentator. He played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association , winning seven championships, the most of any player not to have played on the 1960s Boston Celtics...
, versatile Hedo Türkoğlu and veterans Malik Rose and Kevin Willis
Kevin Willis
Kevin Alvin Willis is a former American professional basketball player who last played for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA. He is a 7-foot power forward/center...
. In retrospect, Robinson commented that at first, Duncan was reluctant to step into the void, still needing some time to truly develop his leadership skills. Statistically though, Duncan remained strong; after another convincing season with averages of 22.3 points, 12.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.7 blocks, he led the Spurs into the Western Conference Semifinals
2004 NBA Playoffs
The 2004 NBA Playoffs were the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2003–04 season. Consisting of 16 teams in two conferences, the playoffs involved about two months of play. The playoffs were conducted in seven-game series, with the team with the better record holding home court...
. There, they met the Los Angeles Lakers again, split the series 2–2, and in Game 5, Duncan made a toughly defended jump shot which put the Spurs ahead by one point with 0.4 seconds left to play. Despite the little time remaining, Lakers point guard Derek Fisher
Derek Fisher
Derek Lamar Fisher is an American professional basketball point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . His NBA career has spanned more than 14 years, during which he has won five NBA Championships...
hit a buzzer beater
Buzzer beater
In basketball, a buzzer beater is a shot taken just before the game clock of a period expires, when the buzzer sounds. The term is normally reserved for baskets that win or tie the game, but also refers to shots that beat an end-of-quarter or halftime buzzer...
for an upset Lakers win. In the end, the Spurs lost the series 4–2, and Duncan attributed the strong Lakers defense as one of the reasons for the loss.
Duncan and his Spurs looked to re-assert themselves in the next 2004–05 season. Despite their new captain's slight statistical slump (20.3 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.6 blocks per game), the Spurs won the second seed for the 2005 NBA Playoffs
2005 NBA Playoffs
The 2005 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2004–05 season.The San Antonio Spurs, the number two ranked team in the Western Conference, won the 2005 NBA Playoffs by defeating the defending champions, the Detroit Pistons, 4-3 in the NBA Finals...
by winning 59 games. In the first round, the Spurs eliminated the Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...
four games to one, and met the Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
in the semi-finals. After splitting the first four games, Duncan led his team to two decisive victories, setting up a meeting with the Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...
, known for their up-tempo basketball. The Spurs managed to beat the Suns at their own game, defeating them 4–1 and earning a spot in the 2005 NBA Finals
2005 NBA Finals
The 2005 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2004-05 National Basketball Association season. The San Antonio Spurs of the Western Conference faced the Detroit Pistons of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Spurs holding home court advantage. The series was played under a...
against the Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
. In the Finals, Duncan was pitted against Detroit's defensively strong frontcourt anchored by multiple NBA Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace
Ben Wallace
Ben Camey Wallace is an American basketball center for the Detroit Pistons of the NBA. A native of Alabama, Wallace attended Cuyahoga Community College and Virginia Union University and signed with the Washington Bullets as an undrafted free agent in 1996...
. After two convincing Game 1 and 2 wins for the Spurs, the Pistons double team
Double team
In basketball, a double team is a defensive alignment in which two defensive players are assigned to guard a single offensive player....
ed Duncan and forced him to play further from the basket. Detroit won the next two games and the series was eventually tied at 3–3, but Duncan was instrumental in Game 7, recording 25 points and 11 rebounds as the Spurs defeated the Pistons. NBA.com reported that "[w]ith his unique multidimensional talent, Duncan depleted and dissected the Pistons... He was the fulcrum of virtually every key play down the stretch", and coach Popovich added: "[Duncan's] complete game is so sound, so fundamental, so unnoticed at times, because if he didn't score, people think, 'Well, he didn't do anything'. But he was incredible and he was the force that got it done for us." Detroit's center Ben Wallace remarked: "He put his team on his shoulders and carried them to a championship [...t]hat's what the great players do." Duncan won his third NBA Finals MVP Award, joining Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
, Shaquille O'Neal, and Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers...
as the only players in NBA history to win it three times.
Plantar fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is a painful inflammatory process of the plantar fascia, the connective tissue on the sole of the foot.Longstanding cases of plantar fasciitis often demonstrate more degenerative changes than inflammatory changes, in which case they are termed plantar fasciosis. The suffix...
for most of the season, which was at least partly responsible for his sinking output (18.6 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 blocks per game), and also for his failure to make the All-NBA First Team after eight consecutive appearances. The big man came back strong in the 2006 NBA Playoffs
2006 NBA Playoffs
The 2006 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2005–06 season. The Miami Heat won the first championship in the history of the franchise by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in the 2006 NBA Finals...
against the Dallas Mavericks, where he outscored rival power forward Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Werner Nowitzki is a German professional basketball player who plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association...
32.2 to 27.1 points, with neither Nowitzki nor Mavericks center Erick Dampier
Erick Dampier
Erick Travez Dampier is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Miami Heat. He is a 6 ft 11 in / 265 lb. center.-Career:...
able to stop Duncan with their man-to-man defense. But after splitting the first six games, Duncan became the tragic hero of his team in Game 7. Despite scoring 39 points in regulation time and fouling out both Dampier and Keith Van Horn
Keith Van Horn
Keith Adam Van Horn is a retired American professional basketball player. The 6-foot-10, 240-pound forward graduated from Diamond Bar High School in Diamond Bar, California and attended the University of Utah where he went on to be a consensus First Team All-American in 1997...
, Duncan only made one of seven field goal attempts in overtime against Mavericks reserve center DeSagana Diop
DeSagana Diop
DeSagana N'gagne Diop is a Senegalese professional basketball player who currently plays for the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats. Standing seven feet tall and weighing 280 lbs...
, and the Spurs lost Game 7.
The following season however was another championship year for Duncan and the Spurs. Duncan averaged 20.0 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 blocks per game in the regular season, and was selected as a Western Conference starter for the 2007 NBA All-Star Game
2007 NBA All-Star Game
The 2007 NBA All-Star Game was played on Sunday, February 18, 2007 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas's Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It was the 56th annual All-Star Game. It was the first time the All-Star Game was played in a city without an NBA franchise and...
, his ninth appearance in the event. In the playoffs
2007 NBA Playoffs
The 2007 NBA Playoffs was the postseason to the National Basketball Association's 2006–2007 season.There were four rounds of postseason action, all of them in a best-of-seven format, with teams seeded on a bracket. The team with the better record wasn't necessarily the basis of seeding teams in...
, he led the Spurs to a 4–1 series win over the Denver Nuggets in the opening round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs, a 4–2 win over the Phoenix Suns in the second round, and a 4–1 win against the Utah Jazz
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
in the Western Conference Finals, setting up a meeting with the Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
in the Finals
2007 NBA Finals
The 2007 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2006-07 National Basketball Association season, and was the conclusion of the 2007 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs and the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland...
. There, the Spurs swept the Cavaliers 4–0, earning Duncan his and San Antonio's fourth ever championship. Duncan proclaimed that that championship was "the best" of his four championships, and acknowledged he played "sub-par" and thus received only one vote for NBA Finals MVP from a panel of ten. His colleagues were more appreciative of Duncan; among others, ex-teammate David Robinson referred to the Spurs titles as the "Tim Duncan era", and lauded his leadership. Coach Popovich also praised Duncan: "Tim is the common denominator. He's [had] a different cast around him [in] '99, '03 and '05. He's welcomed them all. [...] But he is that easy to play with, and his skills are so fundamentally sound that other people can fit in." NBA commissioner David Stern
David Stern
David Joel Stern is the commissioner of the National Basketball Association. He started with the Association in 1966 as an outside counsel, joined the NBA in 1978 as General Counsel, and became the league's Executive Vice President in 1980. He became Commissioner in 1984 succeeding Larry O'Brien...
added: "[Duncan] is a player for the ages. I'm a tennis fan, and Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....
is one of the greats. OK, he wasn't Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
or John McEnroe
John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title...
. He just happens to be one of the greatest players of all time. You take great players as you find them."
Chasing the fifth championship (2007–present)
With Duncan being healthy for 78 games and posting typical 20/10 numbers, San Antonio concluded the 2007–08 regular season with a 56–26 record, finishing behind the Lakers and New Orleans Hornets in the Western Conference and setting up themselves for a first-round contest against the Suns. The Suns—defeated by the Spurs in three of the past four seasons of playoffs—were out for revenge and featured a new player in four-time NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal. In Game 1, Duncan set the tone with a 40-point game and a rare three-pointer that sent the game into double overtime. The trio of Duncan, Ginóbili and Parker continued playing to form for the remainder of the series, and the Spurs eliminated the Suns in five games. In the first game of the next round against the Chris PaulChris Paul
Christopher Emmanuel Paul is an American professional basketball point guard for the New Orleans Hornets.Paul was born and raised in North Carolina. Despite only playing two varsity basketball seasons in high school, he was a McDonald's All-American and accepted a scholarship with nearby Wake...
-led Hornets, San Antonio were badly defeated 101–82 as Duncan played one of the worst playoff games in his career, recording only 5 points and 3 rebounds. The Spurs dropped the next game as well, but recovered in Games 3 and 4, with Duncan putting up a team-high 22 point/15 rebound/4 block performance in the game that tied the series. Duncan then recorded 20 points and 15 rebounds in Game 6, and the Spurs relied on their experience to seal the series in Game 7. However, arch-rivals Los Angeles Lakers defeated San Antonio in five games in the Conference Finals, and the Spurs once again failed to capture back-to-back NBA championships.
Duncan started the 2008–09 season
2008–09 NBA season
The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009...
with strong showings in points and rebounds per game. However, by mid-season, his performance declined and he was subsequently diagnosed with chronic knee tendinosis
Tendinosis
Tendinosis, sometimes called chronic tendinitis, tendinosus, chronic tendinopathy or chronic tendon injury, is damage to a tendon at a cellular level . It is thought to be caused by microtears in the connective tissue in and around the tendon, leading to an increase in tendon repair cells...
. Despite Duncan having problems with his knee and the team losing the services of shooting guard Ginóbili for most of the season, San Antonio qualified for the playoffs
2009 NBA Playoffs
The 2009 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2008–09 season. The playoffs started on April 18, 2009 with ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
as the third seed with a 54–28 record. Coupled with an aging supporting cast (Bowen, Michael Finley
Michael Finley
Michael Howard Finley is a retired American professional basketball player. He last played for the Boston Celtics of the NBA.-High school career:...
and Kurt Thomas
Kurt Thomas (basketball)
Kurt Vincent Thomas is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Chicago Bulls. Thomas is a 6'9", 230 lb. power forward/center known for his hard-nosed playing style and tough defense. Drafted by the Miami Heat in 1995, Thomas played college basketball at Texas...
were all in their late 30s), however, the Spurs were only considered fringe contenders for the championship. As it turned out, Duncan and Parker were not enough to help the Spurs avoid a 4–1 defeat by Dallas, and the Spurs were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2000.
With the Spurs looking to provide a more solid supporting cast in the 2009–10 season
2009–10 NBA season
The 2009–10 NBA season was the 64th season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, and ended on Wednesday, April 14, 2010....
, they acquired Richard Jefferson
Richard Jefferson
Richard Allen Jefferson is a 6 ft 7 in American professional basketball player currently playing for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association...
, Theo Ratliff
Theo Ratliff
Theophilus Curtis Ratliff , better known as Theo Ratliff, is an American professional basketball player who last played with the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. Primarily a center, he was an excellent shot-blocker who has led the league three times in blocks per game...
, Antonio McDyess
Antonio McDyess
Antonio Keithflen McDyess is an American professional basketball player. McDyess is listed at 6'9" , 245 lb. and is a power forward/center. In 2009 he signed a 3-year contract with the San Antonio Spurs....
, DeJuan Blair
DeJuan Blair
DeJuan Lamont Blair is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association . Before turning pro Blair played center for the University of Pittsburgh men's basketball team from 2007 to 2009...
, and Keith Bogans
Keith Bogans
Keith Ramon Bogans is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Chicago Bulls.-High school and college:...
. The team got off to a 5–6 start, but a series of double double performances by Duncan gave them a 9–6 record by the end of November. Duncan was subsequently named the Western Conference Player of the Week for the last week of November. Even at 34 years of age, he remained a constant 20–10 threat, being only one of three players in the league at the mid-season to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. On January 21, 2010, Duncan was named as the starting forward for the West for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. After securing yet another 50-win season, the Spurs qualified for the playoffs
2010 NBA Playoffs
The 2010 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2009–10 season. The playoffs started on April 17, 2010 with ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
as the seventh seed, and defeated Dallas 4–2 in the first round, only to lose 4–0 to Phoenix in the next round.
Eleven games into the 2010–11 season
2010–11 NBA season
The 2010–11 NBA season was the 65th season of the National Basketball Association . The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 20, 2011 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in six games, 4 games to 2, to win their first NBA title, and...
, Duncan became the Spurs' all-time leader in points scored and games played. Along the way, the Spurs compiled a 12-game winning streak to go 13–2 after 15 games. On November 30, 2010, Duncan recorded his third career triple-double against the Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
. 12 days later, in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...
, Duncan became the 94th player in NBA history to play 1000 games. Through his 1000th game, the Spurs have been 707–293; only Scottie Pippen
Scottie Pippen
Scottie Maurice Pippen is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association . He is most remembered for his time with the Chicago Bulls, with whom he was instrumental in six NBA Championships and their record 1995–96 season of 72 wins...
(715–285) had a better record with his team through his first 1000 games. The Spurs were 29–4 after 33 games—one of the ten best starts in NBA history–and led the league at 35–6 halfway through the season. Although Duncan produced career-lows in points and rebounds per game, the Spurs ended the regular season as the first seed in the West for the 2011 NBA Playoffs
2011 NBA Playoffs
The 2011 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2010–11 season. Eight teams from each of the league's two conferences qualified for the playoffs, all seeded 1 to 8 in a tournament bracket, with all rounds in a best-of-seven format. The 2011 NBA Playoffs began on...
, and were second in the league (to Chicago). Despite finishing with a 61–21 record, however, the Spurs could not avoid being upset in the first round, 4–2, by the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's...
.
Regular season
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 1997–98
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
| 82||82||39.1||.549||.000||.662||11.9||2.7||.7||2.5||21.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1998–99
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 50||50||39.3||.495||.143||.690||11.4||2.4||.9||2.5||21.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1999–00
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 74||74||38.9||.490||.091||.761||12.4||3.2||.9||2.2||23.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2000–01
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 82||82||38.7||.499||.259||.618||12.2||3.0||.9||2.3||22.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2001–02
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 82||82||40.6||.508||.100||.799||12.7||3.7||.7||2.5||25.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2002–03
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 81||81||39.3||.513||.273||.710||12.9||3.9||.7||2.9||23.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2003–04
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 69||68||36.6||.501||.167||.599||12.4||3.1||.9||2.7||22.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2004–05
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 66||66||33.4||.496||.333||.670||11.1||2.7||.7||2.6||20.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2005–06
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 80||80||34.8||.484||.400||.629||11.0||3.2||.9||2.0||18.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2006–07
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 80||80||34.1||.546||.111||.637||10.6||3.4||.8||2.4||20.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2007–08
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 78||78||34.0||.497||.000||.730||11.3||2.8||.7||2.0||19.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2008–09
2008–09 NBA season
The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009...
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 75||75||33.6||.504||.000||.692||10.7||3.5||.5||1.7||19.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10
2009–10 NBA season
The 2009–10 NBA season was the 64th season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, and ended on Wednesday, April 14, 2010....
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 78||77||31.3||.519||.182||.725||10.1||3.2||.6||1.5||17.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010–11
2010–11 NBA season
The 2010–11 NBA season was the 65th season of the National Basketball Association . The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 20, 2011 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in six games, 4 games to 2, to win their first NBA title, and...
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 76||76||28.3||.500||.000||.716||8.9||2.7||.7||1.9||13.4
|-class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:left;"| Career
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 1053 || 1051 ||35.8 ||.508 ||.182 ||.688||11.4||3.1||.7||2.3||20.6
|-class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:left;"| All-Star
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 13||12||22.2||.560||.333||.765||9.5||2.2||1.0||.6||10.5
Playoffs
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 1998
1998 NBA Playoffs
The 1998 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1997-98 NBA season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls winning their sixth championship of the decade by defeating the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz four...
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
| 9||9||41.6||.521||.000||.667||9.0||1.9||.6||2.6||20.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1999
1999 NBA Playoffs
The 1999 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1998-99 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs by defeating the eighth-seeded Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks four games to one...
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 17||17||43.1||.511||.000||.748||11.5||2.8||.8||2.7||23.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2001
2001 NBA Playoffs
The 2001 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2000–01 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers winning their second consecutive championship by defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers...
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 13||13||40.5||.488||1.000||.639||14.5||3.8||1.1||2.7||24.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2002
2002 NBA Playoffs
The 2002 NBA Playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2001–02 season. This would be the final postseason that held a best-of-5 first-round series; next year's postseason would see those series expanded to a best-of-7 format...
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 9||9||42.2||.453||.333||.822||14.4||5.0||.7||4.3||27.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2003
2003 NBA Playoffs
The 2003 NBA playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2002-03 NBA season. This postseason was notable for being the first time all series were conducted in a best-of-7 format. It was also the only time in playoff history that no team was swept in a first-round series....
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 24||24||42.5||.529||.000||.677||15.4||5.3||.6||3.3||24.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2004
2004 NBA Playoffs
The 2004 NBA Playoffs were the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2003–04 season. Consisting of 16 teams in two conferences, the playoffs involved about two months of play. The playoffs were conducted in seven-game series, with the team with the better record holding home court...
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 10||10||40.5||.522||.000||.632||11.3||3.2||.8||2.0||22.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2005
2005 NBA Playoffs
The 2005 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2004–05 season.The San Antonio Spurs, the number two ranked team in the Western Conference, won the 2005 NBA Playoffs by defeating the defending champions, the Detroit Pistons, 4-3 in the NBA Finals...
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 23||23||37.8||.464||.200||.717||12.4||2.7||.3||2.3||23.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2006
2006 NBA Playoffs
The 2006 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2005–06 season. The Miami Heat won the first championship in the history of the franchise by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in the 2006 NBA Finals...
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 13||13||37.9||.573||.000||.718||10.5||3.3||.9||1.9||25.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2007
2007 NBA Playoffs
The 2007 NBA Playoffs was the postseason to the National Basketball Association's 2006–2007 season.There were four rounds of postseason action, all of them in a best-of-seven format, with teams seeded on a bracket. The team with the better record wasn't necessarily the basis of seeding teams in...
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 20||20||36.8||.521||.000||.644||11.5||3.3||.6||3.1||22.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2008
2008 NBA Playoffs
The 2008 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2007–08 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4–2....
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 17||17||39.2||.449||.200||.626||14.5||3.3||.9||2.1||20.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2009
2009 NBA Playoffs
The 2009 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2008–09 season. The playoffs started on April 18, 2009 with ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 5||5||32.8||.532||.000||.607||8.0||3.2||.6||1.2||19.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010
2010 NBA Playoffs
The 2010 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2009–10 season. The playoffs started on April 17, 2010 with ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 10||10||37.3||.520||.500||.478||9.9||2.6||.7||1.7||19.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2011
2011 NBA Playoffs
The 2011 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2010–11 season. Eight teams from each of the league's two conferences qualified for the playoffs, all seeded 1 to 8 in a tournament bracket, with all rounds in a best-of-seven format. The 2011 NBA Playoffs began on...
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 6||6||35.3||.478||.000||.625||10.5||2.7||.5||2.5||12.7
|-class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:left;"| Career
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 176||176||39.5||.502||.167||.678||12.4||3.4||.7||2.6||22.7
United States national team
In 1998 Duncan was selected as one of the last two players for the United States national team for the World Basketball Championship. However, this team was later replaced with CBAContinental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
and college players because of the NBA lockout
1998–99 NBA lockout
The 1998–99 NBA lockout was the third lockout in the history of the National Basketball Association . It lasted from July 1, 1998 to January 20, 1999, and forced the 1998–99 season to be shortened to 50 games per team and that season's All-Star Game to be canceled...
. Duncan's first chance at playing for the national team came in 1999 when he was called up to the Olympic Qualifying Team. He averaged 12.7 ppg, 9.1 rpg and 2.4 bpg and led the team to a 10–0 finish en route to a qualifying berth for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but a knee injury forced him to stay out of the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
themselves.
In 2003, Duncan was also a member of the USA team that recorded ten wins and qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
. He started all the games he played in and averaged team bests of 15.6 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.56 bpg, while shooting 60.7 percent from the field. At the Olympics itself, the team lost three games on its way to a bronze medal. The record represented more losses in a single year than in the 68 previous years combined. It was also the first time since NBA professionals became eligible that the U.S. men's basketball team returned home without gold medals. After the tournament, Duncan commented, "I am about 95 percent sure my FIBA
International Basketball Federation
The International Basketball Federation, more commonly known as FIBA , from its French name Fédération Internationale de Basketball, is an association of national organizations which governs international competition in basketball...
career is over. I'll try not to share my experiences with anyone." In total, Duncan was a member of five USA Basketball teams and played in 40 international games.
Player profile
Power forward (basketball)
Power forward is a position in the sport of basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF". It has also been referred to as the "post" position. Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low...
position, but can also play center
Center (basketball)
The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
. With a double-double career average in points and rebounds, he is considered one of the most consistent players in the NBA. He has earned All-NBA and All-Defensive
NBA All-Defensive Team
The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches; the coaches are not allowed to vote for players on their own team...
honors every season since his rookie year in 1998 while being a perennial candidate for the Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year
NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award
The National Basketball Association's Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1982–83 NBA season, to the top defensive player of the regular season...
awards. Regarded as one of the league's best interior defenders, Duncan also ranks consistently as one of the top scorers
Point (basketball)
Points in basketball are used to keep track of the score in a game. Points can be accumulated by making field goals or free throws ....
, rebounders
Rebound (basketball)
A rebound in basketball is the act of successfully gaining possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds in basketball are a routine part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made...
and shot-blockers
Block (basketball)
In basketball, a block , not to be confused with blocking, occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player. The defender must not touch the offensive player's hands or otherwise a foul is called. In order to be legal, the block must occur while the shot...
in the league. As of the 2009–10 season, he is ranked third in regular season point-rebound double-doubles. His main weakness remains his free throw
Free throw
In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points from a restricted area on the court , and are generally awarded after a foul on the shooter by the opposing team...
shooting, with a career average of less than 70%.
Apart from his impressive statistics, Duncan has gained a reputation as a good clutch player, as evidenced by his three NBA Finals MVP awards and his playoff career averages being higher than his regular-season statistics. Eleven-time NBA champion Bill Russell
Bill Russell
William Felton "Bill" Russell is a retired American professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association...
further compliments Duncan on his passing ability, and rates him as one of the most efficient players of his generation, a view shared by 19-time NBA All-Star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the NBA's all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points. During his career with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA championships and a record six regular season...
. Because of his versatility and success, basketball experts have spoken of Duncan as one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history, while coach Popovich and team-mates Parker and Ginóbili have also credited much of San Antonio's success to him. Duncan's detractors, however, label him as "boring" because of his simple but effective style of play (thus earning him the nickname "The Big Fundamental"). Following his first championship ring in 1999, Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
described him as a "quiet, boring MVP", a characterization which persists today.
Duncan himself commented on his "boring" image, stating: "If you show excitement, then you also may show disappointment or frustration. If your opponent picks up on this frustration, you are at a disadvantage." Sports journalist Kevin Kernan commented on his ability to relax and stay focused, stating that having a degree in psychology, Duncan often not only outplays, but outpsychs his opponents. Duncan has also stated that he especially likes his bank shot, saying: "It is just easy for me. It just feels good."
Honors
In his basketball career, Duncan has collected a number of individual and team honors, including being a two-time MVP (2002, 2003), four-time NBA champion (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007) and three-time NBA Finals MVP (1999, 2003, 2005). As a college player, he was honored by the House of RepresentativesUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, named the ACC Male Athlete of the Year, won the John R. Wooden Award
John R. Wooden Award
The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award and recognizes the All–America Teams.The awards, given by the Los...
, and was selected as the Naismith College Player of the Year
Naismith College Player of the Year
The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men's and women's collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of the inventor of basketball , Dr. James Naismith....
(all 1997). In 2002, Duncan was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team
ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team
In 2002 the Atlantic Coast Conference selected 50th anniversary teams for most of its sports. The 50-member men's basketball team was voted on by a 120-member blue-ribbon committee that was selected by the league's 50th Anniversary Committee....
honoring the 50 greatest players in ACC history. In his debut year in the NBA (1998), he was voted Rookie of the Year and elected into the All-NBA Rookie Team, made the first of 13 NBA All-Star Teams (1997–98 and 1999–2000 to 2010–11), 13 All-NBA Teams (1997–98 to 2008–09; nine First Team nominations), and 13 All-Defensive Teams (1997–98 to 2009–10; eight First Team nominations). With these impressive performances, Duncan is one of only four players to receive All-NBA First Team honors in each of his first eight seasons (1998–2005), along with Hall of Famers Bob Pettit
Bob Pettit
Robert Lee "Bob" Pettit Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the NBA, all with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks . He was the first recipient of the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970...
(ten seasons), Larry Bird
Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish...
(nine seasons), and Oscar Robertson
Oscar Robertson
Oscar Palmer Robertson , nicknamed "The Big O", is a former American NBA player with the Cincinnati Royals and the Milwaukee Bucks...
(nine seasons), and is the only player in NBA history to receive All-NBA and All-Defensive honors in his first 13 seasons (1997–98 to 2009–10).
Duncan was also named by the Association for Professional Basketball Research as one of "100 Greatest Professional Basketball Players of The 20th Century", the youngest player on that list. In the 2001–02 season, he won the IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
Player Award and The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
(TSN) MVP Award, becoming the third player to ever win the NBA MVP, IBM Player and TSN Player Awards in the same season. On February 18, 2006, he was named one of the Next 10 Greatest Players on the tenth anniversary of the release of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
The 50 Greatest Players in National Basketball Association History were chosen in 1996 to honor the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association...
by the TNT
Turner Network Television
Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...
broadcasting crew. In 2009, Duncan was ranked 8th by Slam Magazine
SLAM Magazine
SLAM Magazine is an American basketball magazine in circulation since 1994, published by Source Interlink. SLAM publishes nine issues a year to its circulation of over 500,000 readers worldwide.-History:...
in their list of the Top 50 NBA players of All Time. Sports Illustrated named him its NBA Player of the Decade.
Off the court
Tim Duncan has two older sisters, Cheryl and TriciaTricia Duncan
Patricia Duncan is a retired swimmer for the U. S. Virgin Islands who participated in the 1988 Summer Olympics. She is the older sister of NBA basketball player Tim Duncan.-References:*...
. Like their younger brother, they were gifted athletes: Cheryl was a championship swimmer before she became a nurse, and Tricia swam for the U.S. Virgin Islands at the 1988 Summer Olympics
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...
in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
. He married his wife Amy in 2001, and the couple had their first child, daughter Sydney, in the summer of 2005, and a second child, a son, during the summer of 2007. Amy oversees the Tim Duncan Foundation, which has been established to serve the areas of health awareness/research, education, and youth sports/recreation in San Antonio, Winston-Salem, and the United States Virgin Islands. The Foundation holds two major fundraiser
Fundraiser
A fundraiser is an event or campaign whose primary purpose is to raise money for a cause. See also: fundraising. A fundraiser can also be an individual or company whose primary job is to raise money for a specific charity or non-profit organization...
s each year: the annual Tim Duncan Bowling for Dollar$ Charity Bowl-A-Thon and the annual Slam Duncan Charity Golf Classic. Between 2001 and 2002, the Foundation raised more than $350,000 to help fight breast and prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
. In those two years, Duncan was named by Sporting News as one of the "Good Guys" in sports. The Spurs captain also supports the Children's Bereavement Center, the Children's Center of San Antonio and the Cancer Therapy and Research Center.
Duncan cites his late mother Ione as his main inspiration. Among other things, she taught him and his sisters the nursery rhyme "Good, Better, Best. Never let it rest / Until your Good is Better, and your Better is your Best", which he adopted as his personal motto. On and off the court, he believes that the three most important values are dedication, teamwork and camaraderie. The Spurs captain has also stated that he chose #21 for his jersey because that was his brother-in-law's college number, since he was Duncan's main basketball inspiration, and cites Hall-of-Fame Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
point guard Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers...
as his childhood idol.
For his mixture of success and low-key personality, Duncan has been honored with the St. Croix Medal of Honor, the highest award that the territorial government can bestow on a citizen, and has been celebrated in several "Tim Duncan Day" ceremonies. In 2000, St. Croix Senate president Vargrave Richards
Vargrave Richards
Vargrave A. Richards is a United States Virgin Islands politician and educator. Richards served as the Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands from 2003 until 2007 during the second term of Democratic Governor Charles Turnbull.-Early life:Richards is a former teacher...
said: "He is a quiet giant. His laid-back attitude is the embodiment of the people of St. Croix, doing things without fanfare and hoopla."
Regarding his own personality, Duncan compares himself to Will Hunting of the movie Good Will Hunting
Good Will Hunting
Good Will Hunting is a 1997 drama film directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, and Stellan Skarsgård...
, which centers around the genial and antagonistic character of Will Hunting, portrayed by Matt Damon
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
. He stated: "I'm just a taller, slightly less hyperactive version of the Damon character in the movie. I really enjoyed how he probed people and found out their weaknesses just by asking questions and stating outlandish remarks." He also admitted shunning the limelight because "[fame] is not me". Off the court, he has stated that his best friend is former Spurs colleague Antonio Daniels
Antonio Daniels
Antonio Robert Daniels is an American professional basketball player. He most recently played for the Philadelphia 76ers.-Career:...
, who himself describes Duncan as a cheerful, funny person off the hardwood.
Duncan also loves Renaissance fair
Renaissance Fair
A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire, or Renaissance festival is an outdoor weekend gathering, usually held in the United States, open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which emulates a historic period for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent theme parks, others are...
s and the fantasy role playing game Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
. An avid video game player, he acknowledges a certain joy of playing "himself" on basketball video games. Duncan states if he had the chance, he would challenge NBA legends Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt Chamberlain
Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain was an American professional NBA basketball player for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers; he also played for the Harlem Globetrotters prior to playing in the NBA...
and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the NBA's all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points. During his career with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA championships and a record six regular season...
to a one-on-one game.
The satirical newspaper The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
has repeatedly poked fun of Duncan's low key and cerebral reputation and its contradiction with the stereotype of outlandish celebrity athlete behavior with headlines such as "Tim Duncan Hams It Up For Crowd By Arching Left Eyebrow Slightly" and "Tim Duncan Offers To Do Taxes For Entire Spurs Team".
See also
- List of National Basketball Association players with 1000 games played
- List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career playoff blocks leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders