Tim Duncan was always a pretty reserved player, given how huge a superstar he was in the NBA.
He will be a first-ballot hall of famer, averaging 19 points and 10.8 rebounds per game over a 19-year career. He led the Spurs to five NBA Championships, 19 straight seasons in the playoffs and a reputation as one of the most well-run franchises in sports.
Other than those accolades, many don’t know too much about Tim Duncan and that was by design. He was never one for the spotlight, but during last night’s jersey retirement with the Spurs, the floodgates were opened. Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Gregg Popovich all performed speeches after the Spurs game and shared a ton of hilarious and heart-warming stories.
All of those stories about Tim Duncan and still we get to hear from Duncan himself. Even he joked about how unusual this night was at the end of his speech, saying he actually spoke for more than 30 seconds.
The takeaways, other than carrot cake, were that Tim Duncan was truly a great teammate and leader. In an age where sports teams start to look more at numbers and less at player personalities, Duncan shows why it’s still an important factor.
