SENSE OF HUMOR: Before joining the cast of the TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and later starring opposite Katie Holmes in “First Daughter” in an acting career spanning more than 30 movie credits, Marc Blucas was a senior guard at Wake Forest “playing above my gene pool” when a 17-year-old Duncan walked into the gym on the first day of school. I think with the way Pop and Tim connected it also became a very caring environment.” “With Timmy, it softened them,” Buford explained. Before Duncan arrived in San Antonio as the top pick of the 1997 draft, the San Antonio Spurs were already functioning as somewhat of a militaristic, regimented franchise under Popovich and what Buford called “a really principled group of standard bearers” such as David Robinson, Mario Elie, Avery Johnson, Sean Elliott and Terry Porter. Virgin Islands - one with aspirations to become an Olympic swimmer before Hurricane Hugo destroyed all the local pools in 1989 - took the league by storm and elevated not only the unproven Popovich but an entire NBA franchise with simple, yet crucial character attributes instilled by his parents, Delysia Ione and William Duncan, on the 82-square-mile island of St. Former Wake Forest teammate and close friend Marc Blucas jokes that “he and I will both tell you that he can’t jump over a phone book.”īut a look inside Tim Duncan, the man, provides some clues explaining how a rail-thin kid from the U.S. Keep in mind that despite Duncan’s near-flawless fundamentals, he never flashed awe-inspiring athleticism. The answer to how Duncan accomplished it all falls into more complicated territory, though. “It’s all a combination of a competitiveness on my own part, a love for playing the game, hating losing and an organization committed to putting the best things in place to give a city, a team, a player like myself an opportunity to win year in and year out,” Duncan said. We get it that Duncan and John Salley are the only players in NBA history to win titles in three different decades, and that Duncan is the first Hall of Fame inductee to play his entire career of at least 15 seasons for the same coach.Ĭheck out Tim Duncan's milestones throughout his career from his first points in Milwaukee to his 25,000th point at the Staples Center.Īnd who can forget that Duncan teamed with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili to reel off 126 playoff victories, the most in NBA history by any trio - which also owns the most regular-season victories in NBA history (575) - and register as the first set of three teammates or more to capture four championships side-by-side since Magic Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Cooper and Kurt Rambis, according to Elias Sports Bureau? We understand that the 15-year span between Duncan’s first title (1999) and last (2014) ranks as the second longest in league history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (17 years) among players participating in both NBA Finals series, according to Elias Sports Bureau. We already know about the mind-boggling stats, the five titles, the two MVPs and 15 All-Star appearances, not to mention the fact Duncan retired in 2016 ranked second in playoff victories, first in playoff double-doubles and third in postseason rebounds. The truth is, it’s impossible to distill Duncan’s career into words or some lengthy think piece. We still toast him when we have dinner: ‘Thank you, Timmy.’ So, obviously special.” That’s something we’re all very happy about. “Everybody knows the story, but it’s true. “It’s a pretty incredible story,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. Just one more tacked on, adding to two decades’ worth in a 19-season NBA career that provided immeasurable contributions toward birthing the culture of the San Antonio Spurs, culminating in Duncan’s induction Saturday into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. But when Tim Duncan’s over there cleaning up your mess, that’s a hell of a statement.” “Timmy was in the gym that day, just working with Lonnie because he was out of shape after missing all that time he tore his meniscus and missed the first eight weeks of the season. Buford recently recalled from an empty patio at a local Mexican restaurant. “Once they got it cleaned up, Timmy’s like, ‘Lonnie, get your ass back out on the court. Immediately, Duncan rushed over to sop up the mess. No shame in an out-of-shape rookie tossing his cookies after a workout with the retired Tim Duncan. SAN ANTONIO - The contents inside Lonnie Walker IV’s gut churned, retched up and splattered into a puddle on the floor. Look back at Tim Duncan's illustrious 19-year NBA career that was filled with MVPs, Finals accolades, championships and more.
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