Source: Andy Lyons / Getty
One of the greatest NBA players ever has announced that he is calling it quits. Tim Duncan is saying farewell to the league.
Duncan’s career will be remembered for many things, but his ability to consistently be great is what separates him from nearly every other player who’s ever stepped foot on an NBA floor. During the 1997-1998 season, as a 22-year-old rookie, Duncan averaged 19.4 points, 11 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 blocks per 36 minutes. His PER was 22.6. As a 39-year-old during the 2014-2015 season he averaged 17.3 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.4 blocks per 36 minutes. His PER was 22.6. Duncan never played fewer than 61 games in a season (excluding the 50-game lockout season in 1999) and his team won at least 50 games every year of his career (again, excluding the lockout-shortened ’99 season).
He, along with Gregg Popovich, transformed the small-market San Antonio Spurs into a powerhouse of a franchise, a team and organization, that every other one in world of professional sports has looked to emulate for years. And it all started with the man known as the Big Fundamental.
Here is a look at Duncan over the years… Props to The Big Fundamental!
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- Barry Gossage
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- Nathaniel S. Butler
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- Bill Baptist
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- Nathaniel S. Butler
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- Andrew D. Bernstein
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- Layne Murdoch
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- Andreas Rentz
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- Tom Pennington
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- Ronald Martinez
