Wake Forest Demon Deacons: Tim Duncan Retires After 19 Years
Tim Duncan is arguably one of the greatest NBA players ever. You can make a good case that he is the best power forward ever as well.
Today, one of the greatest players, Tim Duncan, retired from the game of basketball. More importantly, Duncan epitomizes class and humility at the highest level.
Duncan attended Wake Forest from 1993 to 1997. As a senior, Duncan won the Naismith, Wooden and USBWA Player of the Year awards. In addition, he won the ACC Player of the Year in back-to-back season in 1996 and 1997. He also led Wake Forest to ACC Tournament championships in 1995 and 1996.
Likewise, Duncan won the NCAA Defensive Player of the Year award in 1995, 1996 and 1997, making him one of three players who won this award three consecutive times. His No. 21 jersey was retired by Wake Forest and rightfully so.
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In the 1997 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs selected Duncan as the overall No. 1 pick. Two years later, Duncan led the Spurs to a championship. Duncan led the Spurs to five championships total throughout his career (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014). He was the NBA Finals MVP in 1999, 2003 and 2005.
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Duncan achieved a great deal of accolades while playing in the NBA. Some of these achievements include being a 10-time member of the All-NBA first team (1998-2005, 2007, 2013), three-time member of the All-NBA second team (2006, 2008, 2009), two-time member of the All-NBA third team (2010, 2015), eight-time NBA All-Defensive First Team (1999-2003, 2005, 2007, 2008), seven-time NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1998, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015), two-time regular season MVP (2001-2002, 2002-2003) and 1998 NBA Rookie of the Year. Duncan won a bronze medal with USA Basketball during the 2004 Olympics.
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Tim Duncan will be remembered as a great player and an even greater man. He shunned the limelight, while quietly leading the Spurs to championships and the NBA in individual accolades. Thank you, Tim Duncan for the blood, sweat and tears you gave for the game of basketball.