Tim Duncan
The Big Fundamental. Tim Duncan won five titles in 19 seasons with San Antonio using bank shots, footwork and calm. He is the quiet blueprint for a winning big man.
Tim Duncan, Spurs: Geoff Livingston, CC BY 2.0
A swimmer turned center
Tim Duncan grew up on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands and wanted to be an Olympic swimmer. When Hurricane Hugo destroyed the island's only Olympic-size pool in 1989, he turned to basketball, a sport he had barely played.
He stayed all four years at Wake Forest, rare even then for a top prospect, and San Antonio made him the first pick in 1997.
His older sister Tricia swam for the Virgin Islands at the 1988 Olympics. At Wake Forest, Tim grew into a two-time conference player of the year and the national player of the year as a senior.
Bank shots and footwork
Duncan's nickname, the Big Fundamental, said it all. He used the backboard on his shots, set perfect screens, rebounded, defended and rarely made a mistake. He did not chase highlights, and he rarely smiled on camera, but he won constantly.
He was Rookie of the Year in 1998, won the title and Finals MVP in his second season, and added MVP awards in 2002 and 2003.
His partnership with David Robinson, the Spurs' star center before him, gave San Antonio its Twin Towers. Robinson handed over the lead role without complaint, and the two won titles together in 1999 and 2003, Robinson's final season.
Five rings across three decades
With coach Gregg Popovich and later with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, Duncan won titles in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014. The 15-year gap between his first and last title shows how long he stayed elite. The Duncan, Parker and Ginobili trio won four championships together.
He made 15 All-NBA teams and 15 All-Defensive teams and retired in 2016 with more than 26,000 points and 15,000 rebounds. He entered the Hall of Fame in 2020.
Why he matters
Duncan proved that a team built on unselfishness could last. The Spurs made the playoffs every season he played. He accepted lower salaries late in his career so the team could keep good players around him.
For Fly Baller readers working on their game, Duncan is the lesson that fundamentals never go out of style. A drop step, a bank shot and a well-timed outlet pass win in every era.
The Spurs won 1,072 regular season games with Duncan on the roster, the most by any player with a single franchise, and they retired his number 21 in December 2016.
- Tim Duncan, Spurs: Geoff Livingston, CC BY 2.0
- Duncan and the Spurs: Mike, CC BY-SA 2.0
Text written by Fly Baller.
