http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/spurs/2016/07/11/tim-duncan-retires-spurs/86939976/ As he did with his career, he retired quietly without fanfare or drawing attention to himself. a great contrast to Kobe's farewell tour this past season. Hard to believe it's been 19 years. Seems just a while ago when he and David Robinson were going for the Spur's first NBA title.
Kobe overdid it, but it is a shame that Duncan isn't going to get any of that kind of farewell. You are right that he wouldn't ask for it, but he should get great recognition anyway. What a career!
Recall he was supposed to be a Barnes recruit when he was at Providence. Providence AD wouldn't let Barnes formally offer using scholly of a player that was leaving the team, so Barnes left for Clemson and by then Timmy had already committment to Wake. I think that's how it went down.
Age 39, stuffs a shot in the paint from one of the best leapers in the game to swing a crucial playoff game on the road. Wish there was a better angle of this but I can't find any other than trying to cut and paste from a screenshot of a low-def video.
I remember when he was drafted thinking, "how are they going to play him and Robinson together???" Apparently they knew what they were doing.
