Duncan Continues to Prove Critics Wrong
What veteran Tim Duncan from the NBA Southwest division’s San Antonio Spurs might lack in style, he surely makes up for in substance. If the name Tim Duncan is mentioned to a novice basketball fan, you might hear he is underrated, boring, too old and fundamentally talented.
Do not believe everything you hear.
Duncan is playing is 17th season in the NBA and like the Eveready Battery he just keeps going and going and going. This season he is scoring 15 points a game, pulling down 10 rebounds a game, dishing out 3 assists a game and blocking 2 shots per game.
Duncan continues to prove critics wrong, as he has led his Spurs teammates into the postseason with unprecedented regularity. Many have said he would not last this long, or this year is his last. However, he returns each season to lead his team to the playoffs again.
Duncan has won four NBA Titles in his illustrious career that started in San Antonio and will end in San Antonio. He has three MVP awards in the NBA Finals as well as other statistical records too long to count.
Duncan just passed Bill Russell, the legendary Hall of Famer, on the career double-double list to move into sixth place all time. Only a few nights later, the Spurs’ big man was at it again with his 787th double-double versus Sacramento.
Duncan rarely shows much emotion on the court. He will give you a fist pump on occasion, or his bug-eyed stare that he gives officials when he is fouled and it’s not called or when he is called for a foul he cannot believe. However, that quickly passes and it is back to business as usual churning out numbers that have Hall of Fame written all over them.
Duncan was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands and was picked No. 1 in the NBA Draft in 1997 by the Spurs. He has played with the Spurs his entire career and for just one coach for that time – Gregg Popovich. The two have a relationship few coaches and players have in the NBA, which is built on the mutual respect one has for the other.
His coach says Duncan has a great deal of respect for those who played before him, but when it comes to personal legacy or accolades, it does not enter his mindset. Popovich said that is not being disrespectful to the game, it is just who Duncan is.
Duncan is one of the most fundamentally sound players to play the game. He is not the offensive force he once was, but still scores in double figures. On defense, he has been named to eight All Defensive first teams in his career. He leaping ability is not what it was, but he can track rebounds, block shots and continues to be the Spurs last line of defense near the rim.
After losing in seven games to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals last season, few felt the Spurs and much less, Duncan would return for another championship run.
The team has been decimated with injuries and recently lost three straight, but they remain one of the top three teams in the Western Conference and who knows what might happen once the playoffs start.
