By: Kylan W. Watson
It was a big weekend in the world of sports with, Serena Williams capturing her 22nd title, a new fierce five in gymnastics, and Portugal’s stunning victory in the Euro 2016 tournament. San Antonio Spurs Power Forward Tim Duncan announced his retirement.
Tim Duncan a staple of the basketball world since 1997 has called it a career. Tim Duncan retired with five championships, 15 all-star game appearances, he is sixth in blocks, he is 14th on the National Basketball Association’s all-time scoring list, and he joins Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Robert Parish as the only players to win 1,000 games.
Duncan led the Spurs to 19 playoff appearances, and he also joins his fellow legend Kobe Bryant in retiring this season. This season Duncan averaged 8.6 points per game, grabbed 7.6 rebounds, and averaged 1.7 blocks per game. Duncan sat on the bench for his last game as the Spurs were eliminated by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2016 Western Conference semifinals.
Duncan played with a lot of great players he was mentored by David “Admiral” Robinson. The duo was known as the “Twin Towers”, even at the young age of 21, Duncan came into the league with a set of skills, not seen in a long time. He also played with Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and his coach Gregg Popovich.
With Duncan’s retirement Kevin Garnett is now the only player left from that legendary class of late 90’s NBA greats. That class of greats includes, Grant Hill, Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, Paul Pierce, and many others.
Duncan’s retirement also now represents a new era in San Antonio Spurs basketball. Now the Spurs are being led by star Small Forward Kawhi Leonard, and Power Forward LaMarcus Aldridge it’s now their team. Both of those players have big shoes to fill with the retirement of Duncan.
