Who is the greatest player not to have a “victory” celebration retirement? And why not? Here’s part of the story of Tim Duncan taken from Yahoo sports:
San Antonio Spurs big man Tim Duncan, a five-time NBA champion, two-time Most Valuable Player and three-time NBA Finals MVP regarded by many as the greatest power forward of all time, announced Monday morning that he is retiring after 19 seasons in which he defined consistent brilliance and served as the cornerstone of the Spurs’ rise into the model NBA franchise.
Well, technically, he didn’t announce anything. The news came down, quietly, in a Spurs press release trumpeting the team’s sterling record since Duncan’s arrival out of Wake Forest with the No. 1 pick in the 1997 NBA draft: a 1,072-438 regular-season record, a .710 winning percentage, the best 19-year run in NBA history, the highest-such mark in any of the four major American professional sports over the duration of Duncan’s career. The release features no quotes from Duncan himself, which would be the most Tim Duncan thing of all time if not for this kicker:
The 40-year-old made 15 All-Star appearances, 15 All-NBA teams (including 10 appearances on the First Team) and 15 All-Defensive Teams (eight First Team) in his illustrious career; the All-NBA and All-Defensive berths are the most in league history. He is the Spurs’ record book, topping San Antonio’s franchise history in virtually every significant category.
He retires in the top 10 in NBA history in regular-season games and minutes played, offensive, defensive and total rebounds, and blocked shots, and 14th on the all-time scoring list with 26,496 points. The list of players to total 26,000 points, 15,000 rebounds and 3,000 blocks is two names long: Duncan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
So: what can you learn from Duncan’s example? In what ways does he best exemplify the Code? What trait do you most admire?
