Mitchell & Ness Swingman Tim Duncan San Antonio Spurs 98/99 Jersey

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He's a great player, such a team guy. ... He's a great leader on this team, and I think anybody that has ever played on this team would tell you the same. More so than anything, I think he just wanted to be one of the guys. He wanted to fit in and be one of the guys, and of course as a coach, you love that situation because with the humility that he has, that makes him just very coachable. Whenever you're able to coach your superstars the way that Pop has been able to coach him, then the other guys, they really don't have a choice. They have to fall in line." On Sunday night, Tim Duncan became the eighth Spurs player in franchise history to have his jersey retired. Soobum Im/USA TODAY Sports We’re talking about it, and I said, ‘Listen, Tim, my job is to represent you. So, I can’t really be worried about David’s point of view on this,’ ” said Babby, who also represented Hall of Fame inductee Tamika Catchings. “He turned to me and said, ‘Well, you might not have to worry about it, but I do because I’m gonna be his teammate. I’m coming in, and he’s been the star of this team. I need to be sensitive to his feelings.’ Keep in mind that despite Duncan’s near-flawless fundamentals, he never flashed awe-inspiring athleticism. Former Wake Forest teammate and close friend Marc Blucas jokes that “he and I will both tell you that he can’t jump over a phone book.” Duncan, Parker and Ginobili combined to capture 126 career playoff victories together, the most in NBA history by any trio. That group also owns the most regular-season wins in NBA history (575) and is the first set of three teammates or more to win four championships together since Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Cooper and Kurt Rambis, according to Elias Sports Bureau research.

Duncan proved to be the key player in both seasons’ campaigns, winning ACC Defensive Player of the Year on both occasions. The San Antonio Spurs honored Duncan, the five-time NBA champion, two-time Most Valuable Player, three-time Finals MVP and 15-time All-NBA selection, with a series of speeches and stories that captured what made him just about peerless when it came to combining on-court excellence with quiet leadership. Tim graduated from St. Dunstan’s Episcopal High School. Later, he attended Wake Forest University for the higher studies. Early Life & Swimming Duncan also joins John Salley as just the second player in the league annals to win an NBA title in three different decades. LEADERSHIP THROUGH SELFLESSNESS: In Duncan’s 19 seasons as a player and one as an assistant on the Spurs staff, Buford said nobody in the organization can remember a single instance he was late.Tim Duncan was keenly aware of how his words and actions could affect his teammates — whether they were superstars or role players. While snorkeling with Duncan on a sun-drenched summer day in St. Croix, Blucas unwittingly stepped on a sea urchin and into his own Lonnie Walker-like story. Cheryl is a nurse who was initially a swimmer. At the same time, Tricia represented the U.S. Virgin Islands at the 1988 Summer Olympics for swimming. Scott is a film director and cinematographer. But he owes that to the fans to go out there and let them applaud him for what he’s done. He understands that.” With Timmy, it softened them,” Buford explained. “It wasn’t so regimented and rigid [anymore]. I think with the way Pop and Tim connected it also became a very caring environment.”

I’m like, ‘Go f— yourself. You are not pissing on me. Now, I know this is bull—-,’ ” he said. “Of course, it wasn’t. I did end up peeing on my foot and it felt much better. But it’s such a similar thing to Lonnie’s story. It’s about not taking yourself too seriously. It’s having a sense of humor. It’s this great balance of, ‘We’re gonna work our asses off, and that’s what’s expected of everybody. So, let’s have a good time doing it. Let’s really be friends.’Duncan remains embedded with the Spurs and has appeared frequently at practice this season, working out with former teammates while spending time playing one-on-one with Gasol and counseling younger players, such as Jonathon Simmons and rookie point guard Dejounte Murray. Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks, who played with Duncan on the Spurs from 2003 to 2006 and served as an assistant coach from 2013 to 2016, attended the ceremony with his family, despite the fact his current squad was on the road Sunday at Philadelphia. Former Spurs Malik Rose, Antonio Daniels, Danny Manning and Will Perdue also attended Sunday's ceremony, as did Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, a former San Antonio assistant. The siblings had to face the grief of their mother’s death due to breast cancer a day before Tim’s 14 th birthday.