Tim Duncan, The Big Fundamental

The boss of the Spurs, five times NBA champions, it was him. Until he declared in 2008, as in a handover, that his little protégé, Tony Parker, was eligible for the MVP title. “I think he deserves to get votes. With all the injuries we had, it was Tony who kept the team competitive all the way through. He delivered his best NBA season and I think he should be in the top five in the league.”

Words that he could have said later with the blossoming of Kawhi Leonard. Model of modesty but also altruism, even financial, Timothy Theodore Duncan knows what he is talking about. If he never made the back-to-back for the championship, he put his name on the MVP list, and for some, he is the best player of his generation, ahead of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. ” The elite players are those who help their team by taking it up a step in the League. That’s what separates the good ones from the great ones. “

Too modest to specify which category he falls into, Tim Duncan is unquestionably in the latter. He was the seventh player in history to win back-to-back MVP awards, the first since Michael Jordan. ” I never thought I’d be on this list,” he says, followed by Steve Nash, LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

He leaves the scene, without a farewell tour

When he won his second trophy in 2003, Tim Duncan was 27 years old. He had more than 10,000 points and more than 5,000 rebounds. He is the 13th to achieve this performance. With the interior of the Spurs, the minimum union is 20 points-10 rebounds per game. The proof is in his 58 double-doubles that year. In two times-three movements, he makes you tip over a game, whether it is on a shot with the board, a perfectly mastered gesture, or on a small hook. Gregg Popovich is never stingy with compliments when it comes to his colt, the cornerstone of a mini-dynasty established in 1999 at the end of a season shortened by the lockout. ” The day Timmy stops, I’ll just have to retire, ” said “Pop” at the time, before changing his mind after the arrival of LaMarcus Aldridge. In the end, it was Duncan who joined the Popovich bench and the Spurs coach had this good word: “It’ s only natural that after serving faithfully as an assistant to Tim Duncan for 19 years, he returns the favor.

When he decided to leave, Duncan did so overnight in the summer of 2016. He wasn’t interested in Kobe Bryant-style farewell tours. He said we wouldn’t find out until the last minute. Without fanfare, without trumpets, without rhinestones, without glitter. He still had a year left on his contract…

For the rest, it is not for nothing that he was nicknamed “The Big Fundamental”. Shaquille O’Neal has taken up the phrase somewhat ironically, but Duncan is the only NBA basketball player who finds favor in his eyes. “ No player has dominated this league more than I have. The only one who has is Tim Duncan, and I don’t consider him a pivot. ”

“I like the power of silence”

Discreet, self-effacing, the man is more of a “quiet man”, like his disciple Kawhi Leonard. In 2002, the year of his first MVP title, Gregg Popovich pushed him, not without difficulty, to give a little more voice to his partners while David Robinson was injured. The former Virgin Islands swimmer had to force his nature but not his game. He expresses himself at the highest level, without frills. An ideal teammate, not egotistical at all and capable of the right gesture that makes you win. Deaf to the critics who at one time associated him with the Spurs’ soporific game (he preferred to stack up titles…). Tim Duncan summed up his personality quite well when he once analyzed his main strength: ” I like the power of silence. You can destroy your opponents like that. They can yell in your face, you respond with a shot, a rebound or a counter. They hate it.”

That’s how Big Tim is. He controls, demolishes and frustrates his opponents, both physically and psychologically. The big guy doesn’t like to lose. His five championship rings are the best proof. Incredible destiny for this outstanding swimmer who was aiming for the Olympic Games on his island before seeing Hurricane Hugo destroy his work tool… If we talk only about sports, we can consider Duncan as the best strong winger in the history of basketball, even if he played several seasons as a pivot. He has the record and the game, with a decisive impact on both sides of the floor.

What place in history?

But what place will he occupy in the collective memory compared to a Charles Barkley or a Karl Malone who had otherwise more personality (for better or for worse)?

Today, there is no doubt that he has surpassed them, and he has his place in the Top 15 of the best players in history with his 26,496 points, 15,091 rebounds and 3,020 assists in his career. His five titles and 1,072 wins to 438 losses for his career, which is 71 th wins, speak for themselves. This is simply the highest percentage over such a period in NBA history! His loyalty to the same team too. His regularity at the highest level too. Some even place him above Kobe Bryant. History will tell.

NBA Champion: 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014

MVP : 2002, 2003

All-Stars: 15 selections

Rookie Of The Year: 1998

NBA games : 1 392

Career averages: 19.0 pts, 10.8 rbds, 3.0 pds and 2.2 cts/m