One of the all-time greatest power forwards in history celebrates the big 4-0 Monday.
Timmy Duncan, also one of the most under-rated players in the history of the sport, is still an integral part of the Spurs dynamic, and could capture a milestone championship this year even more impressive than his age.
Duncan has five NBA titles. One more and he ties Michael Jordan. It’s a feat that’s possible right now considering the Spurs recorded one of the best seasons in NBA history this year (67-15) but were overshadowed by the record-breaking Golden State Warriors who went 73-9.
To tilt the odds even more towards Duncan’s Spurs — the fact that MVP Steph Curry is battling a grueling ankle injury.
So what if Duncan gets title number six this year? At age 40. Would he matter then?
Although he’s only averaging 9 points and 7 rebounds per game this season, let me remind you of the forwards career accomplishments:
- 3x NBA Finals MVP
- 2x NBA MVP
- 15x NBA All-Star
- 10x NBA All-First Team
- 8x NBA All-Defensive Team
- 1998 NBA Rookie of the Year
- Master of the bank shot – 60% from the field when banking.
- San Antonio Spurs all-time leading scorer
- Again, 5x NBA champion
That’s all-time great, folks. Like, top 15 players all-time great.
ESPN broke down Duncan’s magnificent career in these beautiful infographics as well.
He doesn’t have that Magic/Bird/Jordan -esque iconic moment that we will always remember. But he does have this, which is the most viral Tim Duncan video on Youtube:
Works for me!
Happy 40th, Tim. I still have your jersey and I’m never getting rid of it.
Josh Helmuth is the editor of Crave Sports. Follow him on Twitter or like the channel on Facebook.
