Tim Duncan announces his retirement after a 19-year career

Duncan’s career will be remembered for many things, but his ability to consistently be great is what separates him from nearly every other player who’s ever stepped foot on an NBA floor. During the 1997-1998 season, as a 22-year-old rookie, Duncan averaged 19.4 points, 11 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 blocks per 36 minutes. His PER was 22.6. As a 39-year-old during the 2014-2015 season he averaged 17.3 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.4 blocks per 36 minutes. His PER was 22.6. Duncan never played fewer than 61 games in a season (excluding the 50-game lockout season in 1999) and his team won at least 50 games every year of his career (again, excluding the lockout-shortened ‘99 season).

His game was never flashy, though to true basketball enthusiasts it was more beautiful than anyone else’s. The impeccable footwork from the low block. The genius-level understanding of defensive angles and positioning. The automatic bank shot off the glass. And, perhaps most important of all, the ability to lead by example and desire to empower the revered man now commonly referred to as Pop.

“The truth is we all work for Timmy,” Spurs general manager R.C. Buford is fond of saying.

That right there tells you all you need to know.

Duncan, a native of St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, spent four years at Wake Forest. There he was named ACC Player of the Year twice (1996, ‘97), college basketball’s Defensive Player of the Year three times (1995, ‘96, ‘97) and the Player of the Year in 1997. Despite not playing organized basketball before ninth grade, Duncan was the clear choice for the Spurs with the No. 1 pick of the 1997 NBA Draft.

That the Spurs had the chance to draft Duncan was a result of a bit of luck. David Robinson, the team’s star center and a future Hall of Famer, was forced to miss the entire 1996-97 season due to multiple injuries. San Antonio as a result won just 20 games that year. Over the next three years Duncan emerged as one of the NBA’s top players. He was named league MVP in 2002 and 2003. During the latter of those two seasons he led the Spurs to another title, sending Robinson off to retirement as a two-time champion.

Robinson was gone, but thanks to Duncan’s greatness, the Spurs barely missed a beat. They did fall to the Lakers in the Western Conference’s second round in 2004, thanks mostly to Derek Fisher’s miraculous shot with 0.4 seconds left in Game 5 (which erased a Duncan jumper that would have gone down as one of the most memorable game-winning shots ever).

That was a tough loss but the Spurs bounced back the next season and won the 2005 title, knocking off the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons. For the third time in his career Duncan was named Finals MVP. Two years later the Spurs returned to the Finals where they swept an overmatched Cavaliers team led by a baby-faced LeBron James.

After the 2007 title the Spurs continued to field competitive teams but could not reach the Finals. They came the closest in 2008 but were eliminated in five games in the Western Conference Finals by the Lakers, as Manu Ginobili struggled with an injury. In 2008-09 they couldn’t get past the first round and in 2009-10 they were swept in the second round by the Suns. The following season, San Antonio won 61 games but was upset in the first round by the Grizzlies, as once again Ginobili was limited by injury.

At the beginning of that stretch Duncan’s numbers remained elite, but by 2010 he was posting career-low numbers and not looking as spry on defense as in the past. A knee injury was limiting him and at 34 years of age, it seemed like he was starting to slow down for good and many questioned whether it was time to retire. The Spurs’ budding dynasty seemed to be over, so there was no need to continue to play.

The Spurs redesigned their offensive and defensive systems on the fly and added some new blood in Kawhi Leonard. In 2011-12 they made the Conference Finals and were up 2-0 before falling to the Thunder. The year after Duncan averaged 18 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks and the Spurs made the Finals, where they were extremely close to winning the title before a heartbreaking Ray Allen three-pointer saved the Heat’s season. Miami would win the title in Game 7.

In 2013-14, the Spurs bounced back from that loss by winning 62 regular season games. In overtime of Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals Duncan scored seven of the team’s 11 points to guarantee the win. After the game, the typically quiet Duncan guaranteed a title.

The Spurs put together one of the most dominant Finals series in league history and beat the Heat to give Duncan his fifth ring.

The next year the Spurs couldn’t repeat as champions. Injuries to key players limited them in the regular season, leading to a seventh seed and a first-round matchup against the Clippers. San Antonio was eliminated in seven games despite a terrific series by Duncan, who averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds and three assists while shooting 59 percent from the floor. That was his last hurrah.

The Spurs added LaMarcus Aldridge before the 2015-16 season and Duncan’s role decreased. He posted career-lows in most categories and finally looked his age. Despite winning 67 games, the Spurs couldn’t beat the more athletic Thunder in the conference finals. Duncan was exposed, averaging just six points and four rebounds and getting blocked by Serge Ibaka in a crucial possession.

After that exit, Duncan said he was going to take time to think about his future before deciding to retire.

His career is one of the best in league history, his legacy unimpeachable. Duncan played at a high level for longer than all of his contemporaries and won five championships. He was an example on and off the court. It’s unlikely we’ll see another player who combined the talent, leadership and commitment to the game that Duncan embodied.

Duncan is a first ballot Hall of Famer and arguably a top 10 player in NBA history. The league won’t be the same without him, but his impact will reverberate for years.