Tim Duncan

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This article is about the American basketball player. For the American football
placekicker, see Tim Duncan (American football). For the gospel singer, see Tim
Duncan (singer).

Tim Duncan

Duncan with the Spurs in 2011

San Antonio Spurs

Position Assistant coach

League NBA

Personal information

Born April 25, 1976 (age 44)

Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)

Listed weight 250 lb (113 kg)

Career information

High school St. Dunstan's Episcopal

(Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands)

College Wake Forest (1993–1997)

NBA draft 1997 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall

Selected by the San Antonio Spurs

Playing career 1997–2016

Position Power forward / Center

Number 21

Coaching career 2019–present

Career history

As player:

1997–2016 San Antonio Spurs

As coach:

2019–present San Antonio Spurs (assistant)

Career highlights and awards

 5× NBA champion (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014)
 3× NBA Finals MVP (1999, 2003, 2005)

 2× NBA Most Valuable Player (2002, 2003)

 15× NBA All-Star (1998, 2000–2011, 2013, 2015)

 NBA All-Star Game MVP (2000)

 10× All-NBA First Team (1998–2005, 2007, 2013)

 3× All-NBA Second Team (2006, 2008, 2009)

 2× All-NBA Third Team (2010, 2015)

 8× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1999–2003, 2005, 2007, 2008)

 7× NBA All-Defensive Second

Team (1998, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015)

 NBA Rookie of the Year (1998)

 NBA All-Rookie First Team (1998)

 NBA Teammate of the Year (2015)

 No. 21 retired by San Antonio Spurs

 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (2003)

 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year (2003)

 Consensus National College Player of the Year (1997)

 2× Consensus first-team All-American (1996, 1997)

 Chip Hilton Player of the Year (1997)

 NCAA rebounding leader (1997)

 3× NABC Defensive Player of the Year (1995–1997)

 2× ACC Player of the Year (1996, 1997)

 3× First-team All-ACC (1995–1997)

 No. 21 retired by Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Career statistics

Points 26,496 (19.0 ppg)

Rebounds 15,091 (10.8 rpg)

Assists 4,225 (3.0 apg)

Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

College Basketball Hall of Fame

Inducted in 2017

Medals[hide]
 Men's basketball
Representing   United States
Olympic Games
2004 Athens Team competition
FIBA Americas Championship
1999 San Juan Team competition
2003 San Juan Team competition
Goodwill Games
1994 St. Petersburg Team competition
Summer Universiade
1995 Fukuoka Team competition

Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976)[1] is an American

professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the San
Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is often regarded as the
greatest power forward of all time, and as one of the greatest players in NBA history.
[2]
 He spent his entire 19-year playing career with the Spurs.
Duncan started out as an aspiring swimmer and did not begin playing basketball until
ninth grade, when Hurricane Hugo destroyed the only available Olympic-sized pool in
his homeland of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. In high school, he played basketball
for St. Dunstan's Episcopal. In college, Duncan played for the Wake Forest Demon
Deacons, and in his senior year, he earned the John Wooden Award as well
as Naismith College Player of the Year and USBWA College Player of the Year.
After graduating from college, Duncan went on to win NBA Rookie of the Year after
being selected by San Antonio with the first overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft. He
primarily played the power forward position, and also played center throughout his
career. He is a five-time NBA champion, a two-time NBA MVP, a three-time NBA Finals
MVP, a 15-time NBA All-Star,[3] and the only player to be selected to both the All-
NBA and All-Defensive Teams for 13 consecutive seasons.[4]
Off the court, Duncan created the Tim Duncan Foundation to raise health awareness
and to fund education and youth sports programs.

Contents

 1Early life
 2College career
 3Professional career
o 3.1"Twin Towers" (1997–2003)
o 3.2Leader of the Spurs (2003–2007)
o 3.3Playoff disappointments (2007–2013)
o 3.4Fifth championship (2013–2014)
o 3.5Late career (2014–2016)
 4Coaching career
 o 4.1San Antonio Spurs (2019–present)
 5Career statistics
o 5.1NBA
 5.1.1Regular season
 5.1.2Playoffs
o 5.2College
 6National team career
 7Player profile
o 7.1Honors
 8BlackJack Speed Shop
 9Personal life
 10See also
 11References
 12Further reading
 13External links

Early life[edit]
Tim Duncan was born and raised on Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. He is the son of
Ione, a professional midwife, and William Duncan, a mason. He has two older sisters,
Cheryl and Tricia, and one older brother, Scott, who became a film
director and cinematographer.[5] Cheryl was a champion swimmer before she became a
nurse, and Tricia swam for the U.S. Virgin Islands at the 1988 Summer
Olympics in Seoul.[6]
In school, Duncan was a bright pupil and dreamt of becoming an Olympic-level
swimmer like his sister Tricia.[7][8] His parents were very supportive, and Duncan excelled
at swimming, becoming a teenage standout in the 50, 100, and
400 meters freestyle and aiming to go to the 1992 Olympic Games as a member of the
United States Team.[7]
In 1989, after Hurricane Hugo had destroyed the one Olympic-sized swimming pool on
the island, Duncan was forced to swim in the ocean instead, and his fear of sharks
ruined his enthusiasm for the sport.[7] Duncan was dealt another emotional blow when
his mother, suffering from breast cancer, died one day before his 14th birthday. [7] On her
deathbed, she made Duncan and his sisters promise that no matter what they would
graduate from college having obtained a degree, going a long way in explaining
Duncan's later refusal to leave his college early for the NBA. [9]
Duncan never swam competitively again, but his brother-in-law inspired him to turn to
basketball.[9] Initially, Duncan had difficulties adapting to the game he thought would help
relieve his pain and frustration. Nancy Pomroy, the athletic director of the St. Croix
Country Day School, explains, "[Duncan] was so huge. So big and tall, but he was
awfully awkward at the time."[10] He overcame his awkwardness to become a standout
for the St. Dunstan's Episcopal High School, averaging 25 points per game as a senior.
His play attracted the attention of several universities, despite his having picked up the
game only in ninth grade.[11] Wake Forest University basketball coach Dave Odom, in
particular, grew interested in Duncan after the 16-year-old allegedly played NBA
star Alonzo Mourning to a draw in a 5-on-5 pick-up game.[7] Odom was searching for a
tall, physical player to play near the basket. [7] Given the weak level of basketball in the
Virgin Islands, Odom was wary about Duncan at first, especially after first meeting him
and thinking him to be inattentive; Duncan stared blankly at Odom for most of the
conversation.[12] However, after the first talk, Odom understood that this was just
Duncan's way of paying attention and discovered that he was not only a talented athlete
but also a quick learner.[12] Eventually, despite scholarship offers by the University of
Hartford, the University of Delaware, and Providence College, Duncan joined Odom's
Wake Forest Demon Deacons.[7]

College career[edit]
In the year before Duncan's arrival at Wake Forest University, the Demon Deacons
reached the Sweet 16, but then lost leading scorer Rodney Rogers, who entered
the 1993 NBA draft.[7] In the 1993–94 NCAA season, Coach Dave Odom was
considering redshirting Duncan, but was forced to play him after fellow freshman big
man Makhtar N'Diaye violated NCAA rules and eventually transferred to Michigan.
[13]
 Duncan struggled with early transition problems and was even held scoreless in his
first college game, but as the year progressed, he and teammate Randolph
Childress led the Deacons to a 20–11 win–loss record. [7] Duncan's style of play was
simple yet effective, combining an array of low-post moves, mid-range bank shots, and
tough defense. He was chosen to represent the U.S. in the 1994 Goodwill Games.
[7]
 Meanwhile, Duncan worked towards a degree in psychology and also took classes
in anthropology and Chinese literature.[12] Despite his heavy focus on basketball, Wake
Forest psychology department chairperson Deborah Best said, "Tim [...] was one of my
more intellectual students. [...] Other than his height, I couldn't tell him from any other
student at Wake Forest."[12] Duncan also established his reputation as a stoic player, to
the extent that opposing fans taunted him as "Mr. Spock", the prototypical logical,
detached character from Star Trek.[12]