By Ovunc Kutlu
NEW YORK (AA) – Future NBA Hall of Famer Tim Duncan will retire after 19 seasons, the San Antonio Spurs said in a statement Monday.
Dubbed The Big Fundamental for his effective and text-book style of play, Duncan helped the Spurs win 5 NBA titles during his career and became the only player in league history to win a championship in three different decades.
The 40-year-old power forward had 1,072 wins against just 438 losses during regular season play, posting a 71 percent winning percentage, the best 19-year record for any team in the four major American sports leagues — basketball, football, baseball and ice hockey — according to the team.
Duncan is known for his calm aura on and off the court but he managed to rack up a lot of hardware during his playing days. He was named Rookie of the Year in 1998, chosen league’s most valuable player in 2002 and 2003, and NBA Finals MVP in 1999, 2003 and 2005.
He was also selected to the All-NBA Team, All-Defensive Team and All-Star teams 15 times each.
The Wake Forest graduate is only one of two players in NBA history to record at least 26,000 points, 15,000 rebounds and 3,000 blocks in his career. The legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the only other player to hold that distinction.
Duncan is the Spurs’ all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocked shots, minutes, games played and he helped the team to a franchise-best 67 wins this past season.
The U.S. Virgin Island native and head coach Gregg Popovich has the most wins by a player-coach duo in league history recording 1,001 victories.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver thanked Duncan in a statement and praised his “devotion to excellence and mastery of the game”.
Teammate Manu Ginobili said via Twitter: “Even tho I knew it was coming, I’m still moved by the news. What a HUGE honor to have played with him for 14 seasons!.”
Other NBA teams, including the Orlando Magic, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, and New Orleans Pelicans thanked Duncan via Twitter.
