Mitchell & Ness Swingman Tim Duncan San Antonio Spurs 98/99 Jersey

Product Information

I don't know how many accolades you could ever put up on this guy," said Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry. He's the only teammate that never asked me or talked to me to get the ball," Parker joked. "He just looked at me. And when you're 19 years old coming from France, that's very scary when he looks at you. He doesn't have to talk to you. Most of the guys [are like], 'Hey, Tony, I'm open.' But Timmy just looked at me. I'd be like, 'Hey, Pop, Timmy looked at me. We should run a play.' Pop would be like, 'He really looked at you?' I was like, 'Yeah, so we should run a play. If you want me to be the point guard tomorrow, [let's] pass him the ball right now.'" First off, you can’t have that level of success without being a killer,” Blucas said. “But he didn’t pound his chest and scream in people’s faces. Different superstars have different styles of leadership. Tim’s always going to be the guy to put his arm around you first instead of getting in your face. That’s just who he is. He’s gonna come to you with love before he comes at you with challenge, aggression, competitiveness, anger and intensity.” As the Spurs started preparations for Duncan’s induction ceremony, a contingent of staffers strolled past general manager Brian Wright’s office. Surprisingly, they discovered both of Duncan’s MVP trophies and one of his three Finals MVP awards sitting in a box, caked in dust.

Timmy would set The Gun up for himself, and he would take it down for himself,” Buford said. “No other player ever did that. They get the manager to set it up, and they get the manager to take it down. That’s a tone that he set. It was never with his voice, but with his personality that Timmy set the tone.”Michael Jordan will present the late Kobe Bryant, and that part of the ceremony should dominate the spotlight.

In his school days, Tim aimed to reach the Olympic level at swimming, just like his sister. He was brilliant in swimming and stood out in the 50, 100, and 400 meters freestyle. SAN ANTONIO— The contents inside Lonnie Walker IV’s gut churned, retched up and splattered into a puddle on the floor. Ginobili said he misses Duncan’s calming presence with the Spurs, especially after losses. He said he’ll miss his dry sense of humor, the respect his teammates gave him and his big plays down the stretch, too. While Parker misses Duncan on the court, their friendship has continued off of it. Then, there’s the day-to-day Duncan at the team’s training facility, his leadership through deeds, not words.Ginobili told a story about the 2006 NBA playoffs to illustrate the type of teammate Duncan was. Ginobili committed a late turnover that cost the Spurs a game against the Sacramento Kings, tying the series at 2. But a look inside Tim Duncan, the man, provides some clues explaining how a rail-thin kid from the U.S. Virgin Islands — one with aspirations to become an Olympic swimmer before Hurricane Hugo destroyed all the local pools in 1989 — took the league by storm and elevated not only the unproven Popovich but an entire NBA franchise with simple, yet crucial character attributes instilled by his parents, Delysia Ione and William Duncan, on the 82-square-mile island of St. Croix in the Caribbean. Duncan conducted himself similarly with the franchise over the years when it came to transactions. Buford and Popovich always made it a point to involve the club’s star player in any discussions about potential moves that needed to be made. Buford even admitted that “the kiss of death was to become good friends with Tim because I think we traded everyone that Timmy was good friends with. It started with Cory Alexander, then (Phoenix Suns coach) Monty (Williams), then Malik (Rose), Antonio Daniels.”

Tim graduated from St. Dunstan’s Episcopal High School. Later, he attended Wake Forest University for the higher studies. Early Life & Swimming Duncan was selected in the 1997 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs. He paired with David Robinson, popularly known as “Twin Towers.” Earning good impressions from the beginning, Duncan was voted to the 1998 NBA All-Star Game by coaches. He wanted to pursue a career in swimming. But the wish was ruined by a hurricane that destroyed his hometown’s only available Olympic-sized pool. This made Duncan one of only two players to win the Championship in three decades. Late Playing CareerWe understand that the 15-year span between Duncan’s first title (1999) and last (2014) ranks as the second longest in league history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (17 years) among players participating in both NBA Finals series, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The big thing that differentiates [Duncan] from the other superstars is that he wanted to be coached just like the 12th or 13th guy on the team," Gentry said. "You're able to get on him, you're able to do a lot of things, and he's just a tremendous guy. I was in Phoenix most of the time, and he made life miserable for us there. So we kind of wish he would've retired about eight years ago. I think we would have been much better off in Phoenix. Obviously, he’s honored by it, reveres the institution of the Hall of Fame and is proud and grateful for the honor. But staying true to what he is and what he’s done, for him, it’s not about the limelight, the speeches or the trophy room. I don’t know how that kind of success, money, fame and impact doesn’t change you. But damn it, he’s the same kid I met when he was 17 years old, 200 pounds soaking wet. But he owes that to the fans to go out there and let them applaud him for what he’s done. He understands that.” Duncan rejoined the Spurs as an assistant coach in July 2019. He had a 104-103 win against the Charlotte Hornets on his debut as an acting head coach on March 3, 2020.