This is an article I felt I had to write. Like it was my obligation to finally say something, anything, about my basketball hero. 

It’s been a while since I’ve used this website, and because of that I wanted to give it a whole new look, a new name, tag, you know, start fresh. Kind of ‘start from scratch’ I guess. The blog is now called ’21 minutes’ and will feature an article every week or two, along with two 21 minute video podcasts on YouTube of me talking about the latest NFL/NBA headlines. It’s time to get more serious about what I wanna do, and with that said I invite you all on a magical ride that embarks on my future. Should be fun. 

I was never insanely big on basketball until about eight grade when I read a book on Tim Duncan. I of course knew who he was, but I never knew his background story. Like how big of a swimmer he was before he touched a basketball, or how his mother died of breast cancer at such a young age, and how she was the reason he decided to finish College instead of going to the NBA sooner, or even that he had won 4 championships at the time for that matter.Which is something I still find insane today. How could I have not known how great Tim Duncan was? How does someone with 4 championships do it so quietly? Kids everywhere know the great and legend that was Kobe Bryant, but Timmy? Not as much. It blows my mind.

I fell in love with his play style, and his attitude on and off the court. People called it boring, while I deeply admired how half of his points came off of open layups and floaters. He ultimately made me a Spurs fan, and to my family and friends, an annoying Spurs fan I might add.

When he captured his fifth championship in 2014, I felt joy everywhere. It was as if I had won that championship playing alongside 21. Seeing Timmy celebrate his fifth championship with his children on Fathers day like that made me tear up and feel so many indescribable emotions.

There isn’t an athlete in this world I have more respect for than Tim Duncan. The man did his job night in and night out, playing his game, helping his team win. He built San Antonio into an even bigger franchise than anyone could’ve ever imagined and rubbed his filthy fingerprints all over the NBA.

He was all around just a classy guy. Always showed respect to the opponent whether he won by twenty, or lost by twenty. He gave a tip of the hat to his opponent every game and that to me was something beautiful and a life lesson time and time again. It’s so hard as humans, and as athletes especially to turn away from a good moment and a bad one as well. To walk away from a victory with our chests pounding, or a smile spread across our face is so hard not to do. And it’s even harder not to walk away from a loss with a sour lip, or our heads down in disbelief. Tim Duncan never did that, which is why everyone in the league respects him. Win or lose, he kinda just shook a hand, said “good game”, looked straight ahead and kept walking, and that to me might be my favorite part about him.

For years I’ve defended the argument that he’s the greatest power forward to play the game and I’ll continue to stick by that opinion.

Nineteen seasons with the same team, with the same head coach. 5 championships, in three different decades even more impressively. 3 Finals MVP’s, 2 regular season MVP’s. 15 All Star appearances, and the list just keeps going. Duncan played with such a level of consistency, and poise which is probably why he found and created so much success in the nineteen seasons.

Getting the notification about his retirement a few weeks ago was shocking to me. Obviously for years people have brought it up, and especially this season with the poor numbers he had at times and the lingering knee injury towards the end of the season, it became a major possibility.  But reading the words “Tim Duncan announces retirement after 19 year career” absolutely broke my heart. I feel grateful to learn about Timmy and fall in love with Timmy’s play before he called it a career. I feel blessed to have been able to see Timmy in action at a Spurs/Celtics game this year. He transformed the Spurs like no other could, and will forever be my favorite basketball player of all time.

There’s theoretically only like a 0.5% chance he’ll ever come across this article, but if he ever did, I’d want him to know how thankful I am to have watched the greatest power forward ever, and the greatest player of our generation play.

Until I have the privilege of shaking your oversized hand, and looking up at your old man self, thank you for everything Tim Duncan, and congrats on an incredible career.