Tim Duncan Calls It A Career

After 19 of the most successful seasons in NBA history, Tim Duncan officially retired yesterday via a team press release. No ticker tape parade, no call to attention, this legend just decided he was done and let the team handle it for him. While I would have loved to see him go out on top, I certainly am impressed by his illustrious career. IMO, Tim Duncan is the 2nd greatest player to ever play the game of basketball. He is at least the 2nd best during my lifetime. His consistent greatness is something that will never be matched. Another thing that won't be matched is his selfless team play and team first attitude. The Spurs philosophy worked because Duncan was a selfless superstar. The NBA is losing a lot in Duncan's departure, and I am not sure basketball fans realize just what we are losing. Just look at some of his accomplishments listed below and you will see why.

Duncan Accomplishments

5 NBA Championships

2 League MVPs (Should Have Been More, but Nash etc.)

3 Finals MVPs

1072 Wins (1 of 3 in NBA History w/ 1000)

Only Player in NBA History w/ 1000 wins for 1 Team

701 Wins By A Trio (Most All-Time W/ 2nd Round Pick Ginobili, and last pick of Rd. 1 Parker)

.710 Winning Percentage (Best in NBA History)

19 Consecutive Seasons with 60% Wins (Only Player in History Across 4 Major Sports)

19 Consecutive Playoof Appearances 

150 More Wins Than Any NBA Franchise During His Career

Only Player to Start & Win Title in 3 Different Decades

26,000 Points, 15,000 Rebounds, 3,000 Blocks (1 of 2 Players in NBA History)

15 All-NBA Selections (T- Most All-Time)

15 Defensive All-NBA Selections (Most All-Time)

At 40 years Old Led the League in Defensive Rebounds Per Minute

1998 NBA Rookie of the Year

15 Time All-Star

Spurs All-Time Leader in Points

Spurs All-Time Leader in Rebounds

Spurs All-Time Leader in Blocks

Spurs All-Time Leader in Games

Spurs All-Time Leader in Minutes

3rd Most Assists in Spurs History (As a Power Forward!)

5th in NBA History in Double Doubles

5th in NBA History in Blocks

6th in NBA History in Rebounds

14th in NBA History in Points

Only Player in NBA History with 9000+ Playoff Minutes

Most Post Season Double Doubles

Most Post Season Blocks

3rd in Post Season Rebounds

6th in Post Season Scoring

251 Postseason Appearances (2nd All-Time)

1 of 3 Players in NBA History to Spend 19 years w/ One Franchise

1,001 Wins For Duncan and Popovich (Most All-Time for Player Coach Duo)

To me though, his most impressive accomplishment was at 37 years old after one of the most devastating Finals losses of all-time, he led the Spurs back to the 2014 NBA Finals and they won it. That is the legacy of Tim Duncan, but don't take my words for it, look at his peers messages....

Duncan Farewell Messages

The Admiral Who Duncan led to 2 NBA Titles

The Great Sean Elliot Who Duncan Led to an NBA title despite Elliot's Kidney Disease

NBA Commisioner Adam Silver

Former Teammate George Hill

Manu Ginobili Who Played With Duncan For 14 Seasons

Longtime Rival & Friend Dirk Nowitzki

Young Stud Andrew Wiggins

LeBron

NBA Legend Scottie Pippin

Young Spur Kyle Anderson

Former Teammate & Current Warriors Coach Steve Kerr

Danny Green: Teammate for 5 Seasons

1/2 of the Greatest Player Coach Duo Ever (Gregg Popovich)

#ThankYouTD

-Noland

Spurs Win 5th NBA Championship

The San Antonio Spurs proved to be one of the best teams of all-time with a dismantling of the Miami Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals. These Spurs absolutely blasted the Heat in these past three games. Last night, the withstood a 22-6 barrage to start the game and won the game 104-87. The Heat were so dejected at the end of the game that Lebron visibly quit with about 5 minutes left in the game and the Big Three was removed with 2 minutes left. This "super team" couldn't handle the unselfishness and passing ability of the team. San Antonio is the ultimate team with their unselfish play. It never mattered who got the headlines (as it hasn't for the entire Duncan-Popovich era), just that they came out on top. This team was destined to finish on top and all of this was by design, I will tell you how this championship was won.

Tim Duncan Is Historically Great

It is time we start finally appreciating Tim Duncan for all he has accomplished in this league. The guy just won his 5th championship. He has three Finals MVPs, he has two regular season MVPS (robbed of at least two more), 14 all star appearances (12 starts), and yet is underrated. Nobody ever talks about Lebron as one of the truly all-time greats. Lebron and Kobe get compared to Jordan, but not Duncan and it doesn't make sense to me. For the record, Jordan is the best-ever, but Duncan might be the 2nd best I have seen, and no I am not kidding.

Duncan is certainly one of the best defensive players of this generation. He has been rated by basketball reference as a top 5 defensive player every season of his NBA career. This guy rates as the #1 active player and number two defensive player of all-time. For defensive win-shares, Duncan received the highest scores in 5 different seasons. For blocks per game Duncan has the 2nd most active and is #15 all-time. Rebounds per game he is 2nd for active players and #24 all-time. Total rebounds Duncanis #2 currently, and #11 all-time. Total blocks, he is #2 currently and #7 all-time. Duncan has 14 all-defensive 1st or 2nd team awards (5 of those are 2nd team). 

We can add in the offensive statistics to. For points per game, Duncan is no slouch. He has averaged 19.9 points per game over his brilliant career. That is good for 10th among current players and 55th all-time. Despite, being one of the most unselfish players in history, the 5 time champ, has shown he can score when he needs to. Let's not forget the record setting pace for double doubles. Again, according to basketball reference, Duncan is #1 currently for win-shares for the entire league over his career. He is #6 all-time ahead of both Lebron and Kobe. For the record, Kobe is 17 and Lebron is 18.

Look again, I am not saying Duncan is the best ever, but looking at his career and his 5 championships, it is time to put him in the conversation.

Popovich Also All-Time Great

Some people credited Duncan and some people credited Pop. Finally, I think everyone is crediting both of them for this historic amount of success. They are the best organization in sports currently and it starts with those two. The unselfish play of Tim Duncan has to be credited slightly to Pop, and also slightly to his mentor, David Robinson. The unselfish play of the entire team and the system he used has to be credited to Popovich. This guy made this team the most unselfish in sports that I have ever seen. It really is incredible what they have done. While this team was built around Duncan, it was perfected by Popovich and he deserves credit for that. Maximizing talents of guys like Danny Green and Patty Mills is something nobody else has been able to do.

No Excuses About Help

Look this win is about the Spurs and how every player, even the great Tim Duncan, is so unselfish that it doesn't matter who gets the glory. This has never happened with one of Lebron's teams. Lebron always gets the glory. I do not consider myself a Lebron hater, but give it a rest already. The help excuse went out the window when he teamed up with two other current top 10 players to form this Super Team. He said he wouldn't get 1,2,3,4 titles, he claimed he could get more. This guy acted like he could run through the NBA with no resistance now that he finally got help. Also I know that he's old, but they had Ray Allen too. 

Don't forget the important parts though. The personnel moves demanded in Cleveland. Lebron begged Cleveland to get an over the hill Antawn Jamison (a move that strapped Cleveland financially) and give up valuable picks right before he left. He held the team hostage with saying they needed to make moves. His team was never good enough. While he was on Cleveland, they had an all-star in Carlos Boozer and a young guy by the name of Danny Green. None of it was ever good enough for Lebron. Danny Green was so terrible in fact, that he ended up being cut by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Well, look at Green now.

Right behind Tim Duncan, is that same Danny Green. That same Danny Green that Lebron couldn't make better. That same Danny Green who was not good enough. That same Danny Green is a starter for the unselfish team, the San Antonio Spurs.

Kawhi Leonard Has Arrived

Let's not forget what Kawhi Leonard has done. this guy for two straight years has been the answer for Lebron James. Sure, the Heat won last year, but save that miracle finish and questionable officiating in Game 6, Kawhi wins an MVP last year too. This guy was out of this world. He defended Lebron very well for three straight games and outplayed him even. He certainly outhustled Lebron. This guy wanted it more. This team wanted it more.

Now, the rest of the world sees what San Antonio sees and what I have been saying. Kawhi Leonard is a superstar and he has arrived. At 22 years old, he already has one Finals MVP trophy. Don't be surprised if he picks up a few more in his career.

The Other Guys/The Other Effects

Many guys are afraid to admit that they are wrong. Not me. I thought that Manu Ginobili was finished, I thought he played to wreckless at times. However, that was not the case. Manu Ginobili just needed an offseason of rest. The guy plays so much basketball and just needed a break. At 36 years old, Manu has still got it. Manu can still play and after Game 5 of these finals, the NBA was put on notice. This legend is not done yet.

One guy I was not wrong about was Patty Mills. The great Patty Mills has such a great shot and is very useful off the bench. There is nobody that is more likable on this team than Patty. My sister texted me last night, "I love Patty Mills." How can you not love this guy? His energy, his playmaking ability, his demeanor, his selflessness, it is all unmatched. Well unmatched by anyone outside this Spurs organization. In some ways, Patty Mills is the face of this franchise. That is that he never has given up. When counted out, he never gave up. On the court he never gives up. That is the difference between these Spurs and other teams, they never give up on a possession ever.

Finally, I can say that I told you so. I told you that as soon as David Stern retired and they stopped letting Joey Crawford ref closing games the Spurs would win a title. Sure, I didn't go out and say the NBA was fixed, but it looked questionable. Joey Crawford's career reffing Spurs games has been highly questionable. David Stern has long been accused of fixing outcomes. The Oklahoma City-Miami Finals of two years ago was very suspicious. These type of things happened under Stern frequently. However, it didn't happen under Silver. Silver did not try to manipulate the outcome. The NBA is better for not having a meddling owner. This guy could bring a lot of fans back to the NBA, this seemed legit.

This was an awesome season and an awesome outcome. I have very much enjoyed this season and loved last night. The NBA is finally back and I could not be happier. They still got some kinks to work out with the refs, but they are oh so much better. This all just feels right. The Spurs are back where they belong. An unselfish team won the title. Tim Duncan and Greg Popovich got ring number 5. 

The San Antonio Spurs are NBA Champions!

-Noland

Spurs Win 20th Straight

This team moved to 10-0 in the playoffs with a fantastic game again last night. It was also their 20th straight win period. The amazing streak leaves the Spurs just two games shy of the NBA Finals as the series shifts to Oklahoma City. So how did they get here?

It all starts with Gregg Popovich obviously as he has this team on a mission. All season long he has pushed all of the right buttons and it is easy to see how he won coach of the year. He helped create of team of unselfish players as well which definitely helps.

Those unselfish players were lead this year by a man who probably should have been MVP, but didn't even make first team All-NBA. That man is Tony Parker. Usually, Duncan is the leader, but no questioning that it is Parker this season. The point guard again played amazing last night as he had 34 points and 8 assists. Not only that, but he did it efficiently. Parker was 16-21 from the field. When is the last time you saw someone shoot that good from the field. Find me a box score of Lebron's or Kobe's where they shot only 21 times and scored 30+.



Tim Duncan did not have his best shooting night, but he was great and looked fresh. Duncan finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists. He also gave Serge Ibaka a nice facial during the 1st half when he slammed it home. The best power forward ever also blocked 4 shots which may not seem that significant. However, those four blocks tied him for 2nd all time in the playoffs with Hakeem. Duncan needs four more to tie Kareem for the all time record. Five more blocks and Duncan has himself an NBA record. That should happen this season.

Look at this stat and see exactly why the Spurs were so dominant. Rookie Kawhi Leonard recorded a double double. Leonard had 18 points and 10 rebounds in Game 2. This team just plays well together and it does not matter who gets the credit.

They even have Manu Ginobili coming off the bench. He accepts his role as 6th man because it is better for the team. Remember when Allen Iverson said how many all-stars, scoring champs, and MVPs come off the bench? Well, at least one all-star Allen. Also this all-star has a couple rings. Maybe you should have tried it. Ginobili finished with 20 points for the game.

Now the Spurs take their winning streak to Oklahoma City.

-Noland

Spurs Win 19 Straight

It wasn't always pretty, in fact sometimes it was ugly, but the Spurs pulled it out. Despite trailing for the majority of the 3rd quarter and looking absolutely terrible that quarter, the Spurs remained undefeated in these playoffs. They are now up 1-0 over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals behind a 101-98 victory.

Matt Bonner, Boris Diaw, and Danny Green looked awful on offense and for some reason kept jacking threes despite looking awful. Luckily, Splitter, Neal, and Ginobili stepped it up. Tiago Splitter had 9 key points and drew a crucial charge to help turn the game around. Ginobili led the Spurs with 26 points and was definitely the biggest key to the victory tonight. He finally got it going for the Spurs in the 4th after they were struggling a great deal offensively. Gary Neal was huge and was great down the stretch.

The Spurs went with an extremely small lineup at the end of the game. They had Neal, Ginobili, Parker, Jackson and Duncan. You rarely see an NBA team run 4 guards out there, but the Spurs ran this lineup the majority of the 4th quarter. Stephen Jackson did an amazing job guarding Durant and even added a few buckets. Jackson was like Bruce Bowen with his amazing defense. Very nice to see Jackson play great defense like that.

The other two parts of the big 3, Duncan and Parker both had decent, but unspectacular games. Parker had 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Tim Duncan had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Each can definitely play much better though.

The most satisfying part for the Spurs has to be that they won this game despite the turnovers. They had 12 turnovers in the 1st half. How do you win with 12 turnovers in one half? They finished with 17 turnovers for the game. If the Spurs win after that game, then how can they lose? Too much depth, too much skill, too much desire.

-Noland

Spurs Earn 2nd Postseason Sweep

The San Antonio Spurs are now 8-0 in the playoffs. They have now won 18 in a row and look pretty dang formidable. We will see if the Thunder can slow them down. Unless the Lakers manage to overcome a 3-1 deficit to beat the Thunder. Game 5 is tonight and if the Thunder wins the Western Conference Finals will be set.

The Spurs certainly deserved to advance to the finals and they did it due to several standout players. They were led by the great Tim Duncan. Duncan had 21 points and 9 rebounds in a typical Duncan game. Tony Parker continued his outstanding season by adding 17 points. Danny Green continued his breakout season as he added 14. If you had told me Danny Green would have been a critical part of a Spurs run to the Western Conference Finals in the beginning of the year, I probably would not have believed you. This guy and several others just keep coming through though. Another guy is Gary Neal, this guy went undrafted by the Spurs, was sent to the D-League this year and still was huge in a clinching game. Neal had 14 points in just 14 minutes last night. Splitter and Ginobili each added 11. That is 6 guys in double figures. This is actually a team. Unlike some folks in the extreme southeast part of the country.

Fun Fact: This game featured Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili playing their 130th career postgame together. Which is highest for any active trio in the NBA.

Who can stop these Spurs?

-Noland

Spurs Up 3-0

The San Antonio Spurs now have a 3-0 series lead over the Los Angeles Clippers. This series is as good as done. You can see why the Spurs are the title favorite by how much they have dominated thus far in the playoffs. No team has recovered from a 3-0 deficit to win a series in NBA History. The question seems to have shifted to when will these Spurs close this out. It is looking like a Spurs-Thunder showdown is coming very soon. That should be a fantastic series, but for now we will stay focused on the current series.

Blake Griffin had an outstanding game in the loss for the Clippers. Griffin had 28 points and 16 rebounds while looking like the best player on the court. Unfortunately for him, the Spurs had their whole team look good when it mattered. Tony Parker had 23 points and 10 assists in the win. Tim Duncan had 19 points and 13 rebounds. Manu Ginobili had 13 points. Kawhi Leonard had 14 points and 9 rebounds. It is incredible how these guys are playing together.

This game was especially impressive. At one point, the Spurs were down 24 points. They were ice cold to start the game, only scoring 11 points in the 1st quarter. They were able to overcome that though and go on their own 24-0 run in the 3rd quarter. Gregg Popovich must have made some really awesome adjustments to key the comeback. It is going to be incredibly difficult to beat this team.

-Noland

Spurs Continue Playoff Dominance

The San Antonio Spurs have done it again. These Spurs took a 1-0 lead as they edged the Clippers in Game 1. This win is the 15th straight win for the Spurs as they look to capture another NBA title. They did this one behind the veterans as well. They beat the Clippers by 16 points. Look out NBA.

Superstar forward Tim Duncan scored 26 points and had 10 rebounds in the victory. This game was vintage Duncan. Double double and dominance down low, what a great game. Not only that, but he played 35 minutes in the game. He did that while getting almost a full quarter of rest.

Manu Ginobili had 22 points for the Spurs. The Clippers had no answer for Ginobili or Duncan. They also had no answer for the Spurs on the glass. Boris Diaw had 12 rebounds last night. Two guys in double digit rebounds does not speak well of your rebounding totals.

The Spurs also got key contributions from two other players. These players, who others didn't know would react to the playoff stage came up big last night. Rookie Kawhi Leonard had 16 points in a tremendous effort and castoff Danny Green had 15 points. Each of them has 6 rebounds in the game. If Green and Leonard keep coming through, this team will be near impossible to beat. I guess we will find out Thursday Night in Game 2.

-Noland

Spurs With the Sweep

Get out your brooms. The San Anotnio Spurs have swept the Utah Jazz in a very uncompetitive series. Now that we are going to start the second round, things should get interesting. San Antonio, LA, LA, and Oklahoma City is a quality four team playoff. I guess it could still shake out differently though.

Manu Ginobili led the way with 17 points as the Spurs cruised to victory last night. This was the closest game, a 6 point victory, and the Jazz actually had a chance here. All of the other games were double digits victories, including the 31 point blowout in game 2. Tony Parker and Tim Duncan both had 11 points and played their worst games of the postseason so far. The three other starters (Diaw, Leonard, and Green) had a combined 8 points. This was the worst night for the starting five perhaps all season so it was good that Manu stepped up. The fact that the starters only had 29 of the 87 points, shows the depth of this Spurs lineup.

Paul Millsap had an incredible effort in the loss for Utah. He had 19 rebounds. What an amazing effort by Millsap as he dominated the boards. San Antonio did not have a single player in double figures on rebounds. Unfortunately for Millsap he was only 4-17 from the field.

Gary Neal also had 11 points for the Spurs. He was one of the key players off the bench. Neal played just 18 minutes, but he made his impact known. The Utah Jazz sure know who Gary Neal is now. Perhaps the best performance was turned in by Dejuan Blair who had 6 points and 3 rebounds in only 7 minutes of playing time. The Spurs got great efforts from every member of that bench. San Antonio will likely face that LA Clippers next, LA went up 3-1 last night. Looks like Chris Paul stands in the way of San Antonio's 5th NBA title.

-Noland

Spurs Now Take 3-0 Lead

The San Antonio Spurs beat the Utah Jazz 102-90 in an extremely late game 3 last night. These Spurs look tough to beat and are showing why they are the #1 seed. No NBA Team has ever overcome a 0-3 deficit to win a best of seven series.

Tony Parker led the way with 27 points. 16 of those points came in the final quarter to lead the Spurs to victory. Parker went a perfect 6 for 6 from the line in the fourth. He also hit all five field goals he attempted. Tough to beat the Spurs when Parker is on like that.

The Spurs got an unexpected spectacular game from Tiago Splitter. He finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds. Performances like this from Splitter will increase the Spurs championship chances drastically.

Tim Duncan, the Spurs best player, had a mild game for him. The greatest power forward of all time finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. They can win with those numbers, as they showed last night, but they will likely need better against the big boys. That is unless the other guys step up, like Splitter did last night.

The other member of the Big Three, Manu Ginobili, had a very unusual stat line. Ginobili had 6 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds. Those totals worked though because the Spurs played brilliant unselfish basketball.

Stephen Jackson and Danny Green both finished with double figures. They scored 13 and 14 points respectively. Man this Danny Green sure looks like a player surrounded by that Big 3.

-Noland