Duncan jersey retired
The AT&T Center was filled to the rafters yesterday, and not because a humdinger looked to play out on the court. Indeed, interest from the 18,581 on hand and the countless others who watched the live broadcast centered on what was scheduled after the Spurs-Pelicans set-to, which predictably proved one-sided in favor of the hosts. All-Time All- Star Tim Duncan’s jersey was headed to the rafters, and longtime habitues and casual observers of the sport rightly deemed the event a must-see.
Significantly, Duncan himself was far from enamored with the prospect of having to face prying, if admiring, eyes; closest friends Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili and “soulmate in life” Gregg Popovich candidly admitted that they looked forward to the ceremony far more than he did. Unlike most other marquee names of his generation, he is notoriously averse to being fussed over; heck, he announced his retirement last July through the Spurs, preferring to make his sentiments known via a fiveparagraph missive he signed, simply, “Tim.”
Still, Duncan knew he owed it to all and sundry — and particularly the teeming fans who stood by him from the moment he was drafted first overall in 1997 — to show up yesterday. And so he did, occasionally smiling (no doubt through gritted teeth), constantly fidgeting in his seat. He suffered the millions of grateful fools who understood too well that an era ended when he saw fit to hang up his sneakers; he showed up in a suit (no tie, though) and, after alternately being honored and roasted, gave a speech that, needless to say, was short but nonetheless tugged at the heartstrings.
Duncan was the eighth Spur to see his number retired, and, with due respect to David Robinson, George Gervin, Sean Elliott, James Silas, Avery Johnson, Johnny Moore, and Bruce Bowen, the best of them all. He wasn’t called The Big Fundamental for nothing; he left nothing in the tank night in and night out, in respect of the only National Basketball Association franchise he ever suited up for, due most certainly to sheer love of the game. For 12 months short of two decades, he was around for everybody in black and white. And then
he wasn’t. He will continue to be missed.
Duncan was the eighth Spur to see his number retired, and, with due respect to David Robinson, George Gervin, Sean Elliott, James Silas, Avery Johnson, Johnny Moore, and Bruce Bowen, the best of them all. He wasn’t called The Big Fundamental for nothing; he left nothing in the tank night in and night out, in respect of the only National Basketball Association franchise he ever suited up for, due most certainly to sheer love of the game. For 12 months short of two decades, he was around for everybody in black and white. And then he wasn’t. He will continue to be missed.