Episode 30 - 'The Big Fundamental' | The Ring of the Rowel San Antonio Spurs Docuseries

No one had an answer for Tim Duncan

Relive the incredible 19 years of Timmy's Hall of Fame career with the Spurs in the newest episode of The Ring of the Rowel, “The Big Fundamental”

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[K.R.]

People constantly saying, "The Greatest Power Forward of all time, " is selling Duncan short. He is one of the greatest players of all time. No one says, Kareem was the greatest center of all time or Jordan was the greatest shooting guard of all time. Duncan doesn't have some of those guy's accolades, the points or the 6-0 record in the Finals, but they don't have Duncan's either. He never missed the playoffs during his entire career. He never won fewer than 50 games during a full season and managed to win 50 in a shortened season. He has 5 rings. I'd argue Duncan has the greatest basketball career in the history of the NBA.

[TrentPruitt]

My favorite player of all time, the greatest power forward of all time and my dark horse for greatest player of all time, but people will always argue with me on that. He was drafted two months before I was born and he retired right before I graduated from high school, so he’d been there basically my entire life. Can’t believe it’s been almost 7 years since he hung it up, and boy do I miss him. Thanks Timmy for all you’ve done.

[thinkinginsideout]

I get roasted many times for saying this but for me - the spurs Duncan era is and always will be the "gold standard" of a true basketball.

[polr]

i just cant express how much i miss timmy

[hcdeng]

This is my GOAT. No one knows how much I miss Tim Duncan.

[rjmacready]

The greatest PF of all time and a top 5 player of all time imo. Arguably the greatest defensive player of all time too tbh

Timmy your a legend

[emanueltrejo]

I grew up idolizing this man, and for my entire life up until 2016, I didn't know of an NBA without Tim Duncan in it. This is a bit of a read but I hope it helps people appreciate the kind of player and person he was.

I remember in 2010-2011, the Spurs started the first half of the season on a 70+ win pace. After a couple of seasons of relative mediocrity, I was hopeful that the Spurs would win the championship again. As the season wore on, the Spurs had so many key injuries to the team, and even though they ended up as the No. 1 seed in the West, they got beat up by the 8 seed "grit-n-grind" Grizzles, and I was crushed.

The Spurs looked old and slow, beat up and injured. Their play style seemed increasingly stagnant and outdated. I remember thinking, "This is the last best chance we will have in the Tim Duncan era."

You can imagine how amazing it was to see the Spurs begin a renaissance starting in 2011-2012, after acquiring Kawhi Leonard and with Pop embracing a new playing style. That 2012 Spurs team was not only good, but dominant. They won the last 10 games of the regular season, and the first 10 games of the playoffs. 20 straight games! Even though they eventually lost in the WCF, I knew these Spurs were championship material.

To start the 2012-2013 season, Tim Duncan was visibly in the best shape he had been in years, looking slimmer and more agile, sharp and focused. By the end of the season, he made First Team All-NBA, at the age of 37! And if you saw his game, you couldn't help but be in awe of his mastery of the fundamentals, his control of the flow and pace of the game, his basketball IQ, top-notch defense and team play. He was the whole package, that late into his career, routinely making far younger and more athletic big men look silly in the process. In the first half of Game 6 of the NBA Finals, he put up 25 points on 10-12 FG, finishing with 30 PTS and 17 REB. It was a gusty all-time performance for the old man. If not for one shot, he would have had a 4th Finals MVP, beating a peak Lebron James and juggernaut of a team in the Miami Heat, all at age 37. He would certainly be a place or two up in the GOAT conversation.

In 2014, maybe he wasn't as dominant, but was no less important. His complete embrace of an egalitarian motion offense, and his willingness to play a high level role for the Spurs, being the best player on the court when he needed to be, was nothing short of amazing. After hitting a clutch basket in OT to close out the OKC Thunder in the WCF, he boldly predicted in his post game interview, "We'll do it this time". He KNEW that this Spurs team was going to bring home the title, and they did, with the most lopsided margin-of-victory in NBA Finals history!

If you think of the type of team the Spurs were in 1999 or 2003, compared to how they played in 2014, those teams couldn't have been any more different. And yet, Tim Duncan was just as key as ever for all of those teams, accepting the evolution of his game and that of the NBA as a whole, coming out on top at the end. How many all time greats can we say the same thing for?

Even in 2015 and 2016, the Spurs were there, competing for the NBA title, even as the reins of the team were being handed to Kawhi Leonard. It's very telling, that even in the last year of Tim Duncan's career, the Spurs won 67 games, a franchise record, with Tim Duncan still being a defensive anchor helping his team achieve new heights.

We all know Tim Duncan is an all-time player, and in his peak was an unstoppable force on the court rivaled by few in NBA history. But for me, it's his consistency after so many years, the dedication to his craft, the trust he had in his coaches and teammates, and the selfless sacrifices he made to elevate himself and those around him, even in the last stages of his career, that sets him apart, and makes him a transcendent once in a lifetime player, in the mold of Bill Russell.

[kushmaster]

The greatest power forward all time greatest spur all time 🐐🐐🐐🐐

[SkunkDozer]

Growing up in SA and watching all this from childhood to adulthood was one of the most blessed experiences I have ever had. It's been an amazing education. Thanks to Timmy and the Spurs for their tremendous example and pursuit of excellence.

[garyleroy]

Here are the quintessential examples of Tim Duncan; 1. Loyalty: being the main cornerstone of an upcoming franchise in the 2000’s era by going to every single year to the playoffs, play superstar opponents, winning championships, and becoming a dynasty til the very end of his career is amazing. 2. Unselfish: He truly never had an ego of what he wanted in his career, he knew in his life he didn’t care about anything like his fame of his celebrity status or wanting more money then any other athlete. We all know he’s still the GOAT, top 10 player, and even saying greatest PF ever and 2 way player all time. 3. Sportsmanship; He had great teammates around him, he had David Robinson for his career til 2003, he had Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, making them the winningest trio in the NBA playing 14 seasons together, and his teammates accomplished awards and titles on their own resumes. Plus making this team international players to show the NBA players are talented the world like Duncan himself. 4. Pop; he had one coach for his entire career and Duncan accepted him for who he was not just as a coach, but as a father figure he wanted. Pop coaches him extremely hard to where Duncan didn’t want to be treated differently he wanted to be treated the same. 5. Respect; every fan in different generations that loves the NBA will have talk about who’s the greatest and any person wants to be right in their own way and debate on who’s better on stats, championships, or anything. You have to put Tim Duncan in that conversation because fans, athletes todays, even legends would say Duncan is the GOAT. As for me, he’s the quintessential GOAT. You are the big fundamental, the GOAT, and a hall of famer. Thank you TD

[mattbarnes]

One of the main reasons why I became a San Antonio Spurs fan. Tim Duncan is my goat 🐐 fan from England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Go Spurs Go 🏀🖤🤍🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

[TheEnnisfan]

This brought a tear to my eye. I miss Timmy so much. I watched him play his entire career. I was lucky to see him play live. What a special player. Timmy Por Vida.

[polr]

tearing up at the end i miss this man so much

[Blesscalade]

We’re about to have another GOAT with Wembanyama 🙏🏻

[gotm]

Thank you Duncan 🙏🏾 for not leaving. Thank you for carrying the torch .

[oleksandrfirsovskyi]

You know, I've been following the NBA for 26 years. 25 of them I support San Antonio. Tim has been my idol since 1998. I always looked up to him, I was always surprised by his skills, his qualities as a person, as a teammate, as a player. Watching this video, I cried again ... I cried from sadness for Timmy. I cried with joy that I saw his entire career. And I'm happy that I chose the best power forward and, I'm sure, the best teammate as an example for me. Thank you for everything, Tim Duncan!

[michaelhunt]

Thank you Tim. The most important player to any franchise in history.

[kristophert]

My favorite player of all time. Thank You Timmy!

[frederickdelius]

Dominate in west. Been so great being a spurs fan all these years.

[Rapboy]

One of my favorite Ring of the Rowel episodes yet! Timmy will always be my favorite player of all-time! ⚪⚫🏀