Tim Duncan is going to be in the NBA Hall of Fame someday soon. For now he is content to be in the San Antonio Hall of Fame. Duncan will be basking in the glory of the Spurs unprecedented victory over the Miami Heat in this year’s NBA Finals for another season in San Antonio.
He had to option to opt out of his deal with San Antonio and perhaps seek more money in another quarter, but no one really expected him to take it. More than any other team in the NBA today, the Spurs are like a family, with Gregg Popovich at the head of the dinner table.
Duncan will be getting a nice $10.3 million for his final year in professional basketball. He has already made it clear that this will be his last season out on the court. But if the Spurs win it all again, who knows!
Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green and Marco Belinelli are all nearing the end of their active time in NBA, dressed out at least. Any of those guys would have a whole wealth of experience to share should they decide to give coaching a shot.
But don’t worry about the Spurs. They are set to lose a great deal of their starting lineup in the next few years. However, anyone paying attention during the playoffs could not help but notice that the Spurs have developed one of the best benches in the business. Yet another tribute to Gregg Popovich and his staff at San Antonio.
There was speculation that Tim Duncan would be retiring on top of the game after winning the NBA Title, but, after the game, when Duncan was lavishing praises on young Kawhi Leonard for his much deserved MVP Award, he came out and said that he hoped to hang on with the youngster as long as he could.
So, look for the San Antonio Spurs to be right back in the mix for the NBA Championship once again next year. They have the talent and they have the experience to beat any team in the league. Plus, the Spurs have the best head coach in the NBA in Popovich. With future Hall of Famers like Tony Parker to help him along and an impressive stable on the bench, how could he go wrong?
Tim Duncan may well have been ready to hang up his sneakers and enjoy a well earned retirement, but winning an NBA Title is hard to walk away from.
