tim duncan is a hall of famer owner of five nba rings with the spurs and arguably the worst dresser the nba has ever seen but he nearly had a quadruple double in a game his response was that's cool duncan was the most quiet unassuming and yet one of the best players to ever play we'll discuss was he really that successful because of the spurs or were the spurs that good because of him [Music] from swimming to basketball tim duncan was born in 1976 in the u. s virgin islands he was the youngest of four siblings and dreamed of becoming a professional swimmer like his older sister tim was extremely talented and the grand plan was to compete at the freestyle events in the 92 olympics in barcelona however after a hurricane destroyed the only olympic-sized pool on the island tim had to make other plans because of his fear of sharks he didn't want to train in the ocean and decided to pick up basketball at the age of 14. duncan was awkward and raw at first but he was also a quick learner and after a 10 inch growth spurt he soon became the best player in the virgin islands duncan averaged 25 points 12 rebounds and 5 blocks per game as a senior after which he accepted a scholarship offer to attend wake forest university four years at wake forest after a promise to his mother duncan wasn't even supposed to be playing in his freshman year at wake forest but after a fellow big man moktar and d.
a violated ncaa rules and eventually transferred to michigan duncan was appointed as a starting center offensively timmy was still a bit limited at the time and he averaged just 9. 6 points per game but at the defensive end he was arguably the best defender in the country already as a freshman with 9. 6 rebounds and 3.
8 blocked shots per game because he was extremely disciplined coachable and curious about the game duncan was soaking in basketball knowledge like a sponge as a sophomore timmy was already among the best players in college basketball he could have easily been a top draft pick as a sophomore or a junior but because of a promise to his late mother duncan decided to stay four years in college tim's mother passed away from breast cancer just one day before his 14th birthday on her deathbed he promised her he would finish college and get a degree in his four years at wake forest duncan averaged 16. 5 points 12. 3 rebounds and an incredible 3.
8 blocks per game timmy was a two-time acc player of the year and a three-time all-american and a winner of back-to-back acc titles with wake in 1995 and 1996 the first the program won since the 1960s tim led the deacons to the ncaa tournament every season and as a senior in 1997 he won all national player of the year honors and had half the nba dreaming of landing the first pick the fate would have it that the spurs won the draft lottery and duncan moved to san antonio at the age of 21 which would also become his jersey number now hanging from the rafters in the at t center dominating the league from the get-go and four nba titles four years of college had paid their dividends when timmy got to the nba he was no ordinary rookie and charles barkley has said it best i have seen the future and he wears number 21. duncan finished his first season with 21-12 and 2. 5 blocks he was named an all-star rookie of the year and made the all-nba first team which is a feat only he and larry bird accomplished in the last 50 years the spurs lost in the playoffs to the jazz who went to the finals but they would come back with a vengeance in a lockout shortened season duncan and the spurs secured the first seed and they steamrolled through the playoffs they've only lost one game before the finals where they beat the knicks in five games the spurs won their first championship in franchise history and duncan deservedly won the finals mvp with 27 points 14 rebounds and 2.
2 blocks on 54 shooting after the series pop congratulated the knicks head coach jeff van gundy and told him hey don't feel bad i had tim duncan on my team you didn't in the next three seasons duncan's individual numbers grew and he won the mvp in 2002 but the spurs couldn't get past shaq and kobe timmy repeated as the mvp in the 2003 regular season with 23 13 and four and three blocks in the playoffs they finally got past the lakers and then defeated the nets 4-2 in the nba finals duncan was again the finals mvp and he completely dominated the series 24. 2 points 17 rebounds 5. 3 assists and an astonishing 5.
3 blocks the spurs whole philosophy was to funnel everybody into the paints where duncan would meet them with his perfect positioning 7-5 wingspan and sneaky athleticism 2003 duncan was the peak duncan and i would put this season next to some of the most dominant seasons in history including shaq in 2000 jordan in 1991 and lebron in 2013.
