Tim Duncan Was A Trendsetter, He Had His Own Personality, Says Wake Forest Teammate
After 18 seasons in the NBA, San Antonio Spurs legend Tim Duncan will be going into the Hall of Fame. The Big Fundamental game was not the flashiest; some may call it boring, but the 15-time all-star came to work and got the job done.
“People that say he is boring don’t know. Everyone has their own personality. Tim is fun to be around, and he has his own personality. He is a quiet guy; unfortunately, society today doesn’t recognize those guys. They want the guys who make a lot of noise. He is another guy that is a trendsetter,” said Duncan’s college roommate Makhtar N’Diaye.
“Tim came along when the big man started to die and rejuvenized that position. Not a lot of kids dream to be like Tim Duncan and say it loud, but the few that do make it into the leagueand are successful. So, he is a trendsetter.”
Throughout the course of his career, he averaged 19.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 3.0 per game in 1392 games.
But, if you asked different players that played with or against Duncan they have a lot different things to say about the three-time finals MVP.
“Hell no, it wasn’t cool. It was the hardest sh– I’ve ever done in my life man,” said Bosh told Zach Lowe. “He had the size on me, but just every play down the court, man, he was hitting me, and nah, it wasn’t fun. Cause the way Popovich and their system is designed, they knew that they had the size advantage on me. So the whole series, I was being put in positions I didn’t want to be put in.”
Kevin Garnett, who also will be inducted this weekend as well, but KG went a lot time trying to get under Tim Duncan’s skin, but once he figured out that he wasn’t affecting him, he quit.
“What really, really, really pissed me off was when the trash-talking wasn’t affecting him,” said Garnett. “So you’re spending all this energy trying to rile him up. You forgot about your own game. That’s when I quit talking trash to Timmy, cause he wouldn’t respond.”
Apparently, Tim Duncan hates Garnett according to Eric Freeman. ‘Define kinship.’”
Duncan averaged 19.4 points per game, 11.6 boards, and had a 44-17 record, including the postseason against Garnett.
“I don’t know if people know this, but I was committed to Wake Forest. He and I were roommates. I remember him as a quiet guy. I remember we were supposed to go to a party. The whole basketball team and I walk into the room, and he is there with nothing but his shorts on. I am like; you are not going? He says, no, I’m good,” said N’Diaye.
“Then, as we are leaving the party and coming back, we drove past the basketball gym [The IMG building] and the light were on and students were playing. When you walked in who was playing with them? Tim Duncan. So, that is who he is, he never took things seriously but he loved basketball.”
“Tim was so tough because he did not make mistakes, he capitalized on all of yours, and there are not too many big guys that even my generation of basketball. That you can drop it down to the block, and they can get you a championship. They can get you a championship on the block. Joel Embiied, I would say, is the best post player in the NBA today. He hasn’t shown you a championship, but Duncan can go to, and with that system, it was not like Tim had to get the basketball, and he was selfish,” said former ten-year veteran Ryan Hollins.
“He played in a system, so; It was him posting, setting screens, him coming off the cross-screen. It was so hard to guard, and those guys that played around him played hard. San Antonio was tough and looked at that; they were one greatest- less talented teams. I mean, by less talented, they weren’t the super team we see today, but they had super results. Tim Duncan’s record for games decide in 3 points or less; their record is phenomenal. He was so good with Pop, everybody in the league tried to emulate San Antonio.”
Tim Duncan won five championships with the Spurs in three different decades.
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