Tim Duncan is that rare breed of superstar who doesn’t yearn for the spotlight. He was always one of those individuals who was all business and he had no use for all the glamor which came with being one of the biggest names in the sport.
He just let his play on the court do all the talking for him and boy did his game speak volumes. Duncan’s resume is incredible, as he won 5 titles, 3 Finals MVPs, 2 MVPs, and he made it to one of the All-Defense teams on 15 occasions, an NBA record. Anyone else with even half of these accomplishments would be out in public showing off all day and every day, but not Duncan.
Manu Ginobili Trolled Tim Duncan During His Hall Of Fame Speech
Duncan recently had to step into the limelight after his former teammate Manu Ginobili chose him to be his Hall of Fame presenter. Ginobili and Duncan were teammates from 2002 to 2016, during which they formed a very special bond that lasts to this day. Before he started delivering his speech, however, the Argentine had some fun at Duncan’s expense.
"You sure you don't want to do this? I know you love the spotlight."
Gotta love the Manu and Timmy brotherhood #22HoopClass 😅 pic.twitter.com/gOkan4ScP9
— NBA (@NBA) September 11, 2022
“You sure you don’t want to do this? I know you love the spotlight.”
It was a fun, light-hearted moment to start things off, and it got some laughs out of the crowd too. While Duncan’s demeanor often led to many calling him the most boring superstar in the history of the league, he set the standard within the Spurs organization of coming to work and just doing your job without being distracted by all that happens on the outside.
When your leader does that, others tend to follow and there can be no denying that it worked for the Spurs. They won at an astonishing rate when Duncan was around as he won 71.9% of his games for his career, a remarkable number. Things just haven’t quite been the same in San Antonio after he retired in 2016 and the team is now entering a full-blown rebuild.
They perhaps have their eyes set on Victor Wembanyama, who is set to enter the league next year and maybe he, like Duncan in 1997, can be the foundational piece for their next era of success. Wembanyama is seen as a generational prospect just like Duncan was back then, but even he will have a very hard time trying to match what Tim achieved during his career. Ginobili, later in his speech, called Duncan one of the best players ever and there is no debating that.
