Report: Tim Duncan ‘leaning strongly toward retirement’

One of the NBA’s greatest all-time players may have played his game. San Antonio Spurs legend Tim Duncan is reportedly leaning towards retiring.

If Duncan does retire, it will bring an end to one of the best careers in NBA history.

From a team perspective, few players match Duncan’s resume. He has won five NBA titles (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014). The Spurs have been stunningly relevant with Duncan as the team’s backbone. Since drafting Duncan, San Antonio has won 50 or more games in all but one season. That one season was a lockout shortened 50-game season in 1999 that ended in a championship.

To be the cornerstone of the NBA’s most consistent franchise for nearly two decades is fantastic. But we also have to remember that the Spurs were not traditionally thought of as a glamour franchise like the Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers. Prior to Duncan’s arrival, they had never won a championship.

Duncan’s individual honors are also vast. He’s a 15-time All-Star, two-time NBA MVP (2002, 2003), and three-time Finals MVP (1999, 2001, 2003). Duncan was also voted to the All-NBA first or second team, every year from 1998-2015, with the exceptions of 2011, 2012, and in 2014 and earned first or second NBA All-Defensive team honors 15 times.

Duncan’s career will obviously place him in the Hall of Fame and should have him considered one of the best 10 players in the history of the sport.