Tim Duncan says he wants to keep playing, but his 15th season with the Spurs will be the final year of his existing contract.
Just in case he hangs up the Spurs jersey, either through injury, retirement or by doing something crazy such as joining the Miami Heat, Express-News staff writer Douglas Pils takes a look at some of his Hall of Fame credentials, his numbers and where they rank.
1 – Rookie of the Year (1997-98) and All-Star Game MVP (2000)
2 – League MVPs (2001-02, 2002-03)
3 – NBA Finals MVPs (1999, 2003, 2005)
4 – NBA championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007)
8 – First-team NBA All-Defensive Team honors among his 13 overall
9 – First-team All-NBA honors among his 13 overall
13 – All-Star Games, 12 as a starter
93.4 – Percentage of regular-season games he’s played. He’s missed just 63 games in 14 seasons. To compare, teammates Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are at 85.7 and 91 percent in their careers; Chauncey Billups, taken two picks after Duncan in 1997, is at 88 percent; and Shaquille O’Neal was at 84.2 in his first 14 seasons.
1,053 – Games, 74th in NBA history
2,381 – Blocks, ninth in NBA history. Little chance of moving up this season since he’s 161 behind Tree Rollins, who’s at No. 8.
3,296 – Assists, 143rd in NBA history, 3.1 per-game average. Other big men: Wilt Chamberlain 4.4, Chris Webber 4.2, Alvan Adams 4.1, Charles Barkley 3.9, Wes Unseld 3.9, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 3.6, Karl Malone 3.6, Jack Sikma 3.2, Vlade Divac 3.1.
7,161 – Free-throw attempts, 23rd in NBA history. Maligned at times for his performance at the line — career 68.8 percent shooter — his 4,925 free-throw makes still rank at No. 31.
12,013 – Rebounds, 21st in NBA history. Only eight have more defensive rebounds (8,831), and he will pass Patrick Ewing and O’Neal with 60 more on defense.
21,663 – Points, 28th in NBA history. He should pass Larry Bird and Gary Payton soon, and with 533 points he would move ahead of Clyde Drexler.