San Antonio Spurs: Will Tim Duncan Retire?

By Andrew Snyder | May 5, 2015

May 2, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) makes the game-winning shot over San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) in the fourth quarter in game seven of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Clippers won 111-109. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

All good things must come to an end. Sometimes the thing that’s ending is a fun family vacation, a relationship, a concert, or Brian O’Conner’s character arc on The Fast and the Furious. Sometimes it’s the career of an outstanding professional athlete. No matter how much we want them to keep playing at some point their career is going to end.

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After years of putting it all on the line for their team and their city their body tells them it’s time. It’s time to hang up the high tops. It happened with Michael, it happened with Shaq, it’s essentially been happening to Kobe for two seasons. It happens to everyone.

Here’s the thing, though. It is not happening for Tim Duncan, at least not just yet. He’s still as good as he’s ever been. The ageless wonder has proved that he still has something left in the tank at 39 years old. This season Duncan averaged 17.3 points and 11.4 rebounds per 36 minutes on 51.2 percent shooting.

In 77 games, no less, his highest games played total since the 2009-10 season.

He also had one of the best defensive seasons of his career. Had Kawhi Leonard and Draymond Green not been on a warpath to see who could have the most ridiculous defensive season in recent memory, Duncan would have been a legitimate candidate for Defensive Player of the Year.

He held a defensive rating of 97, put up 4.7 defensive win shares, and he held opponents to 50.7 percent shooting at less than six feet from the rim. Tiago Splitter missed a significant amount of time due to injuries, so Duncan stepped up to be the primary rim protector on a team that finished with the second-best defensive rating in the NBA.

He may not be as mobile, or athletic as he once was but his footwork is still fundamentally sound, and his tremendous timing allows him to block shots despite those hindrances.

In Game 7 against the Clippers, Duncan made sure the San Antonio Spurs went down swinging. In 37 minutes Duncan scored 27 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and shot 11-for-16 from the field. Perhaps most impressive was that in the waning seconds he stepped to the free-throw line and calmly knocked down two free throws to tie the game and keep San Antonio’s hopes alive.

In a Game 7, on the road, against Chris Paul and a determined Clippers team he did not let the pressure get to him. Free-throw shooting is certainly not one of Duncan’s strengths, but nevertheless he stepped to the line and confidently knocked them down. That’s special.

It was a vintage Duncan performance and a level of elite play that he showed flashes of all season. This is just not a guy that is at the end of his rope. He can still play at a very high level, he can flip that switch whenever he needs to. I’m not just being sentimental because I’m a basketball fan and Duncan was a huge part of the era that got me hooked on the NBA.

While that is absolutely true, this has everything to do with his talents still being up to snuff. He should come back and keep slapping Father Time in the face. But, will he?

In the end, it comes down to something very simple; does he still want to play? Are all the positives worth going through another 82-game grind? He clearly has nothing left to prove. He has five rings and is arguably the best player of his era. Tomorrow he could say he’s done and walk away forever, his legacy would be secure.

Sometimes there is a desire among athletes to retire before they have to, before their body tells them it’s time to go. John Elway did that. He went out on top after winning back-to-back Super Bowls. On the other side of the coin, there’s Brett Favre or Allen Iverson who left their respective sports as shells of their former selves. It’s a delicate balance that is difficult to get just right.

How do you find the line between too early and too late?

Gregg Popovich has hinted that Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Popovich himself will return to the Spurs in 2015-16. While I’m not so sure on Manu, I believe that Pop and Duncan will indeed be back.

Is Duncan really going to let the last image of him in our minds be Chris Paul hitting an impossible shot over him to send the Spurs home in the first round? I can’t see the story ending like that.

I expect they’ll grab a few more pieces in free agency and run it back. When Duncan finally retires, we will celebrate his legacy and marvel at all his accomplishments.

Soon, but not now.

Next: Stephen Curry: Top 10 Moments From His MVP Season

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