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NBA Milestones On The Horizon For Tim Duncan in 2015-16

By Mark Vandeusen

Apr 5, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan (21) shoots the ball over Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut (12) during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 5, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan (21) shoots the ball over Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut (12) during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /
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When the San Antonio Spurs‘ Tim Duncan finally decides to call it quits, he’ll undoubtedly be remembered as one of the best to ever play the game.  Among his laundry list of accomplishments, the future Hall of Famer is a five-time champion and a 15-time All-Star.

The 2015-16 season will be Duncan’s 19th in the league, and the 39-year-old is still going strong.  As he continues to cement his place in NBA history, Duncan will surpass several all-time greats in a number of statistical categories this year.

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On the career games played list, Duncan is 11th with 1,331.  At 38 years old, he suited up for 77 regular season contests in 2014-15.  The fewest Duncan has ever played in a full 82-game season is 66.  If he takes the court more than 60 times in 2015-16, he’ll pass Gary Payton (1,335), Clifford Robinson (1,380), Reggie Miller (1,389) and Jason Kidd (1,391) for seventh place.

With 45,832 minutes played, Duncan is currently 13th all-time.  Last season, he recorded 2,227 minutes of action.  If Duncan can log at least 2,028 minutes in 2015-16, he’ll climb all the way up to sixth place in front of Wilt Chamberlain (47,859).

Duncan’s 14,644 rebounds are the eighth-most in NBA history.  He pulled down 704 of them in 2014-15, and is a virtual lock to take over the No. 6 position in the year ahead.  Duncan needs just 325 more rebounds to eclipse Robert Parish (14,715) and Karl Malone (14,968).

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On the all-time scoring list, Duncan occupies the No. 14 spot with 25,974 points.  The top 10 is well within reach for him in 2015-16.  Hakeem Olajuwon (26,946) is 10th, only 972 ahead of Duncan, who scored 1,070 a season ago.  Before he retires, Duncan may well crack the top eight.

The most impressive milestone Duncan will likely soon achieve is to become fourth all-time in blocked shots.  For the moment, Duncan is sixth with 2,942 blocks, but he needs just 13 more to vault ahead of his former teammate David Robinson (2,954).  Duncan swatted away 151 shot attempts last year–if he can manage at least 123 in 2015-16 he’ll outdo Mark Eaten (3,604) as well.

At that point, the Spurs legend will trail only Olajuwon (3,830), Dikembe Mutumbo (3,289) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (3,189).

Next: A Season Of Milestones For Kevin Garnett In 2015-16

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