Tim Duncan spent nearly two decades as the quiet storm in the middle of the San Antonio Spurs franchise, putting the team on his broad shoulders and carrying it to heights unseen in modern American sports.
With Duncan as the focal point, the Spurs won five championships, made the playoffs in all 19 of his seasons and cemented themselves as one of the most successful sports franchises in history. And now, the tireless and reluctant superstar is finally calling it a career.
The 40-year-old Duncan announced his retirement on Monday, marking the end of an era for the Spurs and the NBA.
"The greatest power forward ever," the Los Angeles Clippers' Jamal Crawford said Monday, as the tributes to Duncan's career began coming.
Few would dare argue.
Duncan was the No. 1 overall pick in 1997 and teamed with coach Gregg Popovich, point guard Tony Parker and shooting guard Manu Ginobili to turn the Spurs from a solid franchise that could never quite get over the hump into one of the league's superpowers.
"The constant staple of their franchise," Cleveland's LeBron James said earlier this year.
The unassuming Duncan won two MVP awards and was one of just four players to be named NBA Finals MVP at least three times. Nicknamed "The Big Fundamental" for his clinical approach that favored bank shots over dunks, he was a 15-time All-Star, a member of the All-NBA first team 10 times and is one of only three players — joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Parrish — to win at least 1,000 games in his career. He is fifth on the NBA's career list in blocks, sixth in rebounds and 14th in scoring.
"Even tho I knew it was coming, I'm still moved by the news," Ginobili tweeted. "What a HUGE honor to have played with him for 14 seasons! #ThankYouTD."
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called Duncan "one of the most dominant players in NBA history" and lauded him for an "understated selflessness (that) made him the ultimate teammate."
"For two decades Tim represented the Spurs, the city of San Antonio and the league with passion and class," Silver said. "All of us in the NBA family thank him for his profound impact on the game."