Tim Duncan

It’s funny how things work out sometimes.

In 1996, the San Antonio Spurs were one of the worst teams in the NBA after their All-Star center David Robinson missed most of the season due to injuries.

The following year, the Spurs hit the jackpot after winning the No. 1 pick in the NBA lottery. With the pick, the selected highly touted Wake Forest power forward Tim Duncan and with David Robinson ready to return to action, the Spurs featured one of the best frontcourts in the entire league.

The pair was deemed the “Twin Towers” because each of them stood 7-foot tall and was a dominating presence in the post. Robinson and Duncan led the Spurs to the 1998 NBA Playoffs, but eventually lost in the second round to the Utah Jazz. Thanks to a monster first year, Duncan was named the 1998 NBA Rookie of the Year.

The following year, Duncan helped the San Antonio Spurs top the New York Knicks to win an NBA title during a strike-shortened season. In just his second year, Tim Duncan was not only a NBA champion, but also an NBA Finals MVP.

It would be the first of four NBA Finals championships Tim Duncan would win, as he and the Spurs repeated the feat in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Along with the 1999 NBA Finals, Duncan was Finals MVP in both 2003 and 2005, as well.

Tim Duncan was one of only four players to receive All-NBA First Team honors in each of his first eight seasons from 1998 to 2005. He was also the only player in NBA history to receive All-NBA and All-Defensive honors in his first nine seasons (1998-2006).

Duncan was named by the Association for Professional Basketball Research as one of the “100 Greatest Professional Basketball Players of the 20th Century” and was also named on of the Next 10 Greatest Players on the tenth anniversary of the release of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team by television network TNT.

Among all of the accomplishments he’s achieved on the court, Duncan continues to be a great humanitarian off the court as well. His Tim Duncan Foundation raised more than $350,000 to help fight breast and prostate cancer between the years of 2001 and 2002. He continues to be heavily involved in multiple charities.

When his playing career is finally finished, Tim Duncan will be known as one of the greatest power forwards of all time. He’s often referred to as one of the most fundamentally sound players in the NBA and also one of the classiest. He’s a future NBA legend.