When I started learning the fundamentals of basketball, one of the early skills I learned was the use of the backboard to make shots from difficult angles. It was reinforced when I got to college (yes, I took Basketball) when the first thing they taught about shooting was using the backboard. The difference in backboards progressed as I grew up using tree trunks on my grandparents land in North Carolina to wooden backboards during my urban upbringing to the Plexiglas that is widely used today. The more conversational language for this material is glass.
No one used the glass more than future first ballot Hall of Famer Tim Duncan, who announced his retirement from the NBA yesterday after 19 years. In classic Tim Duncan fashion, he didn't have a farewell tour or even a final press conference; he simply issued a press release. That was Tim Duncan.
While I will leave the debate for others as to whether he was greatest power forward ever, all I will say is that the 15 time All-Star finishes 14th in career points and 6th in rebounds. What impresses me more is he was either first or second team All-Defensive 15 times. He is also in that rarefied air of great champions, winning NBA five champions, all with the only team he played his entire career with (San Antonio Spurs). Guess that's why he finished sixth in career playoff points. Even represented his country internationally, winning five medals.
One of the two things that I will remember about Duncan was his use of the "glass" in his shot attempts. I don't know if we had the same instructor in college but if he had a tough shot to make, you can bet that the glass would be involved. Even in clear and basic shots, he would "go glass" as they say.
The other thing that I remember was how he was liked by both his teammates and opponents. My favorite Tim Duncan story was recanted by former NBA player Eton Thomas. During a game when he was with the Wizards, he drove to basket in a attempt to score on Duncan. He promptly had his shot blocked. Thomas says that Duncan told him later on that he should lean into him to create a better opportunity to get his shot off. Thomas took his advice and tried it. While he didn't make the shot, Thomas said that Duncan told him "...that was better."
That was Tim Duncan.
