Tim Duncan was different in every sense of the word

Tim Duncan was just different.

In a sport that is dominated by flashiness, fame, and attention, Tim Duncan was bigger and brighter than it all in the quietest way.

Duncan was the second legend in the past year to announce his retirement, alongside Kobe Bryant.

Kobe announced his retirement at the beginning of the season, and went on a season-long farewell tour, where teams gave him gifts, and basketball fans nationwide thanked him. Eventually it led up to his highly-anticipated finale, where he dramatically dropped 60-points in one of the most exciting and memorable games in recent history.

Through it all, the league and its fans speculated that Duncan would also retire after the season. But he didn’t need a farewell tour. He didn’t need gifts or thank you’s. He didn’t need a hyped-up finale. He didn’t want those things.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with what Kobe did. In fact, it seemed pretty normal for a legend to go out like that.

But Tim Duncan was just different.

To this day, people hate Kobe Bryant. People hate Lebron James. People hate Steph Curry. People hate Michael Jordan.

But no one hates Tim Duncan.

Because Tim Duncan was just different.

His consistency was different. His morale was different. He was just a different type of athlete.

Duncan represented the epitome of what an athlete should be. Day-in and day-out for 19 seasons, he was a hard-worker, he was a leader, he was loyal to his team, he had a stellar attitude, and above all, he was a fearless competitor and a winner.

He finished his career with five championships, three N.B.A Finals M.V.P.’s, and two regular season M.V.P.’s . Those three trophies are undoubtedly the three most sought-after trophies for any individual player in basketball, and Duncan won them all. Multiple times.

To add to it, Duncan won 1,001 regular season games, the third most ever by a player. In his 19 seasons, he missed the playoffs only once. He won 157 games in those playoffs, the second most ever by a player. You can pick and choose your stats, because there are so many and they’re all equally unbelievable.

But yet again, Duncan didn’t get the recognition he may have deserved for his level of superstardom. Despite how consistently he won, he never came close to leading jersey sales, he was never the flashiest player, and he was never the most exciting to watch in the league.

He was just… different.

Regardless of how much recognition he has received, it’s important to know just how special Tim Duncan was to the NBA. Not only was he the purest of winners, but he handled himself with a level of class that was unmatched. He won with grace, lost with grace, and eventually retired with grace. It’s going to be weird witnessing the Spurs take the court without Tim Duncan present, as I have never known anything else. Duncan will surely be missed on the court, but his legacy will surely live on. It goes without saying that there will never be another Tim Duncan ever again.

Because Tim Duncan was just different.