Tim Duncan

] Duncan has also stated that he especially likes his bank shot, saying: "It is just easy for me. It just feels good." [cite book|title=Slam Duncan |first=Kevin |last=Kernan | year=2000|pages=35|isbn=978-1582611792]

Honors

In his basketball career, Duncan has collected a number of individual and team honors, including being a two-time MVP (2002, 2003), four-time NBA champion (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007) and three-time NBA Finals MVP (1999, 2003, 2005). As a college player, he was named ACC Male Athlete of the Year, won the John R. Wooden Award and was named Naismith College Player of the Year (all 1997). In his debut year in the NBA (1998), he was voted Rookie of the Year and elected into the All-NBA Rookie Team, made the first of ten NBA All-Star Teams (nine First Team nominations), 11 All-NBA Teams (nine First Team nominations), and 11 All-Defensive Teams (eight First Team nominations). With these impressive performances, Duncan is one of only four players to receive All-NBA First Team honors in each of his first eight seasons (1998–2005), along with Hall of Famers Bob Pettit (ten seasons), Larry Bird (nine seasons), and Oscar Robertson (nine seasons), and is notably the only player in NBA history to receive All-NBA and All-Defensive honors in his first nine seasons (1998-2006). [ [http://www.nba.com/history/awards_allnba.html All-NBA Teams] , nba.com/history, accessed June 17, 2007.]

Duncan was also named by the Association for Professional Basketball Research as one of "100 Greatest Professional Basketball Players of The 20th Century", the youngest player on that list. [ [http://www.apbr.org/apbr100.html THE ASSOCIATION FOR PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL RESEARCH'S 100 GREATEST PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYERS OF THE 20TH CENTURY] , sportingnews.com, accessed May 4, 2007.] In the 2001–02 season, he won the IBM Player Award [ [http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/almanac/nba/ibmaward.html IBM AWARD] , sportingnews.com, accessed May 4, 2007.] and The Sporting News (TSN) MVP Award, [ [http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/almanac/nba/tsnmvp.html The Sporting News NBA Most Valuable Player] , sportingnews.com, accessed May 4, 2007.] becoming the third player to ever win the NBA MVP, IBM Player and TSN Player Awards in the same season. In 2003, Duncan was ranked 55th by Slam Magazine in their list of the "Top 75 NBA players of All Time". On February 18, 2006, he was named one of the "Next 10 Greatest Players" on the tenth anniversary of the release of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team by the TNT broadcasting crew.Martindale, David, [http://www.tnt.tv/dramalounge/article/?oid=7461 "Legends in the Making"] , tnt.tv, accessed January 13, 2008.]

Off the court

Tim Duncan has two older sisters, Cheryl and Tricia. Like their younger brother, they were gifted athletes: Cheryl was a championship swimmer before she became a nurse, and Tricia competed for the U.S. Virgin Islands at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. [cite book|title=Slam Duncan |first=Kevin |last=Kernan | year=2000|pages=19|isbn=978-1582611792] He married Amy, an ex-cheerleader at Wake Forest University, and the couple had their first child, daughter Sydney, in the summer of 2005, and a second child, a son, during the summer of 2007. Amy oversees the Tim Duncan Foundation, which has been established to serve the areas of health awareness/research, education, and youth sports/recreation in San Antonio, Winston-Salem, and the United States Virgin Islands. The Foundation holds two major fundraisers each year: the annual Tim Duncan Bowling for Dollar$ Charity Bowl-A-Thon and the annual Slam Duncan Charity Golf Classic. Between 2001 and 2002, the Foundation raised more than $350,000 to help fight breast and prostate cancer. In those two years, Duncan was named by Sporting News as one of the "Good Guys" in sports. The Spurs captain also supports the Children's Bereavement Center, the Children's Center of San Antonio and the Cancer Therapy and Research Center.

Duncan cites his late mother Ione as his main inspiration. Among other things, she taught him and his sisters the nursery rhyme "Good, Better, Best. Never let it rest / Until your Good is Better, and your Better is your Best", which he adopted as his personal motto. On and off the court, he believes that the three most important values are dedication, teamwork and camaraderie. The Spurs captain has also stated that he chose #21 for his jersey because that was his brother-in-law's college number, since he was Duncan's main basketball inspiration, and cites Hall-of-Fame Los Angeles Lakers point guard Magic Johnson as his childhood idol.

For his mixture of success and low-key personality, Duncan has been honored with the St. Croix Medal of Honor, the highest award that the territorial government can bestow on a citizen, and has been celebrated in several "Tim Duncan Day" ceremonies.cite book|title=Slam Duncan |first=Kevin |last=Kernan | year=2000|pages=24–26|isbn=978-1582611792] In 2000, St. Croix Senate president Vargrave Richards said: "He is a quiet giant. His laid-back attitude is the embodiment of people of St. Croix, doing things without fanfare and hoopla."

Regarding his own personality, Duncan compares himself to Will Hunting of the movie "Good Will Hunting", which centers around the genial, but sociopathic character of Will Hunting, portrayed by Matt Damon. He stated: "I'm just a taller, slightly less hyperactive version of the Damon character in the movie. I really enjoyed how he probed people and found out their weaknesses just by asking questions and stating outlandish remarks."cite book|title=Slam Duncan |first=Kevin |last=Kernan | year=2000|pages=53|isbn=978-1582611792] He also admitted shunning the limelight because " [fame] is not me". Off the court, he has cited that his best friend is former Spurs colleague Antonio Daniels, who himself describes Duncan as a cheerful, funny person off the hardwood.

Duncan also loves renaissance fairs and the fantasy role playing game Dungeons & Dragons.Briggs, Jerry, "Duncan's unusual hobby and more unusual request", "San Antonio Express-News (Texas)", November 30, 1997.] An avid video game player, he acknowledges a certain joy of playing "himself" on basketball video games. Duncan states if he had the chance, he would challenge NBA legends Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to a one-on-one game.

Books

*cite book|title=Slam Duncan |first=Kevin |last=Kernan | year=2000|isbn=978-1582611792
*cite book|title=Tim Duncan (Great Athletes Series) |first=Jeremy |last=Byman| year=2000|isbn=978-1883846435
*cite book|title=Sports Great Tim Duncan |first=John Albert |last=Torres | year=2002|isbn=978-0766017665
*cite book|title=Tim Duncan: Champion on And Off the Court |first=J Chris |last=Roselius | year=2006|isbn=978-0766028210

References

External links

* [http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/inte/vide/inte/p/newsid/23526/inte.html Video interview with Tim Duncan] @ fiba.com
* [http://www.slamduncan.com/ Official Website]
* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/players/3173/ Sports Illustrated Summary]
* [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/tim_duncan/index.html?nav=page NBA.com Profile - Tim Duncan]
* [http://www.usoc.org/26_18029.htm U.S. Olympic Team bio]
* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/duncati01.html Career Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com]
* [http://databasebasketball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=DUNCATI01 Career Statistics at databaseBasketball.com]

succession box
title = ACC Male Athlete of the Year
years = 1997
before = Kris Benson
after = Antawn Jamisonsuccession box
title = Naismith College Player of the Year
John R. Wooden Award Winners Men
years = 1997
before = Marcus Camby
after = Antawn JamisonSuccession box
title = NBA first overall draft pick
years = 1997 NBA Draft
before = Allen Iverson
after = Michael Olowokandisuccession box
title = NBA Rookie of the Year
years = 1997–98
before = Allen Iverson
after = Vince Cartersuccession box
title = NBA Most Valuable Player
years = 2001-02
2002–03
before = Allen Iverson
after = Kevin Garnettsuccession box
title = NBA Finals Most Valuable Player
years = 1999
before = Michael Jordan
after = Shaquille O'Nealsuccession box
title = NBA Finals Most Valuable Player
years = 2003
before = Shaquille O'Neal
after = Chauncey Billupssuccession box
title = NBA Finals Most Valuable Player
years = 2005
before = Chauncey Billups
after = Dwyane Wadesuccession box
title = NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player
years = 2000
"'co-awardee with Shaquille O'Neal
before = Michael Jordan
after = Allen Iverson

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Persondata
NAME = Tim Duncan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Timothy Theodore Duncan
SHORT DESCRIPTION = NBA basketball player
DATE OF BIRTH = April 25, 1976
PLACE OF BIRTH = Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =