Duncan calls time on career after 19 years at Spurs
REUTERS 11:11 AM ET 7/11/2016
(Reuters) - Five-times NBA champion Tim Duncan announced his retirement from basketball on Monday, bringing an end to the forward's glittering 19-year spell at San Antonio Spurs.
The 40-year-old, who was the first overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, reached the playoffs in each of his 19 seasons and became the only player to have reached 1,000 wins with one team.
Duncan, a two-times MVP, is just one of three NBA players along with John Stockton and Kobe Bryant to spend 19 seasons with one franchise.
He retires as the Spurs' all-time leader in scoring, rebounds and blocks.
The Spurs, who had the second-best record (67-15) in the regular season, were upset in the Western Conference semi-final by the Oklahoma City Thunder in May and Duncan admitted shortly after the loss that he was contemplating his future.
Duncan, who averaged 19 points, 10.8 rebounds, three assists and 2.17 blocks per game over his career, leaves as a 15-time NBA All-Star and lock for the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame.
(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru, editing by Alan Baldwin)
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