Tim Duncan's farewell? Even he doesn't know

OKLAHOMA CITY – Only Tim Duncan knows what that index finger to the sky meant.

Nearly 20 years later, f-rom Wake Forest to San Antonio to the Chesapeake Arena tunnel whe-re the best power forward of all time left for the night and, perhaps, forever. If this was it, if Duncan’s glance at the scoreboard and hand gesture to the heavens after the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Game 6 win was his final basketball scene, it changes nothing of his place in the game.

A legend through and through. Five-time champion. Ageless wonder. The stoic superstar.

Even he doesn’t know if we’ll see him again.

“I’ll get to that after I get out of here,” Duncan, 40, said after the Thunder’s 113-99 win that sent them to the Western Conference Finals and sent the Spurs home after they’d won a franchise record 67 games in the regular season. “Figure life out.”

USA TODAY

Thunder finish off Spurs, will face Warriors in West finals

 

There are a million or so ways to quantify Duncan’s storied career, but one in particular stood out amid his respectable finish. The big man with whom he battled most, a New Zealander by the name of Steven Adams, was a walking, talking, blocking reminder of how long Duncan had been serving the NBA.

Adams, you see, was four years old when Duncan played his first professional game – a win at the Denver Nuggets on Halloween night in 1997, his 15-point, 10-rebound outing a sign of things to come. Yet still, the youngster had as good as grasp as anyone of what it means to share a floor with the two-time MVP and 15-time All-Star.

“It’s just amazing to see him still come out there and still be able to bust you up if he needs to, man,” Adams said. “That’s amazing, man. It was quite awesome just playing with him.”

Adams, perhaps wisely, cautioned against the assumption that Duncan is done. After all, he has fooled us before.

“He’s fountain of youth, mate; he’s found it; he’s good.” he said. “I thought he’s still capable. He’s still in tune with their system that like he could have one leg, man, and still be able to contribute. That’s a credit to Pop (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich) and the coaching staff and the players who are willing to just believe in their system. That’s all it comes down to, man.”

The last game proved as much.

Duncan, who struggled so mightily throughout these playoffs, was an occasional diamond in the Spurs’ rough. He finished with 19 points and a plus-12 rating in 34 minutes, yet the only play anyone will remember sent a far less promising message.

Duncan, rolling off that high screen for Kawhi Leonard with the Spurs having cut the lead to 11 with 3:14 remaining, took the pocket pass and attacked the rim in the kind of way that we rarely saw when he was in his 20s. But Serge Ibaka beat him there, coming off of LaMarcus Aldridge f-rom underneath the glass to rise up and put Duncan on his back. The block was the unofficial end of San Antonio’s furious comeback, as Kevin Durant soared high for a dunk on the other end that stretched the lead to 13.

FOR THE WIN

Gregg Popovich to reporter: 'Are you coaching now? You should try not to do that.'

 

It made for easy storytelling, but the truth is that Ibaka has blocked Duncan plenty of times before. This isn’t Michael Jordan we’re talking about, a high-flyer who needs to head for the exits when his above-the-rim skills have left him. In that regard, Duncan – who has a player option on his contract worth $6.3 million for next season – must now decide how he sees it. The same goes for Manu Ginobili, the 38-year-old who also has a player option for next season ($2.9 million).

Even with this unexpected finish, the Spurs aren’t going anywhe-re. Their prospect of signing Durant in free agency certainly wasn’t aided – the saying is “If you can’t beat them, join them,” after all. But they have loads of salary cap space and a Leonard/LaMarcus Aldridge core that’s now helping the old heads keep this whole thing going.

“I’ve got no clue (what he’s going to do),” said Spurs forward David West, who left $10 million behind in Indiana in order to sign with the Spurs last summer. “He doesn’t (know), really. You’re not going to know whether or not (he’s coming back). He just doesn’t let on. Obviously I think we’re all a bit disappointed. I think we felt that we had a group that could advance, but f-rom his perspective I don’t know whe-re he is. I just don’t know.

“He’s not going to give much (indication). He’ll give you a head nod, an eye blink, or something. ..We’ll talk. I don’t know. I just don’t know. It’s too early right now. Our season is fresh over. We’ll figure it out, and just see whe-re he is. Obviously he still has great passion for the game, but you never know.”