On Saturday, April 4, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the historically legendary nine-member 2020 Hall of Fame Class.
MORE: Bryant, Duncan, Garnett headline 2020 Hall of Fame class
Among the newest inductees is San Antonio Spurs legend Tim Duncan, a player with one of the most decorated careers in NBA history.
This man knew what it took to win games. He is the only player in NBA History with 1,000 or more wins with one team. He is ranked in the top 10 for NBA all-time rebounds and block leaders. We congratulate 5x NBA Champion Tim Duncan. #20HoopClass pic.twitter.com/G4hRAuLsxs
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) April 4, 2020
Duncan, who now serves as an assistant coach on Gregg Popovich's staff with the Spurs briefly spoke on the accomplishment, citing the company he is now among as a Hall of Famer.
"What's special about it is the people," Duncan began. "I got to go see David (Robinson) in his ceremony, I got to see Michael Jordan that day, John Stockton that day. To think of the people who are in the Hall of Fame and to be a part of that class is the special part.
"Obviously, we have an incredible class this year with the people who are going in but even beyond that, being a part of the history of basketball, the legends of basketball – being a part of that is the big thing for me."
Duncan headlines an 'incredible' class alongside Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett; the trio of legends each became Hall of Fame eligible in 2020 as they each retired following the 2015-16 NBA season.
After a 19-year career with the Spurs, Duncan retired having amassed quite the list of accolades, including five NBA titles (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014), three NBA Finals MVPs (1999, 2003, 2005), two league MVPs (2002, 2003), 15 All-NBA selections, 15 All-Defence selections, 15 All-Star selections and was named Rookie of the Year in 1998. San Antonio qualified for the postseason in each of Duncan's 19 seasons.
Understandably, Duncan has a very short list of regrets from his time in the league.
"You always get the question of 'What would you change?' or 'What would you do differently?'" Duncan asserted, "Honestly there's not a thing I would do differently. I was blessed with some amazing teammates, organization, coach, individuals. I don't even remember what the number is – 300 and something-odd teammates throughout the years here and I wouldn't change a thing."
While five of Duncan's 19 seasons ended on the league's mountaintop, he also looked back to the shortcomings as memorable experiences that in many ways, brought the team together:
"We were blessed with the fact that we got to win, we got to win championships, we got to have those experiences but as much as those championships were highlights, the things you remember, too, are the losses.
"The things that you remember, too, are the regrouping of individuals – the people who you look to, you counted on to pick up the pieces and kind of just go right back at it. Like I said, there's nothing I would change, it was a blessing all the way through."
The Class of 2020 will be enshrined in Springfield, Massachusetts, the Birthplace of Basketball, on Saturday, August 29, 2020.
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