Tim Duncan is back with the San Antonio Spurs, this time as an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich.
Duncan, the all-time leader in points, rebounds and blocked shots with the Spurs – and the only player to be part of the five San Antonio teams to win NBA championships – officially returned to the franchise on Monday. The Spurs, in their classic style, made the announcement in a very subdued way, without even using Duncan’s name in the headline of the press release.
“It is only appropriate, that after I served loyally for 19 years as Tim Duncan’s assistant, that I return the favor,” Popovich said in the statement.
Duncan wasn’t even the most hyped in the ad. That was Will Hardy, who will take on a more extensive role as one of the Spurs’ assistant coaches. Hardy has been with San Antonio since 2010, working his way up from the video room early on.
“Will Hardy is a talented young basketball mind who has earned great respect from everyone in the organization because of his knowledge, determination and personality,” said Popovich.
All the Spurs described Duncan in the statement was this: “Duncan, a 1997 Wake Forest graduate, played 19 seasons with the Spurs before retiring in the summer of 2016.” They didn’t mention his rings, his 15 All-Star picks, his three NBA Finals MVP designations, his two NBA MVP awards, or anything else.
Duncan retired from the court three years ago, but has occasionally worked with San Antonio area players. He was a longtime Popovich favorite, even as far back as 1997, in the days that led San Antonio to pick Duncan with the first overall pick in that year’s draft.
Popovich traveled to the Virgin Islands before that draft to meet Duncan, and was immediately convinced.
“We live on the beach for a few days, and we swim and talk,” Popovich said at Duncan’s retirement ceremony. “From that moment on I knew he was a very special individual because he basically talked about everything except basketball. And we have been the beneficiaries of that intelligence and that perspective on life since he arrived here ”.
Duncan’s hiring and Hardy’s contract extension will help the Spurs replace former assistants Ettore Messina and Ime Udoka, who left early in the preseason for new jobs. Becky Hammon and Chip Engelland also return as assistants from San Antonio.