SAN ANTONIO — After three seasons away from the NBA, the Spurs announced today that legend and future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan will return to the team as an assistant coach.
Duncan retired following the 2015-16 season and capped off a 19-year career that featured five championships, three Finals MVP awards and two regular-season MVPs.
Drafted by San Antonio with the No. 1 pick in 1997, Duncan went on to be a 15-time All-Star and 15-time All-NBA performer, as well as a 15-time All-Defensive Team player. The Spurs retired Duncan’s No. 21 the season after he retired.
He spent his entire career playing under coach Gregg Popovich and they are the only two who have been a part of every Spurs championship.
“It is only fitting, that after I served loyally for 19 years as Tim Duncan’s assistant, that he returns the favor,” Popovich said in a statement.
Along with Duncan, Will Hardy will also join Popovich’s staff.
Following his retirement, Popovich announced that Duncan was sticking around the franchise as “coach of whatever he feels like,” and the big man would often show up at the facility for practice, sometimes even taking the court.
Now, he’ll be taking on a more official role with the team, and that should only be good news given his wealth of knowledge about the game.
https://www.nba.com/article/2019/07/22/spurs-hire-tim-duncan-assistant-coach-release