ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — Welcome to an occasionally recurring feature here on All Ball, in which we celebrate the birthday of an NBA great by delving into the highlight vaults. And today we recognize the birthday of perhaps the greatest power forward in NBA history, Tim Duncan.
Born in St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Duncan grew up a competitive swimmer. As a teenager, Duncan took up basketball, eventually earning a scholarship to Wake Forest. After four years at Wake Forest and numerous accolades, including being named the national college player of the year as a senior, Duncan graduated in 1997 and was the first overall pick in the NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs.
Over nearly two decades in the NBA, Duncan has helped lead the Spurs to five NBA championships, won two NBA MVP awards and three NBA Finals MVP awards, and been named an NBA All-Star 15 times. Duncan is the leading scorer in the history of the San Antonio Spurs franchise, and is currently 14th on the NBA’s all-time scoring leaders list with 26,496 points.
Tim turns 40 years old today. Happy birthday, TD!
VIDEO: Happy 40th Tim Duncan