VI CONSORITIUM
Five-time NBA champion, two-time NBA M.V.P., three-time NBA Finals M.V.P. and fifteen-time NBA All Star player, Tim Duncan — a St. Croix native — will officially have another accolade associated to his name on Saturday: hall of fame inductee. Mr. Duncan will be officially inducted on Saturday into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame during a ceremony beginning at 5:30 on ESPN. Mr. Duncan will be introduced by former teammate and member of the hall of fame, David Robinson.
Mr. Duncan was drafted No. 1 overall in the 1997 NBA Draft out of Wake Forest, and dominated the NBA over the course of 19 Seasons, all with the San Antonio Spurs. He won the Rookie of the Year after averaging 21.1 points and 11.9 rebounds a game during the regular season of his initial year.
The legendary sportsman won his first title in 1999 when the Spurs defeated the New York Knicks in five games. He scored 33 points in Game 1, and was named the M.V.P. of the series, averaging 27 points a game while securing 14 rebounds a contest.
Mr. Duncan’s second title and second finals M.V.P. was in 2003 when the Spurs defeated the then-New Jersey Nets in six games. In that series, Mr. Duncan averaged 24.2 points per game, 17 rebounds, 5.3 assist and 5.3 rebounds.
His third title and third finals M.V.P. came in 2005 when Mr. Duncan averaged 20.6 points per game, 14.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.1 blocks per game. San Antonio defeated the Detroit Pistons in seven games that year.
In 2007, Mr. Duncan won his fourth title in a four-game sweep against Cleveland Cavaliers, however teammate Tony Parker was named the Finals M.V.P. that year. Mr. Duncan had 18.3 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.3 blocks in that series.
During his fifth and final championship in 2014, Mr. Duncan averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds a game, however Kawhi Leonard was named the M.V.P. of that series. The Spurs defeated the Miami Heat in five games.
Mr. Duncan averaged 19 points and 10.8 rebounds per game in the regular season and 20.6 points and 11.4 rebounds per game in the playoffs throughout his career.
His career high for points in a game was 53, which he scored against the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 26 2001. His career high for rebounds was 27, which he accumulated against the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 27, 2010.
Fellow members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2020 are the late Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Eddie Sutton, Rudy Tomjanovich, Tamika Catchings, Kim Mulkey, Barbara Stevens and Patrick Baumann.
Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s widow, will speak at the ceremony after Michael Jordan introduces him to the Hall of Fame.