A finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Tim Duncan makes his head coaching debut Tuesday night in Charlotte in place of Gregg Popovich, who will miss the game to attend to personal business, the San Antonio Spurs announced.
Duncan, 43, retired in 2016 after playing 19 seasons with the Spurs, where he won five NBA championships, two Kia MVP awards and two Finals MVPs before joining the coaching staff in July of 2019.
Duncan should have plenty of help on the bench in assistants Becky Hammon, Will Hardy and Chip Engelland.
Hammon has been on the Spurs’ coaching staff since 2014, and Engelland joined the staff in 2005 while Hardy became an assistant back in July.
San Antonio plays its next game on Friday in Brooklyn.
The Spurs’ all-time leader in points (26,496), rebounds (15,091), blocked shots (3,020) and games played (1,392), Duncan ranks as just the third player in league history to capture 1,000 career regular-season victories, with only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Parish winning more games over their careers.
In December of 2016, Duncan became the eighth Spur in franchise history to have his jersey retired, joining George Gervin (44), David Robinson (50), Sean Elliott (32), James Silas (13), Avery Johnson (6), Bruce Bowen (12) and Johnny Moore (00).
Duncan played all 19 seasons of his NBA career for Popovich. Only Kobe Bryant (20) played more seasons with a single franchise, while John Stockton (19) is the only other player to play at least 19 seasons with the same squad.
Duncan retired ranked No. 2 in NBA playoff victories, first in postseason double-doubles and third in rebounds. The 15-year span between Duncan’s first (1999) and last NBA titles (2014) rank as the second-longest span in league history behind Abdul-Jabbar (17 years) among players participating in both NBA Finals series, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Duncan and John Salley are the only players in league history to capture an NBA title in three different decades.
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Michael C. Wright is a senior writer for NBA.com.
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