Tim Duncan #1 SPUR of all time via Express-News

our newspaper, San Antonio Express-News, has done a ranking of the 30 best Spur players in the team's history. you can find the article and list here. congrats to Tim Duncan for making #1! here's what the paper had to say about him:

Still 18 days shy of his 31st birthday, Duncan already ranks second in Spurs NBA history in games played (741, before Saturday's Spurs-Warriors game), rebounds (8,816) and blocked shots (1,825). He's third in points scored (16,191), field goals made (6,194) and attempted (12,195), free throws made (3,779) and attempted (5,551). He's fifth in assists (2,346), seventh in steals (591) and ninth in field goal percentage (50.8).

Duncan was named the NBA's MVP in 2002 and 2003, one of 10 players in league history to win multiple MVP awards. In the nine seasons he has played before 2006-07, he has been first-team All-NBA eight times and was a second-team selection the only season he was not voted to the first team. He has earned All-Defensive first-team honors six times and All-Defensive second team three times. He is the first player in league history to be named to an All-NBA team and an All-Defensive team in each of his first nine seasons. Duncan, the 1998 Rookie of the Year, has been an All-Star each of his 10 NBA seasons.

What truly made the choice of Duncan as the No. 1 player in franchise history easy, though, is the impact he made on the Spurs' playoff success. Before he arrived, the Spurs had won more than one NBA playoff series only once.
With Duncan, the Spurs have won three titles, and with three distinctly different sets of teammates surrounding him. In the club's first championship season, Duncan was with a mostly veteran outfit that included Robinson, Sean Elliott and Avery Johnson. In the second championship run, in 2003, Tony Parker was in his second season and still learning how to be an effective NBA point guard, Manu Ginobili was a rookie and Stephen Jackson was a major offensive contributor. In 2005, Duncan played alongside a new center, Rasho Nesterovic, and Robert Horry and Brent Barry had filled important roles. Duncan was the constant, voted MVP of all three NBA Finals.

It may well be that the Spurs remained in San Antonio because of Duncan. A referendum to commit public funds to construction of a new arena, deemed vital by ownership if the team was to remain in the Alamo City, trailed in pre-election polls before Duncan led the Spurs to the 1999 title. Voting on the same day the Spurs were presented their championship rings, San Antonians overwhelmingly approved public support for what is now the AT&T Center.

Here are Duncan's rankings in the Spurs playoff history: No. 1 in points scored (2,858), rebounds (1,499), field goals made (1,038) and attempted (2,056), free throws made (759) and attempted (1,078) and blocked shots (318). He's No. 2 in games played (118), assists (424), scoring average (24.1) and rebounding average (12.7); No. 4 in steals (80); No. 9 in field goal percentage (50.5).

Duncan's importance to the Spurs' success on the court goes beyond numbers. He is a leader by example; few players in NBA history have been more devoted to self-improvement. His work ethic has been praised by coach Gregg Popovich from the moment he arrived for his rookie season. Barry recalls the day he arrived in San Antonio to sign a free-agent contract on July 15, 2004. The Spurs had been eliminated by the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals in late May, but as Barry signed his contract in an office just off the Spurs' practice court, he heard the squeak of basketball shoes on hardwood, so he looked to see who was working out.
It was Duncan, practicing defensive slides.