Public Radio for the Piedmont and High Country
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

5-Time NBA Champion, Former Demon Deacon Tim Duncan Retires After 19 Seasons

San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan is calling it a career. The former Demon Deacon announced his retirement Monday, marking the end of an era for the Spurs and the NBA.

Duncan's retirement caps a career that spans 19 seasons, five championships, two MVP awards and 15 All-Star appearances.

Duncan was the Spurs No. 1 overall pick in 1997 after spending four years at Wake Forest University.

He joined Gregg Popovich, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili to make the Spurs one of the most enduring success stories in modern American sports.

Duncan kept a relatively low profile, and was often overshadowed by more outsized personalities like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

But many consider him to be the best forward to ever play, with a game relying on fundamentals over athleticism.

Duncan's retirement comes two months after the Spurs were upset by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

Support quality journalism, like the story above,
with your gift right now.

Donate