The whole world, or at least it sometimes seems, now roots for Tim Duncan. Not necessarily the San Antonio Spurs, but Tim Duncan.
As the Spurs await the winner of the Miami Heat vs. Indiana Pacers series and the chance to capture the franchise's fifth title of the Duncan era, their unquestioned star does so with a heavy heart.
The San Antonio-Express recently reported that Duncan and his wife of 12-years, Amy, are embroiled in a pending divorce. One that, quite frankly, could be very messy. Reports have surfaced that, concerned about his marriage, Duncan hired a private investigator to begin tailing his wife as far back as a year ago.
Rampant speculation now has it that Amy Duncan may have been cheating on her husband, but still, it was Amy who officially filed the divorce petition, claiming their marriage was “insupportable because of discord and conflict.”
And still Duncan soldiers on, his teammates will say, in the same giving and compassionate way that makes him so endearing for each and every one of them.
As Duncan waited for news that could indeed serve as the shock of his life, he was still humane enough to take a sizeable pay cut going into the start of this season that allowed the Spurs to further build out the team’s roster, further become the team that is now but a series win from the world title.
Even would-be arch-rival Chris Bosh describes the Big Fundamental as someone he’s always admired and looked up to. “He was in Slam a lot,” Bosh said of the countless stories penned about his idol in the mag many consider the hoops world’s bible. “I took out the pages and put them on my wall. I had favorite players and he was one of them.”
Which makes the ordeal Duncan now finds himself forced to ordeal all the more difficult for his teammates and friends to withstand.
In a 2003 Sports Illustrated piece saluting Duncan as the sportsman of the year, even wife Amy spoke about how her husband was so atypical to what’s considered the modern-day professional athlete.
Duncan had left Wake Forest for the riches of the NBA and she had no intentions of being “that girl back home,” she told the magazine. Amy intimated that she had heard all the tales about the way pro athletes lived and womanized and her mind was set on pursuing her dreams of being a doctor.
She figured her and Duncan were through, she told the magazine. Just one thing; no one told Duncan, who pursued and wooed her every day, calling as many as four or five times daily. Tim Duncan knew what was important to him then and his teammates insist he’s never lost that gift.
What, they ask, is there not to love?
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