Sports

St. Croix's Tim Duncan Retires From N.B.A.; Leaving Behind Unforgettable Legacy

ST. CROIX -- After spending 19 years in the National Basketball Association and earning five championship rings, Tim Duncan, the St. Croix native who rose to prominence in the NBA as one of the best to ever play the sport of basketball, has decided to hang his jersey forever, leaving behind a lasting legacy not many can boast of. He is 40. Duncan joined the spurs and stayed with the team his entire career. The Spurs made the playoffs every year in his tenure, never with a winning percentage lower than .610, and won five titles, with Duncan the finals’ most valuable player in three of them. He also won the league M.V.P. Award twice. Coming into the NBA relatively late, the 6-foot-11 Duncan was initially a swimmer. He was the No. 1 pick in the N.B.A. draft after four years at Wake Forest. (The Spurs had the top pick as a result of a rare down season largely caused by an injury to David Robinson.) The player selected just after Duncan, Keith Van Horn, has been out of the league for a deca...