5 best moments from Tim Duncan’s jersey retirement ceremony

2. The Big Fundamental Himself

Tim Duncan was never the most engaging or interesting NBA star, but that’s part of what made him special. Leave it to Timmy to let someone else steal the show on his big night (again, we’ll get to that in a minute), but there’s no question that Duncan’s turn on the mic was charming in its own right.

For starters, most of what Duncan said was unscripted. He even lamented that fact, after a tribute video with his voiceover played right before he spoke, since he wasn’t sure what he was going to say outside of that:

However, Duncan did a pretty darn good job for a guy who was winging it. He said more than just “thank you,” he was actually dressed up (no tie though, of course) and he even injected a little humor in there.

Duncan also made sure to thank all of his former teammates and the amazing fans in San Antonio before turning his attention to his head coach:

It was hard for any NBA fan to avoid tearing up when Duncan’s jersey was finally unveiled in the rafters, and Timmy’s speech was perfectly fitting for the selfless and humble player/person we know him to be.

You can check out Duncan’s whole speech here.