SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Unlike nearly half of the San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan came back this season. That meant coach Gregg Popovich did, too.
But when Duncan leaves? Popovich wise-cracks that "it's just a freak of nature" that their contracts coincide perfectly.
Sooner rather than later, Pop's punch line will be no joke.
Duncan enters his 13th season with the end of his brilliant career squarely in sight. On paper, there are three years left on his contact. On the court, the signs are in the conspicuous brace guarding his vulnerable left knee and in his starring role getting smaller.
At 33, Duncan says he sees a couple of years left in his career, and he hopes to finish strong. But in his words: "I know the window for me is closing."
He's coming off just the second time in his career that the Spurs didn't advance past the first round of the playoffs. In March, he was diagnosed with tendonosis in his right quad and began skipping games to save his legs.
By April, the banged-up Spurs were done, and Duncan was off on his earliest vacation in nine years after Dallas manhandled San Antonio in five games. The Spurs, entrenched in a win-now mode as much as ever, hope the rest did him good.
Their chances of winning a fifth championship in 11 years depend on it.
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