Coach, I don't want to retire yet

Chapter 606 This is a one-man stage!
A three-pointer!

The Bobcats defeated the Lakers with a three-pointer at home!

The person who completed this buzzer-beater was not Thabeet, not Beasley, not Jordan, not Rose, but Tim Duncan!
The GDP of the Spurs once played a tactical coordination, and finally Tim Duncan made a three-pointer from outside the three-point line to kill the Lakers!!!
The audience, commentators, current NBA players, legends, and experts all felt like they were going crazy.

The Bobcats players on the court, the Bobcats players on the sidelines, and the coach all rushed towards Tim Duncan outside the 45-degree three-point line on the left side of the court like crazy.

celebrate!

Crazy celebration!
Duncan used such an incredible three-pointer to win the game for the Bobcats!
You know, in the final moments, Duncan's defense on Yao Ming was already a great help to the Bobcats!
Yao Ming's presence was not that strong in the final crucial moment because Duncan's defense was so good. Since Yao Ming became invincible, no one has ever defended as well as Duncan.

It can be said that in the final six minutes of the decisive battle, Duncan was an unsung hero on the defensive end in the first 5 minutes and 57 seconds, and in the last three seconds, he personally won the victory for the Bobcats!
So, when the Bobcats players rushed towards Duncan, all the Bobcats fans at the scene were cheering Duncan's name.

In front of his hometown folks, Duncan's performance was truly touching, so the on-site broadcast camera was also very understanding.

When Duncan heard the cheers from the audience and his eyes sparkled with tears, the camera immediately turned to Duncan's family and friends on the sidelines.

Tickets for this game are hard to come by, but Durant and the Bobcats still offered a lot of high-quality front-row tickets to invite Duncan's coaches, teammates, and friends from college.

For example, David Odom, the head coach of Wake Forest University at that time, and Duncan's older brothers at Wake Forest University, Chris King, Randolph Childress and Trelonnie Owens, as well as Duncan's teammate at the time, Tony LaLante and others.

It can be said that in this game, the Bobcats created a very lively atmosphere in order to celebrate Duncan's return home in glory.

So, after celebrating with his teammates, Duncan glanced at the familiar people on the big screen and hurried to the sidelines to greet his former college mentor, big brother, and teammates.

David Odom is now 74 years old. After retiring in 2008, he basically bid farewell to basketball. This time, for Duncan, he once again appeared in front of the world.

Chris King and Odom were definitely the ones who changed Duncan’s life.

Duncan was born in 1976 on a small outlying island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Because it is an island, many people have been swimming since childhood. Duncan is no exception. He has always dreamed of becoming a swimmer in the future. When Duncan was 13 years old, he was the best swimming genius on the island. If he continues to develop in this way, it is only a matter of time before Duncan becomes a swimmer. If nothing unexpected happens, he may even be able to participate in the Olympic swimming competition.

However, as long as nothing unexpected happens, there will definitely be an accident. When Duncan was 13 years old, a hurricane hit the island and the whole island was in chaos. The only national swimming pool on the island was destroyed by the hurricane. Duncan had to suspend his swimming career. What was even more difficult was that the following year, his mother died of breast cancer on his 14th birthday. Because of this incident, he was devastated and completely lost the motivation to practice swimming.

In order to help Duncan find his direction in life and to help him get out of his grief, his family installed a basketball hoop for him and let him play. This year, Duncan was 15 years old and started to play basketball from a swimming athlete who could not play. However, it was obvious that Duncan's basketball talent was much higher than his swimming talent. Even though he was exposed to basketball at the age of 15 and his first coach was only his brother-in-law, Duncan quickly stood out in basketball and soon became the best basketball teenager on the island.

If it were just like this, and if nothing unexpected happened, Duncan might become the best basketball player on the island in the future. He would go fishing during normal times, play basketball when he got home from work, and become a basketball master among the people.

Then, as expected, another accident happened. When Duncan was 16 years old, a group of NBA players went on vacation to the island where Duncan's family lived. In addition to vacation, they also organized a basketball game.

As a famous folk master on the island, Duncan was also invited to play with those NBA players.

In fact, it is more like an invitation to get beaten than an invitation to play basketball. NBA players beating up folk masters, isn't that just fun?
Duncan and his teammates were actually the entertainment of NBA players at that time.

Moreover, after Duncan came on the court, he faced off against Alonzo Mourning, the most famous genius in the United States at that time. It was not easy for Alonzo Mourning to play against a 16-year-old boy, not to mention that this 16-year-old boy had only played basketball for more than a year.

However, as expected, another unexpected thing happened. Mourning was not able to crush Duncan. Not to mention crushing, he couldn't even defeat Duncan.

Alonzo Mourning, the most famous young talent in the United States at the time, was actually tied with a 16-year-old boy.

The two of them fought back and forth, and the fight was very exciting.

Chris King, a Wake Forest University player who had just participated in the NBA draft, noticed this. Although Mourning said he was just playing around, judging from how angry he got afterwards, it was definitely not a joke, so Chris King immediately told his college coach Odom about this.

After hearing this, Odom immediately went to persuade Duncan to play at Wake Forest University. That year, Duncan was 17 years old. The 17-year-old Duncan went to Wake Forest University to play.

From then on, Duncan got his basketball stage. With Duncan's talent, he soon became famous. In his junior year, he was already a super genius known throughout the United States. As long as he participated in the draft, he would be the number one pick starting from 1995.

In basketball, it's hard to tell how much Odom and Kris King helped Duncan.

However, from the perspective of Duncan's life, there is no doubt that Chris King and Odom are Duncan's benefactors.

Without them, Duncan might still be fishing in his hometown.

Watching Duncan greeting Odom, Chris King and others at this time, Mourning, who was also at the scene, had an expression of nostalgia on his face.

It is hard to imagine that he was just on vacation back then, but he used his fame to find a talented player who influenced the NBA for decades.

I don’t know if I’m too lucky or too unlucky.

However, seeing that Duncan can achieve such success now, Mourning must be very happy for Duncan.

After greeting his former mentor, big brother and teammates, Duncan came to Du Kang.

If Chris King and Odom were the ones who brought him to the basketball stage, then Coach D was the one who created the best stage.

Chris King and Odom opened the stage of his basketball life, while Coach D carefully prepared the closing of his basketball life for him.

This is extremely special for his basketball life.

"Thank you, coach."

Duncan hugged Du Kang tightly.

He used too much force, which made Du Kang feel suffocated.

However, this also shows Duncan's current mood.

He was excited.

What kind of feeling is it to be able to be the protagonist of all the players on such a stage?

Just look at how James feels in front of the TV at this moment.

James is really envious and jealous of Duncan now.

James dreams of playing a game like this, and James dreams of becoming the Duncan of this game.

The last six minutes of this game, these legendary six minutes, will eventually become Duncan's glory, and Yao Ming, McGrady, Kobe, Jordan, Beasley, Thabeet, Rose, Antetokounmpo, Jokic, these top NBA players, will all become Duncan's footnotes.

How great this is.

What an honor this is!
When Duncan and Du Kang were hugging, Yao Ming, McGrady, Kobe, O'Neal, Kidd, Grant Hill, Beasley, Jordan, Thabeet, Rose and other players on both sides began to applaud Duncan and Du Kang. "There is no doubt that this is a great scene that shows the glory of the NBA and the feelings of the NBA. We can understand Tim Duncan's feelings at this moment. When he chose to retire from the Spurs and quietly left the NBA, he certainly didn't think that he would one day stand on the most glorious stage of the NBA and let fans and audiences around the world see his strength and greatness again."

"He was a top ten player in NBA history, but he left without any waves. This should not have been the way he ended, but that was only because of Leonard and the Spurs, who disappeared into thin air. He had to end like this. I always believed that the Spurs didn't deserve Tim Duncan. Tim Duncan did enough for the Spurs, but the Spurs didn't do enough for Tim Duncan. Popovich knew this, too, so he tried hard to repay Duncan's contributions over the years with the Spurs, sacrificing the ambitions of young players so that Tim Duncan could have a glorious ending and a great back. But, in the end, Popovich and the Spurs did not meet their expectations. Leonard's backstab made the Spurs disappear into thin air. Not only did they not give Tim Duncan the best way to leave, but Duncan left the NBA silently with regrets."

"It was Coach D who brought Tim Duncan back to us once again! It was Coach D who once again showed us how powerful and great Tim Duncan could become!"

"What Popovich and the Spurs wanted to do but didn't do, was finally done by Coach D!"

"This is a game for Tim Duncan!"

"I don't dare to judge who will be the final winner of this finals, but I know that this game belongs to Tim Duncan!"

Many old NBA fans actually rarely see Duncan so emotional.

As for the stone Buddha, everyone knows about it.

The last time Duncan was so emotional was when he smashed the court floor in dismay after being defeated by the Lakers and Coach D in the 2013 Western Conference Finals.

Compared with the reluctance at that time, Duncan's emotion at this moment is undoubtedly happiness.

So, there was applause and cheers at the scene.

Even Popovich felt very complicated at this moment.

Envy?
I am definitely envious.

Because this is the scene he has always dreamed of.

He and the Spurs have always been grateful to Duncan.

He also hopes Duncan can thank him once.

So, he hopes that Duncan can thank him and the Spurs when he leaves the NBA.

But in the end, he screwed up everything.

As the head coach of the team, he naturally cannot put all the blame on Leonard and the young players of the team.

He and the Spurs want to repay their gratitude, but they cannot use moral blackmail to ask the young people on the team to follow them and repay Duncan.

Maybe Leonard has received a lot of favors from Duncan, but people are selfish, especially young people. They have more pursuits, such as money, fame, and status, which are definitely more important than repaying a favor.

He is too idealistic as a head coach.

Therefore, even though public opinion has turned around and Leonard has become the scapegoat for the Spurs' breakup, Popovich now has no complaints against Leonard.

On that Spurs team back then, everyone took a different path.

The world is never black and white.

Everyone has their own reasons for their choices.

So it is difficult for everyone to say that what they did or what they chose was wrong.

If he were given another chance, Popovich feels he might have done better, but he would still do it without hesitation.

Because he just wanted to give Duncan a perfect departure, and he just wanted to get Duncan's gratitude.

Therefore, he will still make such a choice.

Even though he might be able to do better, he still believes that Leonard will stab the Spurs without hesitation and choose to leave.

"This is where I am inferior to Coach D..."

Popovich clapped his hands with mixed feelings, feeling a little uncomfortable.

Many people said at that time that Duncan following him was a waste of talent.

If Duncan was on a better team with a better coach, his achievements would probably be far greater than when he was with the Spurs.

He had been feeling very angry about this statement.

He also always wanted to prove that he could do something for Duncan, rather than just being a pendant around Duncan.

But in the end, he still didn't get such an opportunity.

In fact, since the start of the game, Tim has not had any communication with him, not even eye contact.

Maybe after one season with Coach D, even Tim himself thinks that his wholehearted follow of him and the Spurs back then was a waste of time?
Just when Popovich was a little dazed.

A familiar voice woke him up.

"Bobo."

Ok?
Popovich was stunned when he saw the smiling man with gray beard in front of him.

"Bobo."

Duncan also gave Popovich a hug.

"Thank you, Bobo."

what? !

At that moment, Popovich was shaking all over.

(End of this chapter)