HoopsHype.com Rumors

Chris Broussard: I asked 34 NBA execs and coaches if a 5th ring this year for Tim Duncan puts him "ahead of Shaq in terms of historical greatness.'' answer - 26 said "Yes'', 8 said "No.'' Some felt Duncan already ahead of Shaq b/c did it for 1 team and never played with a Kobe or D-Wade Twitter

San Antonio Spurs, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan 

Duncan, meanwhile, added 18 points on a mere 14 shots, estimated that it's been "four or five years" since his body was responding like this with June approaching, proclaimed the state of his overall health to be "unbelievable" and basically continued to let the world know why the whispered assumption in Spurs circles is that their beloved Timmy is likely to re-sign for years -- yes, plural -- when his contract runs out at season's end. "Vintage Timmy" is how Parker described Duncan's latest down-low (and face-up) clinic against Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. ESPN.com

San Antonio Spurs, Free Agency, Tim Duncan 

Evans Clinchy: Roy (Hibbert): "I worked out with Tim Duncan this summer -- not just basketball stuff. I got to see how he works. He texts me after every game now." Twitter

Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs, Roy Hibbert, Tim Duncan 

But the modest Hibbert hardly is getting a big head. He had to be told he had scored his most points ever in a playoff game. "They said I had 19 points," said Hibbert, averaging 12.4 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in the playoffs, including 14.7, 13.3 and 3.0 in the three games against the Heat. "I seriously can't remember all of them because I was more focused on the defense and they just seemed to come. My teammates found me." As for the rebounds and the blocked shots, those mean more to Hibbert. This guy just loves playing defense. "I was never thinking All-Star," Hibbert said of whether he reached a goal by playing in that game last February in Orlando. "I wanted to be on the All- Defensive team." FOXSports Florida

Indiana Pacers, Tim Duncan 

"When I was a rookie, they saw me as a backup and I'd never amount to much as the 17th pick," Hibbert said of his critics. "When I made the All-Star Game, they said I was the first All-Star not to play in the rookie game (taking into consideration players who entered the NBA since 1993-94, when the game began). That's a tribute to my hard work, so I'm going to keep working." FOXSports Florida

Indiana Pacers, Tim Duncan 

Five years later, Duncan found himself surrounded with an eclectic ensemble of teammates borne out of general manager R.C. Buford’s scouting acumen and coach Gregg Popovich’s genius of integrating the talent into a victorious system. Five years later, Duncan is 36 years old, and the truth is unmistakable: He’s closer to his fifth championship than James is to his first. “It’s been successful for us,” Duncan said. “It’s worked for us. We’ve stuck with that. We’ve been blessed to have the talent that we’ve had, the guys that we’ve drafted and developed over the years – and a couple of key finds along the way … “Yeah, it’s worked for us.” Yahoo! Sports

Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan 

Hibbert figures his days of playing for Jamaica are over because he'd rather work individually on his game during summers. Or, in the case of last summer, work with guys like San Antonio legend Tim Duncan. "More than just basketball stuff, we sat down and talked and I saw how he goes about his business and his calm demeanor," Hibbert said of what he learned from Duncan. "He doesn't get too high or get too low. So I model my game after him. He's texted me after every game. I'm appreciative, and he's somebody that looks out for me." FOXSports Florida

San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan 

DeSagana Diop: Tim Duncan is the coolest and nicest superstar in the league. Twitter

Charlotte Bobcats, San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan, DeSagana Diop 

It happens almost every game now, including in these playoffs, during which the top-seeded Spurs blew through the first round in four games against the Jazz: Some opposing big man throws his weight into Duncan's 36-year-old back, digs out position and then asks the question, How many more years ya got in ya? Each night, Duncan says the same thing: "I got at least one more game." It's worse when the young guys guard him. "Hey, I grew up watching you," they'll say, and Duncan will try to ignore the implication. He understands how this works. "Your mortality as a player is not known," he says. "You don't see the end coming." Even his coach gets into the act. Earlier this season, when Gregg Popovich held Duncan out of a game, he gave the reason as DNP—OLD. SI.com

San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan 

Watch him this week, as the Spurs begin their second-round series against the Clippers, and you'll note that he's moving better than he has in a while, that he looks fitter and that he appears rejuvenated by both the lack of double teams and the relative youth of his teammates. (San Antonio's average age, 26.9, is the lowest of the Duncan era.) Says Duncan, "It's the best I've felt in years." SI.com

San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan 

Great parlor-game discussion: What would have happened if Duncan had been drafted by the Knicks? Would he be the league's marquee name? Or would the spotlight have been too much? "He'd have been great," says Popovich. "He would have adapted," says Kerr. "The beat writers would have chased him around for a year and eventually given up." Says Duncan, "It would have been torture. I probably wouldn't have lasted there very long." SI.com

New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan 

Just kidding, as this might count in his favor. In fact, Duncan hates Kevin Garnett. Hates him the way liberals hate Sean Hannity. This information comes from very reliable sources, who talk about how KG has made a career of trying to punk Duncan, baiting him and slapping him and whispering really weird smack into his ear. They talk about how funny this is, because the worst thing you can do as an opponent is piss off Duncan. Then, as Malik Rose says, "he f------ destroys you." Duncan's lifetime numbers versus Garnett's teams, by the way: 19.4 points per game, 11.6 boards and a 44--17 record, including the postseason. Duncan is diplomatic about the topic. Asked if perhaps all those years battling Garnett have softened his feelings for the man, led to a Magic-Larry type of kinship, Duncan leans back on the couch in his hotel room and grins. There is a pause. A longer pause. Finally he says, "Define kinship." SI.com

Boston Celtics, San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett 

Turns out lots of people feel that way. During his 15 years with the Spurs, Tim Duncan has had 116 teammates. They range from the celebrated (David Robinson) to the not-so-much (Cory Joseph), with a heavy emphasis on the latter. Last year Duncan tried to count them all but couldn't do it. Throughout, Duncan has been the center around which all else has orbited. Most important, he's allowed Popovich to coach him. For 15 straight seasons Pop has gone after his franchise player in practice. We're talking neck veins bulging, spittle flying, a Gatling gun of obscenities. And all Duncan has done is stare back, absorbing it. "He hasn't always liked it," says former teammate Sean Elliott, now a team announcer, "but he takes it. You know how important that is for the rest of the team to see?" Or, as one Spurs coach puts it, "How could a guy like Stephen Jackson complain when Pop was motherf------ Tim every day?" SI.com

San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan 

O.K., it's a toss-up as to how this will make you feel about Duncan: Did he once invite a bunch of teammates to a paintball course even though most had never played paintball? Perhaps. Did Duncan then stack his team with ringers and bring his own high-powered paintball gun? Maybe. Did he give certain players such as Danny Ferry guns that, according to Ferry, "were bent and shot six feet to the left every time"? There's a chance. And did Duncan then take great delight in hunting down his teammates, chasing the pale, balding, shorts-wearing Ferry until he was in close range, at which point Duncan unleashed a hail of water-soluble hellfire upon the man? It's possible. SI.com

San Antonio Spurs, Danny Ferry, Tim Duncan 

Any old geezer can reach back into the storehouse and pull out a shiny object just on muscle memory. But this is more than one game or one week or a couple of months. "He's played like that all year long," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "He's not going to do anything that's going to be on a highlight film for TV, but a highlight film for coaches possibly. Just being solid, making a great pass, playing the defense that he did; he's the anchor." NBA.com

San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan 

The Western Conference scouts were sitting courtside, watching the San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan take everyone back years with him. This was late in a magnificent performance – the nostalgia pouring out of every spectacular, simple move – when everyone else was dragging, and here the old man had come tearing down the floor on a dead sprint. "He looks 25 again," one of the scouts marveled, and it was something to behold in the AT&T Center. Duncan had been his old, devastating self for the Spurs, punctuating a 108-92 Game 1 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers with an array of moves and machinations delivered out of his playoff archives. Yahoo! Sports

San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan 

"Nothing changes about the Spurs," said Clippers veteran forward Kenyon Martin. "They just keep doing what they do and Duncan does what he does." NBA.com

San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan 

Al Jefferson "Tim Duncan doing a great job fighting me off the block. He know his job is done if he gets me off my sweet spot, but to me anywhere spot can be my sweet spot. I don't mind catching it off the block but it will be easier both for myself and my teammates if I catch it lower." Sulia

San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, Al Jefferson, Tim Duncan 

SLAM: Tell me about the dynamic between you, Tim and Manu. Who does what? TP: It’s the best relationship with teammates I’ve ever had. Timmy and Manu, they’re so unselfish, and all we care about is winning. All three of us do a good job of not caring about our egos and only caring about the team and what’s best for the team. SLAM: What are the differences between your guys’ styles? TP: Timmy is more quiet. Me and Manu will scream a bit more. Manu will go a little more crazy. He’s always been the craziest one, but a good crazy. I’ll say I’m a mix of both. SLAM

San Antonio Spurs, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan 

Duncan swears he has not spent one idle moment considering his future. “That’s something I’ll think about after the season ends,” he said after a recent road game. “For now, I’m not worrying about anything except our next game. I don’t even have an agent.” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan