Tim Duncan’s final NBA game was exceptional. Unfortunately, it didn’t get the result he and his fans desired.
Tim Duncan was never one to seek attention.
He never cared about fame or flattery or any of that stuff. The only things he cared about were being the best basketball player you could be and winning championships.
So when he decided to make the 2015-16 NBA season -one of the San Antonio Spurs best campaigns ever- his final one, no one knew.
No one knew that Game 6 of the 2016 Western Conference Semi-Finals was going to be the last time he would step onto the court as a professional basketball player.
Not a single fan had an idea of his decision.
But despite not having a final farewell, Duncan still balled his mind out that game.
Tim Duncan’s Final Game: Game 6 of the 2016 Western Conference Semi-Finals
He put up his best performance of the postseason with 19 points on 50 percent shooting and 5 rebounds.
That may not sound that impressive, but he was only averaging 6 points and 5 rebounds during that playoffs run.
He was also 39.
However, there is one caveat. His phenomenal performance may have more to do with his team being on the verge of elimination than him trying to show out one last time for the fans.
See, the Spurs were down 2-3 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The series had been back-and-forth and either team could’ve won as the previous games went down to the wire.
But Game 6 was a little different.
The Thunder came out red-hot and dominated the entire first half. They were dominating so hard that they held the Spurs to just 12 points in the second quarter.
Even the Thunder’s worst shooter, Andre Roberson, was feeling groovy and contributed with a then-career-playoff high of 14 points.
“I just told myself stop overthinking,” Roberson told the media. “I put a lot of hard work into my shot, and I put too much pressure on myself sometimes trying to knock it in.
“Tonight, I told myself ‘play free.’”
By halftime, the Thunder were leading 55-31.
Duncan couldn’t accept this. He sensed the urgency, so he took a gulp of Tim’s Secret Stuff and hit the pause button on father time.
In the third quarter, he played a little under 6 minutes and hit 2-3 shots for 5 points.
In the fourth quarter, he and Kawhi Leonard fought and clawed to decrease the lead.
Duncan played all 12 minutes, and he scored 6 points and blocked 1 shot.
With 3 minutes left in the game, the Spurs were able to cut the Thunder’s lead down to 11.
They had possession of the ball. He and Kawhi ran a pick-and-roll and Duncan had a free lane to attack the basket.
But the Thunder’s Serge Ibaka rotated over and blocked Duncan’s dunk attempt.
Russell Westbrook picked up the ball and ran the fastbreak with Kevin Durant.
Noticing that KD was ahead of the pack, Westbrook dished the ball to his teammate, who put the dagger in the Spur’s chances of winning with a big dunk.
The Spurs called a timeout and that was the beginning of the end.
The Final Result
The Thunder beat the Spurs 113-99 and went off to face the Golden State Warriors in the conference Finals.
“One of those nights at the wrong time,” Tim Duncan told reporters after the game. “We actually played somewhat solid in the second half, but it was too little, too late.”
Duncan was also asked about his future and he gave the most Duncan answer:
“I’ll get to that after I get out of here and figure life out,” Duncan said.
A couple of months later, on July 11, 2016, Duncan announced his retirement after 19 seasons in the NBA.
Final Thoughts
Tim Duncan is arguably the best power forward to ever play in the NBA, and it’s a little sad he went out on a loss.
However, he’s still a 2-time MVP, 5-time NBA Champion, 3-time Finals MVP, and 15-time NBA All-Star.
But knowing him, he probably only really cares about the trophies that he got with his teammates for the team.