San Antonio Spurs legend Tim Duncan makes ESPN’s top 100 professional athletes since 2000 list

Hall of Fame San Antonio Spurs big man Tim Duncan has been named to a top 100 professional athletes since 2000 list put together by ESPN . Old Man Riverwalk came in at No. 16 overall, in fact, just behind Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky, and just ahead of another Hall of Fame NBA big man, Shaquille O’Neal.

That is definitely some rarefied air for the champion Spurs big man, and he deserves to be there. “The first two-and-a-half seasons of Duncan’s stellar career came before the turn of the century, but that didn’t stop him from cementing his spot near the top of this list,” writes ESPN’s Andrew Lopez.

“Even without a Rookie of the Year and his first NBA title, Duncan’s run in the early 2000s banked him both of his MVP awards.”

“He earned the first in 2001-02 with a career-best average of 25.5 points, along with 12.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.5 blocks per game,” adds the ESPN league analyst.

“The Big Fundamental was also one of the best defenders the league has seen, earning his final All-Defensive team nod in 2015 at 38 years old.”

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