By Jeph Duarte | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-08-13 19:00:00
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
我相信，我们中的许多人，甚至可以说是绝大多数人，都曾见过这一幕；但对我而言，已经有段日子没再看过了。说实话，这感觉就像是每年篮球长草期都应该拿出来重温的经典片段。
故事发生在2009年，当时蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan) 正与篮球传奇人物比尔·拉塞尔 (Bill Russell) 坐着交谈。也正是在那一年，NBA决定以拉塞尔的名字命名总决赛MVP奖杯。
他们二人或许是篮球史上以篮球智慧和高球商著称、且理念最为相近的传奇巨星之二。
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“在杰基·罗宾逊 (Jackie Robinson) 去世的第二天，他的妻子打电话给我，说：‘我希望你能来杰基的葬礼上为他扶柩。’我回答说：‘当然可以，但能问问为什么吗？为什么是我？’她回答道：‘因为你是杰基最欣赏的运动员。’……而我对你，也是同样的感觉。” ——比尔·拉塞尔对蒂姆·邓肯说
拉塞尔接着说：“我认为你的生涯还没有结束。”邓肯则回应道：“确实没有。” 我想拉塞尔当时指的是希望邓肯能再赢得一座以他名字命名的总决赛MVP奖杯，但事实是，这位人称“大基本功”的巨星在三十八岁高龄时，还真的又赢得了一座NBA总冠军。
当我在维基百科上核实他的年龄时，偶然看到了两段关于他生涯末期的描述。他打破各项纪录的表现堪称一种艺术：
2013年12月2日，邓肯在对阵亚特兰大老鹰队的比赛中砍下23分、21个篮板，并命中制胜跳投，成为NBA历史上最年长的单场砍下20+20的球员。马刺队最终以联盟最佳的62胜战绩结束了2013–14赛季的常规赛。在季后赛中，马刺队首轮七场淘汰达拉斯，西部半决赛五场击败波特兰，西部决赛六场战胜俄克拉荷马城——其中第六场比赛进入加时，马刺以112-107获胜。他们与迈阿密热火队在总决赛中再度相遇，并以4–1的比分成功复仇，其中第三场和第四场的净胜分创造了NBA总决赛的历史纪录。在此过程中，邓肯-吉诺比利-帕克三人组打破了NBA季后赛历史上的胜场数纪录。在五场内赢得总决赛后，邓肯与约翰·萨利 (John Salley) 并肩，成为唯二在三个不同年代都赢得过总冠军的球员。
接下来的一个赛季：
2014年11月14日，邓肯拿下了他职业生涯的第25000分……成为NBA历史上第19位达到此里程碑的球员。2015年2月19日，他超越了阿历克斯·英格利什 (Alex English)，在NBA历史总得分榜上排名升至第16位。3月4日，他在对阵萨克拉门托国王队的比赛中抢下6个篮板，从而打破了与内特·瑟蒙德 (Nate Thurmond) 的平局，独享生涯总篮板榜第九位。两天后，他在对阵丹佛掘金队的比赛中送出三次盖帽，超越帕特里克·尤因 (Patrick Ewing)，升至生涯总盖帽榜第六位。4月12日，他在对阵菲尼克斯太阳队的比赛中出战，这是他生涯的第1330场比赛，超越了摩西·马龙 (Moses Malone)，升至历史出场数榜单第11位。他还在那场比赛中得到22分，并借此超越了凯文·加内特 (Kevin Garnett)，在NBA历史总得分榜上攀升至第14位。5月20日，邓肯生涯第七次入选了最佳防守阵容第二队。
这真是一个不可思议的赛季。看看那些被他超越的名字，再看看他在得分、篮板、盖帽、出场数等各项统计数据中取得的惊人排名。
向蒂姆·邓肯致敬，这位比尔·拉塞尔最欣赏的球员。
点击查看原文：Tim Duncan was Bill Russell’s favorite athlete
Tim Duncan was Bill Russell’s favorite athlete
I know many — if not most of us — have seen this before; but for me, it’s been a while. Honestly, it feels like something we should post once a year when the basketball gods are in their slumber.
Tim Duncan was sitting and talking with basketball legend Bill Russell in 2009 when the NBA decided to name the MVP award in Russell’s honor.
They are possibly two of the most like-minded basketball legends known for the acumen and IQ.
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“The day after (Jackie Robinson) died his wife called me and said ‘I want you to be a pall bearer at Jackie’s funeral’. I said, ‘Of course, but could I ask why? Why me?‘ And she said, ‘You were Jackie’s favorite athlete’…and I feel the same way about you.” -Bill Russell to Tim Duncan
Russell goes on to say “I don’t think you’re finished yet,” and Duncan replies, “I’m not.” I believe he is referencing winning another MVP since it was named in Russell’s honor, but the fact that Big Fun won another NBA title at the age of thirty-eight.
As I was confirming his age in Wikipedia, I came across two paragraphs from his final years. The stat-busting is a thing of beauty:
On December 2, 2013, Duncan became the oldest player to record a 20–20 game in NBA history, finishing with 23 points, 21 rebounds, and the game-winning jump shot against the Atlanta Hawks. The Spurs went on to conclude the 2013–14 regular season with a league-best 62 wins. The Spurs defeated Dallas in seven games in the first round of the playoffs, Portland in five games in the conference semifinals, and Oklahoma City in six games, where game 6 went into overtime, as the Spurs won, 112–107. They set up a Finals rematch against the Miami Heat, which they won, 4–1, setting a record margin for a win in the NBA Finals, for games 3 and 4. Along the way, the Duncan-Ginóbili-Parker trio broke the record for most wins in NBA playoffs history. After winning the Finals in five games, Duncan joined John Salley as the only players to win a championship in three different decades.
The following season:
On November 14, 2014, Duncan scored his 25,000th point…becoming the 19th player in NBA history to reach the milestone. On February 19, 2015, he passed Alex English to move into 16th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. On March 4, he recorded six rebounds against the Sacramento Kings, breaking his tie with Nate Thurmond for ninth in career rebounding. Two days later, he recorded three blocks against the Denver Nuggets to surpass Patrick Ewing for sixth overall in career blocks. On April 12, he played his 1,330th career game against the Phoenix Suns, which passed Moses Malone for 11th all-time. He also scored 22 points and passed Kevin Garnett to move into 14th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Duncan was later named to the All-Defensive second team on May 20 for the seventh time in his career.
Pretty amazing season. Look at the names of the players he surpassed. The variety of stats for which he was landed so high.
All hail Tim Duncan, Bill Russell’s favorite athlete.
By Jeph Duarte, via Pounding The Rock