Of all the NBA legends, Tim Duncan is in a unique place, but it’s not because of the way he played.

The San Antonio Spurs great is popular for his low key and under the radar approach to just about everything. The Big Fundamental is no fan of the glitz and glamour that accompanies the NBA lifestyle, and that kind of mentality has played a great part in shaping the culture of the league’s most consistent winning teams in the Spurs.

His recent decision to stay away from attention is a very interesting scenario. According to an article by DeAntae Prince for Sports Illustrated, Duncan actually declined an offer to fly to Rio for the Olympics from no one else but President Barack Obama himself.

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In a discussion about Duncan’s legacy, Bowen mentioned the Spurs star’s unassuming lifestyle, and eventually explained how Duncan turned down the President’s offer.

“Tim, his legacy is always going to be more of the foundation guy in San Antonio and a guy that wasn’t ever concerned with the limelight,” Bowen said, “but more importantly concerned with others, making sure that they could really reach the most out of their potential.

“It’s not often you find individuals like that. And it’s funny that he was offered an opportunity to fly here with the President of the United States, and he discussed it with me and I’m like, ‘You’re going, right?’ He was like, ‘You know I’m not about that stuff.’ Even that moment where you’d say, ‘I sure would like to be a part of that,’ it doesn’t happen with Tim because he’s not concerned with that stuff.”

That kind of an invitation would have made other superstar athletes scrap whatever’s on their calendar for such an opportunity. Forget about whatever vacations are on deck. Never mind the health scare that led to a number of players declining to join Team USA. They are flying with the POTUS no matter what.

But not Tim Duncan.