After 19 incredible seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, the Big Fundamental is hanging them up for good.
This morning, it was announced that the legendary Tim Duncan has retired from the NBA.
The five-time champion has ascended past the age of 40, and while he still can contribute on the court, he's far from the player he was when he twice earned MVP honors and led the Spurs as they became a dynasty.
As the news begins to set in, players, teams, members of the media, and fans everywhere are reacting to Duncan's retirement on Twitter, attempting to honor the future first ballot Hall of Famer as best as they can in 140 characters or less:
After 19 seasons, Tim Duncan announces retirement » https://t.co/kQimgv8oIB#ThankYouTD pic.twitter.com/aLua8MRZtS
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) July 11, 2016
Even tho I knew it was coming, I'm still moved by the news. What a HUGE honor to have played with him for 14 seasons! #ThankYouTD
— Manu Ginobili (@manuginobili) July 11, 2016
Tim Duncan's retirement announcement from the Spurs: 8 paragraphs, 0 quotes, and that's about exactly what you'd expect.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) July 11, 2016
BREAKING: Tim Duncan announces his retirement after 19 seasons and five world championships pic.twitter.com/07yUr8LuNl
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 11, 2016
Tim Duncan retires. No statement. No letter. Just a brief Spurs release: 1,072-438 (.710) record. Five championships. Goodbye No. 21.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 11, 2016
Shaquille O'Neal (@SHAQ) to ESPN on the retirement of longtime rival Tim Duncan: "Greatest power forward ever. Unbreakable power forward."
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 11, 2016
Ten years ago, when I was 14, Tim Duncan gave me 1-on-1 pregame interview. One of the 🐐s made time for a RANDOM KID. pic.twitter.com/5AydQFwjAf
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) July 11, 2016
Salute to the greatest power forward ever! Illustrious career!! Much respect Timmy D.
— 🏁 Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) July 11, 2016
Tim Duncan is 1 of 2 players in NBA history to record at least 26,000 Pts, 15,000 Reb and 3,000 Blk in his career. pic.twitter.com/yvpRBAikVa
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 11, 2016
This remains one of my favorite sports photos: Tim Duncan and young Chris Paul. pic.twitter.com/FvfaxtPkFV
— SI Vault (@si_vault) July 11, 2016
Got a chance to play against Duncan for 10years and every time I played against him I was in amazement!! Congrats on a great career!!
— Kyle Lowry (@Klow7) July 11, 2016
Quote from former Spurs guard Avery Johnson on Tim Duncan's retirement. @CoachAvery6 #spurs pic.twitter.com/XY3Qujt68H
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 11, 2016
https://twitter.com/iamHectorDiaz/status/752510524508631040
Ex-Spur Bruce Bowen on Tim Duncan: "Best example of a leader. Didn't give lip service. Wanted guys to put time in to get the best results."
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 11, 2016




https://twitter.com/SportsNation/status/752511506852577284
Kobe Bryant tells me of frequent foe Tim Duncan: "More cutthroat than people give him credit for. I loved everything about him on the court"
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 11, 2016
https://vine.co/v/5WQpdHBhH21
Crazy Stat of Day: Tim Duncan made the playoffs each of his 19 seasons since the Spurs drafted him in 1997. pic.twitter.com/3MQUvIj9Ss
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 11, 2016
https://twitter.com/Lahlahlindsey/status/752508866890493952
A Tim Duncan that really stands out: He is the only player in NBA history to play over 9,000 career minutes in the playoffs.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) July 11, 2016
https://twitter.com/SheaSerrano/status/752509679712866304
Tim Duncan #Legend
— Bradley Beal (@RealDealBeal23) July 11, 2016
Tim Duncan – the greatest power forward of all time. Congrats on a fantastic career.
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) July 11, 2016
Like most basketball fans, I'm celebrating Tim Duncan's retirement by looking for videos of Avery Johnson saying Duncan's name aloud.
— David Roth (@david_j_roth) July 11, 2016
Tim Duncan downloaded pokemon go & next day quit his job. tip of the iceberg, Amerca
— PFT Commenter (@PFTCommenter) July 11, 2016
Congrats TD #19yrs #GoSpursGo
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) July 11, 2016
[button width=”full” button size=”bigger” color=”custom” align=”center” textcolor=”#ffffff” texthcolor=”#ffffff” bgcolor=”#8b0000″ link=”https://clutchpoints.com/tim-duncan-means-basketball-san-antonio/”]NEXT: What Tim Duncan means for basketball, for San Antonio, and for me[/button]