Source: PAUL BUCK / Getty
A familiar face will return to the San Antonio Spurs bench this coming NBA season, but this time in an entirely new role. Future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan will join the Spurs staff as an assistant coach after giving 19 seasons of his life to the squad.
From NBA.com:
The San Antonio Spurs on Monday announced that Will Hardy and Tim Duncan will be added to Gregg Popovich’s bench as assistant coaches.
Hardy first joined the Spurs as a basketball operations intern in 2010 after graduating from Williams College.
“Will Hardy is a talented, young basketball mind who has earned a great deal of respect from everyone in the organization thanks to his knowledge, spirit and personality,” said Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich.
Duncan, a 1997 Wake Forest graduate, played 19 seasons with the Spurs before retiring in the summer of 2016.
In hilarious Pop fashion, the grizzled coach offered in the press release, “It is only fitting, that after I served loyally for 19 years as Tim Duncan’s assistant, that he returns the favor.”
According to Spurs lore, Duncan and Popovich shared a similar no-nonsense approach to the game. Could Pop be grooming Timmy for the head coaching role? Time will tell.
—
Photo: Getty
