Father Time remains undefeated. The one opponent to whom every NBA legend had to bow down to. However well a player may age, there will always come a time to call it quits.
The turn of the century witnessed the explosion of YouTube and social media. The stars who shined in this era and helped usher the NBA to the new millennium are on their way out of the gate. Kobe Bryant opened the floodgates, so to speak. And there is a good chance we may have seen the last of these other five Hall of Fame caliber players.
Here is a look at five players who may not suit up for the 2016-2017 NBA season:
1. Tim Duncan
The fact that the Spurs' aging core is too old, is itself too old. This fact has been repeated ad nauseum. Tim Duncan has played 1392 regular season games and 251 playoff games. That's a lot of mileage under those creaking legs.
When the Suns eliminated the Spurs in 2010, people considered them too old. Every single year since then, the Spurs have been seen as being too old. And every year, Duncan has got older. When LeBron took off for south beach, people were writing the Spurs off as too old. We know how that turned out.
In the 2015-2016 season, the Spurs set the record for most consecutive seasons with 50+ wins to 17. If the 98-99 season wasn't shortened due to a lockout, the Spurs would have extended it to 19 seasons.
Duncan had a 2 year contract, with the second year being a player option. He's chosen to exercise that option of $5.6 million. But there's a chance he may still retire. If he hadn't exercised that option, the Spurs would have had to keep $9 million in cap space reserved for him, hampering them in the free agency. This way, he's helping the franchise.
After Bill Russell, Tim Duncan is perhaps the greatest winner in all of basketball. He's won the championship in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and in 2014. That speaks to the consistency of the franchise, driven by the star player.
Tim Duncan has never missed the playoffs in his tenure with the Spurs. He has averaged 19 points and 10.8 rebounds in the regular season. Quite an accomplishment for a player who started playing basketball in the ninth grade because his swimming pool was destroyed by a hurricane.
2. Kevin Garnett
One can still hear KG screaming "Anything is possible!!!" after winning the title. One can generally hear KG screaming something or the other. A thunderous bellow being his version of a gentle whisper, Garnett took intensity to uncharted-Scarface levels.
Numerous basket stanchion supports are in support groups from years of being battered by the bald battering ram of Garnett's noggin. You knew Jordan and Bryant were out to kill you. But that was a metaphorical death. You dreaded that Garnett might legitimately cut the ticket of your tenure on this earth.
There is one statistic in which Kevin Garnett stands alone. At an age where records are as fragile as a twig, Garnett is sitting firmly on this one particular record. Kevin Garnett remains the only player in NBA history to record over 25,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 5,000 assists, 1,500 blocks and 1,500 steals.
The Big Ticket has elevated his legacy by winning a title with the Boston Celtics in 2008. He's now back with the Minnesota Timberwolves, mentoring a young and promising squad.
Garnett's decision hinges on the Timberwolves and how liberal they plan to be with their old franchise player. Garnett has said, “I pride myself on being loyal. I think I’ve proven that by coming back home to finish my career. I need to see how the next few weeks turn out to truly understand if everyone has that same loyalty. Then I will know what my future holds.”
That's one way of asking for more money for past contributions. It would carry more weight if Garnett had not bolted for the Celtics. Garnett holds career averages of 17.8 points, 10 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.
3. Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Nowitzki has changed the game of basketball as we know it. A lanky 7 footer who debuted in the era of the mammoth-hulking big men, Dirk literally carved out a niche for the stretch four. Before small ball era took off, before the SSOL Suns turned offense into a suicide squad sprint, Dirk Nowitzki pulled the big man position from the paint and out to the perimeter.
One of the things which set Dirk apart was that he's been equally capable of scoring inside and outside. That fadeaway jumper with a leg kicking the opponent where it hurts most will be one of Dirk's numerous footprints on the sport of basketball and on the nether regions of his opponents.
In spite of numerous 50 win seasons, Dirk was seen as an also ran for not winning on the big stage. The debacle of the 2006 Finals against the Heat haunted him for half a decade before he turned the basketball world on its head and powered the Mavericks to their first championship in 2011.
That run was one of the most memorable ones in recent memory. A team projected to lose every single round, vehemently exterminated competition en route to an NBA title.
At the age of 37, Dirk Nowitzki holds career averages of 22 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He is sixth all-time in points scored with 29,491 career points.
4. Paul Pierce
Paul Pierce survived being stabbed numerous times, and rather than release a rap album like 50 Cent who was shot numerous times, Pierce decided to shoulder one of the most storied franchises in NBA history with the Celtics.
He carried the load alone without much success, until the addition of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett gave the Celtics legitimacy. Coupled with the emergence of Rajon Rondo as one of the few point guards alive who could have managed three hall of fame players with such aplomb, the Celtics restored their pride by winning the title in 2008.
Of his decision to continue, Pierce has said “[My wife’s] input carried a lot of weight. We’ll figure out some things. I know I don’t want to be sitting at home, whatever I do, regardless. If I come back, it will be one more [season] and that will be it. No doubt.”
Pierce also spoke of anchoring his decision on Garnett’s. He said “I never know what KG is going to do, because he said he was going to retire four or five years ago. Every year he says he’s done, and every year he keeps coming back. It would be great.”
At the age of 38, Paul Pierce holds career averages of 20 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.
5. Manu Ginobili
Manu Ginobili played with a reckless abandon magnified manifold with his billowing locks which accentuated every foul to a death blow. He took rag-doll physics to the extreme. He'd find a keyhole of an opening, flail his lanky frame through it with no regard for human life and somehow convert impossible shots
The Spurs called him Crazy Boy, and his craziness served them well over the years. In the elemental offense of the Spurs, predicated on equal opportunity, Ginobili was the straw which stirred the drink. He added an element of unpredictability which in turn made the entire offense all the more dangerous.
"He may be wild, but he has a great understanding of the game," Barkley says. "He had to sacrifice a lot to play with the Spurs because he could be a 30-point scorer, but he knows that's not what the Spurs need from him. He'll do whatever it takes to win."
There is no question that Ginobili could have been a 30 point scorer elsewhere in the league. Teams would have salivated at the prospect of adding such a dynamic talent. Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, you could add Ginobili's name to that list of dynamic shooting guards in the 2000s without batting an eye.
Speaking of bats, who can forget this epic swat:
Ginobili is maintaining career averages of 14 points and 4 assists per game.
