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Whicker: Tim Duncan lived a nearly-perfect basketball life, one shared briefly by UC Irvine coach Russell Turner

@MWhicker03LANG on Twitter

The only game he played was basketball. He didn’t pose, he didn’t sell, he didn’t market, he didn’t Tweet, he didn’t post (except in the lane), he didn’t “brand.”

He played like nobody was watching and sometimes it seemed nobody was, except for the five times he would surface in June with a championship net. The world surrounded Tim Duncan but he kept it offshore, through 19 professional years and five NBA championships.

Few people knew Duncan. A high percentage of those knew him well. He did not hold a retirement press conference.