Tim Duncan's public persona has never seemed like a persona at all — he just is who he is. The guy showed up every night for 20 years and quietly added a pebble to a bucket of career that made him the best power forward of all time.
Part of what made him compelling — beyond how special a basketball player he was — was how average he seemed. On plenty of levels, it was like watching your neighbor or social studies teacher or brother-in-law moonlight as one of the best athletes of his era.
MORE: Tim Duncan in pictures | Why there will never be another
And really, it's one of all-time perfect matches of personality and playing style; Duncan played with ruthless, appealing, metronomic efficiency and never acted in a way that suggested he lived out his day-to-day life any differently.