Tim Duncan retired relevant, and Steph Curry’s Warriors are proving how rare that is

Appreciation for the Tim Duncan years keeps getting easier the further we get from his playing days. Watching Steph Curry's Warriors get bludgeoned, 127-105, by Luka Doncic's new-look Lakers on Wednesday night made me appreciate just how special the Big Fundamental's final years were.

Curry is one of the greats, beloved by many across almost all fan bases in the league. There's interest in how his career ends everywhere, and they only won 37 games last year. It's early in the season, and he had to face LA without Jimmy Butler, but a 38-year-old Steph being so reliant on 37-year-old Butler isn't breeding a contender.

Juxtapose that with Duncan's Spurs, who only lost two season openers in his 19-year career, one by five and the other by six. There were never any blowouts to speak of unless they were doing the whipping.

San Antonio won 50, 58, 62, 55, and 67 games in Tim's final five seasons, and that 50-win run was in a lockout-shortened season (66 games played). It's an incredible wave to ride for a superstar on their last legs, and not everyone gets to do it.

Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant didn't get Tim Duncan's ending

Kevin Garnett's final full season in Brooklyn ended with a 44-38 record. The Nets lost to the Miami Heat 4-1 in the second round, before his head coach, Jason Kidd, immediately forced his way out. The team then moved KG midseason to ride out the final year and a half of his career in Minnesota, where he won 16 and 29 games in those seasons.

Dirk Nowitzki's final season was a 33-49 run with the Mavericks. There was obviously no playoff appearance or real chance to compete at the end for the German legend. Dwyane Wade's career ended with Miami teams winning 44 and 39 games.

The late, great Kobe Bryant was as fierce a competitor as we've had in this league, and his final Lakers years were spent hovering around the very bottom of the standings. They won 17 games in his last season. While his 60-point send-off will always be remembered, it's easy to forget that LA struggled to give him any chance to compete for a title at the end.

The Spurs never let Tim Duncan play a lost season

Then there's Tim Duncan. His .600-plus win percentage in all 19 seasons is the longest such streak in NBA history. He made the playoffs every single one of those seasons, and nobody was counting the Spurs out of anything on his way out the door.

It's a credit to him as much as it is to the organization, and watching Curry waste away in Golden State is a reminder of that.

To be fair, the Chef hasn't indicated that he's about to retire. Technically, there's still time for Golden State to turn things around, but he's only one year from the age Tim was during his final campaign, and things really don't look very good for them.

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