ST. CROIX — Virgin Islander Tim Duncan on Tuesday became the third player in NBA history to win 1,000 games, after the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Utah Jazz 88-86, giving Mr. Duncan his 1,000th career victory.
Mr. Duncan was chosen earlier this year as the NBA’s top power forward of all time, beating the likes of Karl Malone and Dirk Nowitzki to nab the top spot.
Mr. Duncan contributed 3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks in Tuesday’s win to join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,074) and Robert Parish (1,014) as the only players in NBA history to reach 1,000 regular-season wins, according to ESPN.
In March, Mr. Duncan became just the sixth player in NBA history to reach 15,000-plus rebounds in the team’s 109-101 win over the Chicago Bulls. Mr. Duncan and Abdul-Jabbar are the only players in NBA history to notch 25,000 points, 15,000 rebounds and 3,000 blocks.
In November 2015, Mr. Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili moved past Boston’s Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish (540 wins) for the most wins by a threesome in NBA history. The superstar has helped the Spurs to win 50 games or more in every season since he was drafted in 1997, excluding the lockout year in 1998-99, when the team finished the season at 37-13, ESPN says.
Mr. Duncan — honored locally through a recent resolution — also moved past Utah’s John Stockton (953 wins) in November for the most wins with one team.
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