After Ginobili finished speaking, it was the last person who was the most important person to Duncan, Popovich.

"It was a very 'hard' decision to choose him back then. All the kittens and puppies in your family can make this decision."

The first sentence Popovich said showed his old-fashioned humor.

This sentence also evoked memories from many people at the scene. At that time, in order to choose Duncan, Popovich and the "Cardinale" Auerbach competed to show off their mistakes.

In the end, the goddess of luck favored San Antonio and also made the Spurs' history of being powerful for more than 20 years.

"He loves carrot cakes, and I don't remember how many times he brought him cakes. It's been almost 20 years. It's so 'annoying'."

In his subsequent speech, Popovich also shared a little secret between him and Duncan.

This secret also fully reflects the relationship between the two, like a master and apprentice, or a father and son.

"I don't want to talk about scoring or rebounding data, I just want to say that he makes everyone better. I thank him for giving me the opportunity to coach this team, because with him, I can lead this team in my own way.

He is the most sincere and stable person I have ever met. He has been doing well for more than ten years. I want to tell Tim's parents that Tim has not changed as he did when he came here."

Popovich's final words were also very sensational.

Duncan's eyes were unconsciously red. Maybe he was not good at expressing feelings in words, but the relationship between the two no longer needed to be described in words.

When Popovich finished his last sentence, there were endless applause and cheers at the scene.

Popovich and Duncan, San Antonio, are the two most important totems, and they are also their best memories, a very long memory.

After Popovich finished speaking, Duncan took the initiative to come over and hug him, and the two hugged each other for more than a minute.

When the cheers fell, the two separated, and Duncan also took the microphone and prepared his speech as the protagonist.

"Last night was the hardest night in my life because I needed to give a speech that would last more than 30 seconds, which was a super difficult thing."

Duncan spoke and revealed a part of his honesty, but it made the fans on the scene laugh.

This is indeed a bit difficult for Duncan.

"But I finally finished it, and on one of the most important occasions of my career, I have to thank many people who (referring to the former retired players) do this."

Duncan continued to laughter.

Duncan is a speech that is just like many graduates who have graduated college students, looking for templates to make!

"Thank you San Antonio fans..."

But no matter what, Duncan began his thanks.

Like Tang Tian, ​​he puts fans first in this regard.

The fans are teammates, the teammates are management, and finally the coach.

When talking about his teammates, he looked at Popovich and said something.

"Coach, I think I should tell you that since Don came to the team, the carrot cake you gave me was snatched and eaten by that guy. That guy is the ultimate cake lover."

Popovich was stunned for a moment. He obviously didn't expect that there would be such a thing, but then he burst into laughter.

After laughing, I couldn't help but shake my head.

He once thought that Tang Tian would become the next Duncan and that he could coach Tang Tian until the day he retired.

If that were the case, his carrot cake might not have been cut off due to retirement, as well as his red wine that he can't finish in the refrigerator now.

Duncan finally thanked the two most important coaches in his life.

"Thanks to Coach Odom for giving me the opportunity, thanks to him for coming here, thanks to Popovich, we won together and created the team culture together, you are not just my coach, but more like my father."

Duncan's final speech was as sensational as Popovich.

One is an old man who is stable and skinny, and the other is an old guy who is not good at speaking. The two resonate unknowingly.

And at the end, Duncan also rarely uses his humor, although it is a bit cold.

"I didn't wear jeans or suits today, but I didn't wear a tie. In addition, I spoke for more than 30 seconds."

One sentence echoed Parker's teasing of his dressing style, and the other sentence was self-talk.

It was very cold humor, but it caused cheers on the scene to last for a long time.

After all, this was Duncan's first joke in public.

Duncan's speech ended, and the final jersey was unveiled on the spot.

Like the unveiling of the championship flag, the black curtain covering the surface of Duncan's jersey slowly opened, revealing the unique jersey inside.

Duncan, No. 21, 1997~16.

Like the retired Spurs jerseys beside him, Duncan's name will always hang over the Att Arena, just like them.

After the jersey retirement ceremony, Duncan stayed to watch the second half of the game between the two sides.

Inspired by the retirement of the jersey, the Spurs played a perfect half in the second half, and they finally successfully overtook the score.

At the last moment of the game, Ginobili dreamed of returning to the peak, and his consecutive difficult three-pointers helped the Spurs narrowly defeat the Pelicans to win the game.

The Pelicans' 19-game winning streak was ended, but losing a game is nothing for them, and no matter how strong the team is, they cannot do it without losing.

And it's understandable to lose on such a night.

After the game, Tang Tian was pulled by Duncan to the bar party, and Parker, Ginobili, Dior and Leonard all went there.

The last time in Rio, Duncan missed the party gorgeously, and this time he organized it directly by himself.

But for them, it would be a very meaningful party.

Just when Tang Tian and Duncan were having a party, fox sports reported some dark history related to Tang Tian.

These news also quickly became popular on social media headlines.

"When Tang Tian was playing at the University of Connecticut, he once went to New York Street Stadium to participate in the street court singles to win money. According to NCAA's regulations, this is not allowed."

"When we signed a contract with the Spurs, Tang Tian insisted on signing a two-year contract, which eventually led to the subsequent departure incident. In other words, if the two sides had signed a three-year or four-year contract, Tang Tian is still a Spurs player now."

"Tang Tian has been involved in the Pelicans management decisions over the years. He is a player who has more serious interference with management than LeBron James."

"Tang Tian once gave an opinion on the signing of Whiteside's contract and suggested that the team sign with a longer low-paying contract, which is also a major reason why Whiteside left the Pelicans last summer."

...

This series of news broke out and immediately caused an uproar.

Especially the news of the one-on-one wins during the NCAA period and the Spurs' signing years.
Chapter completed!