NBA Hall of Fame inductee Tim Duncan was hired as an assistant coach by Gregg Popovich after spending his entire basketball playing career with the San Antonio Spurs. But as of November, he has announced that he will be stepping down from his duties.

Tim Duncan was being groomed as Popovich's eventual replacement when the legendary coach eventually retires. By January next year, "Coach Pop" will be 72 years old and would have been the Spurs head coach since 1996.

Duncan played for Popovich for almost 20 years from 1997 until 2016. They won five NBA championships together. He came in as a full-time assistant coach starting last season and was the acting head coach in the dramatic come from behind victory against the Charlotte Hornets when Popovich missed the game due to personal reasons. The game against the Hornets is considered to be Duncan's debut as a head coach in the NBA.

In an interview after the Charlotte game, Duncan said, "It's night and day to be in the big boy chair."

When asked that night if he wanted to be a head coach down the road, Duncan declined, saying, "Nope. Pop is going to be back, and I will be happy to hand it right over to him."

It looks like Mister Big Fundamentals does not like coaching. Nevertheless, NBA fans and analysts were expecting him to take over the job someday.

But according to NBA.com, Duncan will not continue as Popovich's coaching protegee next season, but will remain with the Spurs as a "Player Development Consultant." Duncan acted as a part-time consultant for the Spurs after he retired as a player in 2016.

It is unclear what prompted Duncan's decision to resign from the coaching position, yet continue to be part of the Spurs organisation.

After working together for almost two decades, the two have great chemistry considering Duncan is the last NBA player who played using pure basketball fundamentals while working together with modern players such as Tony Parker and Bruce Bowen. He is most likely the last player who will be inducted to the Hall of Fame without an explosive offensive talent.4

Tim Duncan Reuters