Spurs to retire Tim Duncan's No. 21 jersey on Dec. 18

The San Antonio Spurs will retire the No. 21 jersey of future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan on Dec. 18, the team announced Wednesday.

A veteran of 19 NBA seasons -- all with the Spurs -- Duncan retired in July with five NBA titles, two NBA MVP awards, 15 All-Star appearances and a spot on many lists as the greatest power forward of all time.

He also partnered with Gregg Popovich to post the most wins by a player and coach in NBA history, with 1,001.After drafting Duncan in 1997, the Spurs posted a 1,072-438 regular-season record -- the best 19-year stretch in NBA history and tops in the four major U.S. sports in that period.

A four-year star at Wake Forest, Duncan was the No. 1 pick by the Spurs in the 1997 draft. He made an immediate impact, winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award and earning All-NBA First-Team honors, the first of 10 selections in his career. He led the Spurs to a championship in his second season, in 1998-99, and was named Finals MVP.

He would go on to win four more titles, in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014, and he was named Finals MVP twice more, in 2003 and 2005. San Antonio posted a win percentage of at least .600 in 19 straight seasons with Duncan, the longest such run in NBA history.

Duncan finishes his career with averages of 19.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 blocks per game. He ranks 14th all time in points (26,496), sixth in rebounds (15,091) and fifth in blocks (3,020).

Duncan made the NBA AllDefensive First Team eight times. He is only the third player in NBA history to win 1,000 career regular-season games. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Parish are the only players with more career victories.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.