Duncan Is A True MVP

He didn't wag his tongue or seal it with a memorable jumper while holding his shooting hand aloft for history to remember.

Tim Duncan did it his way: matter-of-factly, showing more substance than flash, with no need for nicknames, jewelry or anything but his game.

Duncan, the most valuable of San Antonio's Twin Towers, scored 31 points in another dominant performance Friday night to lead the San Antonio Spurs to their first NBA title in his second season in the league.

"It's going to be extremely difficult for me to put into words how this feels," said Duncan, whose game is playing, not talking.

There is nothing even remotely '80s, or even '90s, about Duncan, a native of the quiet Virgin Islands. He describes himself as a "boring guy," admits disliking the big, sprawling, noisy city that is New York.

There is no more clamorous, distracting place to have to win a championship, and even the low-key Duncan seemed to warm to the place. When Latrell Sprewell Duncan's controversial, notorious rival in this game missed his last two shots, Duncan jumped around and hugged as many teammates as he could find.

"That's about as much emotion as you're going to see out of him," Spurs forward Sean Elliott said.

"I have no idea," Duncan said when asked how he would celebrate the championship. "I'll just celebrate as much as possible until I have to be in training camp in a couple of weeks."

Now, a year after Michael Jordan sealed his career with that memorable shot in Game 6 in Utah, a new star is born with a much different style.

"Duncan won the MVP? Really?" Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said facetiously. "That's a shock."

On a serious note, Van Gundy said, "Sometimes you can watca guy play and know if he's really into winning or not. That guy's truly into winning."

Now they are talking about Duncan and saying he is the best player in the game. There was no one left at the end of this inexplicable season who was better.

"It's an incredible honor," Duncan said. "But all it means is that they're going to come at you harder next time. All you do is get a high off it all summer and come back at it next year."

This tells you all you need to know about Duncan and his style. He filmed the postgame celebration with a mini-camcorder.

"Just making records for myself," the low-key Duncan said. "It's a blessing to do what we did here, and there's no guarantee we'll ever get back here."

Just in case, Duncan might want to hang on to that camcorder.

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