SAN ANTONIO — First things first: Spurs icon Tim Duncan probably won't make coaching his second career. He's too smart to do that.
There are some folks – I’m not one of them – who believe Duncan is being groomed to be Gregg Popovich's successor as head coach.
Duncan got a taste of what it's like to be the guy in charge on an NBA bench Tuesday night, when he subbed for Popovich. With Popovich out for personal reasons, Duncan led the Silver and Black to a 104-103 victory in Charlotte on the first night of a three-game road trip.
For good measure, Duncan even met with reporters after the game. I mention that only because Duncan played a cat-and-mouse game with the media throughout his stellar 19-year career, eschewing postgame interviews more often than not.
Naturally, Duncan was asked after the game if he was comfortable stepping in for Pop and if he thought he would want to coach down the road.
“No," Duncan, 43, said. "Pop’s going to be back and I’ll be happy to hand it right over to him.”
Popovich is expected to return to the bench Friday night when the Spurs play the Brooklyn Nets.
Duncan, who ended his 19-year career after the 2015-16 season, was asked why he decided to come out of retirement last summer and return to the Spurs as an assistant coach.
His reply sounded a lot like something Pop, his kindred spirit, would have said.
"You want to talk about the game or do you want to do interviews here for other things?," Duncan said tersely. "I'm just here for the fun of it."
Tuesday's game marked the first time Duncan started a game as acting coach. He moved to the "big boy chair," as he called it, after Pop was ejected from a game against Portland on Nov. 16 at the AT&T Center.
So what's it like to go from assistant coach to acting head coach?
"It’s night and day to be in the big boy chair," Duncan said. "Truth be told, I wasn’t in the big boy chair. We’ve got Becky (Hammon), Will (Hardy) and Mitch (Johnson).
"Mitch prepped the game for us, Becky and Will were making all the calls and I was the only one standing there screaming at people, nonsensical stuff. We coached by committee, and it could have been any one of us up there and we’d have done exactly the same stuff.”
Duncan was the NBA's story of the night Tuesday, but he made sure to deflect attention to Hammon, Hardy and Johnson. Such humility is typical of Duncan, a consummate team player and one of the most understated pro sports stars of his generation.
There were a good number of Spurs fans who expressed disappointment that Hammon didn't get the call to be the acting coach Tuesday. That's understandable, given that Hammon is quite a story herself.
But, really, Pop had no decision to make. In a pinch, he went with the only Spur who played on all five of the franchise's championship teams. It was a no-brainer.
Duncan certainly would have the gravitas to lead an NBA team someday if that's what he wanted to do. Coaching is about teaching and being a leader. Given his stature and high IQ on and off the court, Duncan would easily meet the criteria. But would he really want to follow that career path?
Until then, Duncan will stay ready and keeping winning games for Pop, just as he did when he wore No. 21 and dazzled fans with his patented bank shot.
