Tim Duncan Becomes 5th Player in NBA History with 3,000 Career Blocks

San Antonio Spurs big man Tim Duncan has reached another milestone.

The two-time MVP recorded the 3,000th block of his career in the first quarter against the Houston Rockets on Saturday night, becoming the fifth player in NBA history to reach that mark. Duncan blocked Rockets guard James Harden's layup attempt with six minutes, 16 seconds remaining in the quarter.

The block put Duncan just 64 behind Mark Eaton for fourth on the all-time list.

Not only did Duncan join the 3,000-block club, but the five-time NBA champion also became the second player in league history to score 26,000 points, grab 14,000 rebounds and block 3,000 shots, per Jordan Howenstine of the Spurs' public-relations department. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the only other player to reach that feat.

Rank	Player	Blocks
1	Hakeem Olajuwon	3,830
2	Dikembe Mutombo	3,280
3	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	3,189
4	Mark Eaton	3,064
5	Tim Duncan	3,000

Duncan has played for the Spurs throughout his entire 19-year career since the team drafted him No. 1 overall out of Wake Forest in 1997. The Spurs tweeted this to honor their all-time leading scorer:

A three-time NBA Finals MVP, Duncan has averaged 19.2 points and 10.9 rebounds per game in his career. While he's been a great offensive player throughout his career, his defensive play has been as stellar. Duncan came into Saturday's game averaging 2.2 blocks per game for his career, and he averaged a career-high 2.9 per game in the 2002-03 season.

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News took note of Duncan's milestone but added some humor as well:

Duncan has a player option for next year, per Spotrac, which would be his 20th in the league, should he return. He's averaging 1.3 blocks per game this year, and if he returns, he'll likely pass Eaton on the all-time list and continue to add to his legendary resume.

Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com. Follow Danny Webster on Twitter