The Time Is Now for Tim Duncan to Perfect His Stellar Legacy

After winning championship No. 5 last season, Tim Duncan further solidified himself as one of the NBA's greatest players. The San Antonio Spurs power forward helped end the franchise's seven-year title drought, a time when Duncan's proverbial championship window had arguably closed.

He could've rode off into the sunset and slowly drifted away from the sport he dominated for 17 seasons. Instead, Duncan returned for another go-round.

Now approaching his 39th birthday, the former top overall pick has a chance to cement and perfect his already sterling, stellar on-court legacy.

But what exactly is the "legacy" Duncan will soon leave, and why does one more championship even matter?

Even if this year is actually the last—and San Antonio falls short during the postseason—he'll retire with five championships. According to NBA.com/stats, Duncan is the only player in league history to start for a title-winning team in three different decades.

He's recorded 15 All-Star appearances, which is tied for the fourth-most selections all-time. Duncan has earned three NBA Finals MVP honors, tied for the second-most ever. The 7-footer has twice been named league MVP, one of 14 players ever to receive the award multiple times.

Duncan ranks in the top 20 of numerous NBA career record lists, including games played, field-goals made, points, total rebounds, blocks and player efficiency rating.

Though he's never been tabbed the Defensive Player of the Year for a given season, the lack of that distinction doesn't diminish his career-long impact on that side of the floor.

Duncan has accrued the second-most career defensive win shares, which only trails Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell, and second-best defensive rating, per Basketball-Reference.com.

Again, why does the championship matter? To begin, the Spurs could become the 10th team since the 1976 NBA-ABA merger to reach three consecutive finals.

One more title would elevate Duncan into an even more exclusive club. A mere four players—Robert Horry, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen—have won six titles since 1976.

Additionally, Duncan would move ahead of eight post-merger players with five rings, including Derek Fisher, Magic Johnson and Dennis Rodman—but most notably, Kobe Bryant.

When considering longevity, Duncan and Kobe are two of the greatest players of the last 20 years. As seen via Land of Basketball, they're rather evenly matched in every category of awards, whether it be MVPs, All-NBA teams or All-Star appearances.

Player	Rings	Season MVP	Finals MVP	All-NBA Teams	All-Def. Teams	ASG
Duncan	5	2	3	14	14	15
Bryant	5	1	2	15	12	17

So, one more ring would give Duncan one more ring than the Los Angeles Lakers' longtime star in the same amount of Finals appearances, and Kobe isn't thrilled at that prospect.

"If you ask me if I'm okay with Tim doing it, I'm not," Bryant said in June 2014, per Mark Medina of InsideSoCal.com. "I'm not okay with that."

Fortunately for Kobe, the Spurs have a remarkably difficult path to title No. 6—though that challenge is synchronously a major reason why 2014-15 is the perfect time for Duncan.

San Antonio is still in a favorable position to lock up another postseason berth, but every time the franchise has seemed to gain traction in the Western Conference, it has faltered.

The offense was a key component of the team's championship run last season, but it's been inconsistent even at full strength. In recent losses to the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors, the Spurs combined to shoot a putrid 35.7 percent overall and 29.1 from long distance.

Unless that trend changes—and there's little evidence to suggest it will—San Antonio will enter the postseason in a position from where it's never earned a title.

During every other championship campaign, the Spurs had tallied the most, second-most and third-most regular-season victories. Barring an unlikely late surge, San Antonio is on track to finish between sixth and 10th.

Granted, consequent to the championship last season, NBA fans and analysts alike have taken a page straight out of Journey's repertoire, reminding themselves "Don't Stop Believin'."

At this point, after all, we ought to know better.

Eric Gay/Associated Press

The 2014-15 campaign could easily be his final year, though that's admittedly not a guarantee given Duncan's track record.

"No matter how (the season) ends, I think Timmy is going to look at (retirement) again," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told Sam Amick of USA Today. "And if you ask me, my guess is that he'll go for another one because he has been so consistent this season."

Nevertheless, Duncan—who has undoubtedly carried the Spurs so far—has an extraordinary opportunity to accomplish two things San Antonio has never been able to overcome: Back-to-back championships and winning a league title from the bottom of the conference playoff standings.

Duncan's legacy won't be tarnished without a sixth championship by any means. But with one more ring at age 39, Duncan would leave no doubt that he's the greatest NBA player of the last two decades.

Unless otherwise noted, stats are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and are accurate as of Feb. 16.

Follow Bleacher Report NBA writer David Kenyon on Twitter: @Kenyon19_BR.