Tim Duncan's jersey to be retired by the San Antonio Spurs

Tim Duncan, who played nearly two decades with the same team and won five NBA titles, will have his jersey number 21 retired by the San Antonio Spurs, the team announced on Wednesday.

The Spurs informed that the ceremony will take place on December 18th when San Antonio faces the New Orleans Pelicans.

Duncan will become the eighth player in Spurs history to have his number retired.

The others were Bruce Bowen (12), Sean Elliott (32), George Gervin (44), Avery Johnson (6), Johnny Moore (00), David Robinson (50), and James Silas (13).

Duncan and coach Gregg Popovich have the most wins for a player-coach duo in NBA history (1,001).

The power forward ended his career in San Antonio as one of the three players in NBA history to spend 19 seasons with the same team, alongside John Stockton (Utah Jazz) and Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers).

Duncan, selected by the Spurs as the first overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft, helped the franchise compile a regular season record of 1,072 wins and 438 losses during his time in San Antonio.

In his NBA career, he appeared in 15 All-Star Games and played a total of 1,392 games, averaging 19.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists. He shot .506 from the field and .696 from the free-throw line.