“‘Teeny Tiny Timmy,'” the former NBA player teased his former teammate over a now-viral photo that lit up social media. The occasion? A special moment for the San Antonio Spurs as they celebrated their rookie guard Stephon Castle for winning the Rookie of the Year honor. With this, he became the fourth player in Spurs history to win the prestigious honor, joining the elite company of David Robinson, Tim Duncan, and Victor Wembanyama. To commemorate the milestone, the franchise brought all four Rookie of the Year recipients together in an emotional and nostalgic gathering. But amid the congratulations and photo ops, it was Duncan who unintentionally stole the spotlight. But what is he doing now?

After his retirement, the NBA legend had mostly remained under the radar. And in a rare appearance, he was seen in the current picture that the franchise took of all four ROTY winners, which reminded fans to remember the former player. To note, he made 15 All-Star appearances, and won MVP in 2002 and 2003! And not just the fans, but Gregg Popovich, too, understands how important Duncan’s contribution could be if he were to join the team as a coach. No wonder he made great efforts. And Duncan did join the team during the 2019–20 season as an assistant coach. However, he stepped down from the position after that season. But is he interested again?

Back in 2023, when the French star Wembanyama joined the roster, the 15x All-Defensive Team member joined other former Spurs players to guide the next-generation star, as per NBA insider Marc Stein. The 5x NBA champ was interested in guiding Wembanyama. And there was hope again! However, after much convincing, Popovich gave up.

“He may never go to a game the rest of his life. But he comes to practices and walks around to see the boys play. But he has no interest in coaching. Yeah I gave up. When we had him [Tim Duncan] that one year, I gave up after a week. It shows a maturity and intelligence, unlike some of us,” Popovich said during a conversation. “We just keep doing it because we love it. But he has other interests. He’s not wedded to basketball. People fall in love, but basketball doesn’t really love you. Your friends and family love you. Basketball doesn’t love you,” Popovich said.

As Popovich alluded, while Duncan likes to watch the players’ practice sessions and provide guidance, he doesn’t wish to take on an official position. Even to this day, he is likely actively involved with the team, working closely with Wembanyama for his development, but perhaps not ready for the coach’s position. So, with Tim Duncan not seemingly interested, Popovich handed coaching duties to Mitch Johnson just recently.

And speaking of the young Frenchman, he has been taking lessons from the veterans of the league. The first former NBA player to teach him his tricks was Jamal Crawford.

Victor Wembanyama takes lessons from Jamal Crawford, as fans suggest Duncan

Back in June last year, during the previous offseason, when a clip of the Spurs star practicing with Crawford was shared online, fans went into a frenzy. Many, such as Kenyon Martin, claimed that rather than the 3x Sixth Man of the Year, Wembanyama would benefit more from practicing with Duncan. However, there was a reason that the young star sought the Bulls star’s guidance.

Crawford, during his appearance on an episode of The Ringer’s NBA Show, recounted that Wembanyama and his team had approached him. He even had a conversation with San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

The retired NBA player himself addressed people’s confusion once. He said, “Whether you’re at the top of the key, whether at the mid-post or at the post, the footwork transfers in all three areas. And that was our huge focus for that week. We worked out twice a day, we worked for just short of a week and it was incredible because stuff it took me years to learn, he could do it and download it in five minutes.”

Crawford had previously taught both Wembanyama and Bilal Coulibaly the “shake-and-bake” move ahead of the 2024 Rising Stars Challenge. While only a few snaps and snippets were shared on social media, the two had quite a few sessions together. The Bulls legend has always praised the Spurs star, who was earlier ruled out for the 2024–25 season due to deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. As he is expected to return next season, the anticipation is high to see what he brings to the court.