Tim Duncan, the former San Antonio Spurs star, declined an invitation from President Obama to attend the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, a former teammate told Sports Illustrated.
"Tim, his legacy is always going to be more of the foundation guy in San Antonio and a guy that wasn't ever concerned with the limelight," Bruce Bowen told SI's Deantae Prince, "but more importantly concerned with others, making sure that they could really reach the most out of their potential."
"It's not often you find individuals like that. And it's funny that he was offered an opportunity to fly here with the President of the United States, and he discussed it with me and I'm like, 'You're going, right?' He was like, 'You know I'm not about that stuff.' Even that moment where you'd say, 'I sure would like to be a part of that,' it doesn't happen with Tim because he's not concerned with that stuff."
The decisions shouldn't come as a surprise to fans, Brett Pollakoff reported for Fox Sports.
"He's going to continue to do everything he can to keep to himself, just as he consistently did while being one of the best to ever do it at the NBA level," Pollakoff wrote.
Many Twitter users reacted to Duncan's decision with amusement and praise.
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