"I have seen the future of the league, and he wears number 21."--Houston Rockets player Charles Barkley.

As a child Tim Duncan dreamt of representing his home, the U.S. Virgin Islands, in the Olympics as a swimmer. Hurricane Hugo, that swept through the Caribbean in 1989, ruined those dreams. But fortunately for Duncan he grew to be 6 feet, 10 inches and learned to play basketball. He was good enough at his new sport that in 1997 he won both the Naismith and Wooden Awards, given to the best college basketball players in the United States, as a center for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. During the 1997-98 season he took his talents to the National Basketball Association (NBA) and earned Rookie of the Year honors with the San Antonio Spurs. One of the best big men to come into the league in many years, Duncan now owns a home with...