Tim Duncan on decision to return instead of retire: 'There was some hesitation'

Tim Duncan didn't leave the San Antonio Spurs in the lurch for long this summer, needing just eight days after the NBA Finals to pick up his player option for the 2014-15 season.

While the decision was necessarily expeditious, it wasn't easy for the 38-year-old.

"There was some hesitation there," Duncan told the San Antonio Express-News in an article published Friday.

On one side of the equation was $10.3 million and a chance to play professional basketball at an elite level and compete for a sixth NBA championship. On the other, leisure and the storybook ending of having gone out on top.

For Duncan, the impermanence of life as an athlete seemed to weigh heavy.

"It came down to, I'm not going to be able to do this again," Duncan said. "So as long as I'm feeling I can, and I feel good about it, this is where I want to be."

That explanation perhaps provides a hint that Duncan isn't even certain he'll retire after this season. He'll be an unrestricted free agent, and while he'd almost surely never play anywhere else, the Spurs would take him back as long as he'd like to keep playing.

That decision is a long way off for Duncan, but if last year was any indication, he's not exactly slowing down. He played a career-low 29.2 minutes but still averaged 15.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, three assists and 1.9 blocks, with his efficiency numbers still well above average.

Duncan enters the season with a chance to continue his assault on the NBA's all-time leaderboards, too, as he ranks 23rd in games, 17th in minutes, 11th in rebounds, seventh in blocked shots and 19th in points.