San Antonio Spurs assistant coach and long-time power forward Tim Duncan endorsed former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for president Wednesday, praising Bloomberg for his work helping the U.S. Virgin Islands recover from a disastrous 2017 hurricane.
The Bloomberg campaign released an advertisement Tuesday touting the five-time NBA champion’s endorsement. (RELATED: Hillary Clinton Shoots Down Bloomberg VP Rumors)
“I’m Tim Duncan, born and raised in the Virgin Islands, and I’m supporting Mike Bloomberg for president because of his work in 2017 to help the U.S. Virgin Islands recover after we were hit by two category five hurricanes,” Duncan says in the advertisement.
“In this, Mike Bloomberg showed his true compassion for helping those in need,” Duncan concludes.
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Duncan played nearly two decades in the NBA for the Spurs, and is widely considered one of the greatest big men in league history. Duncan was hired by the Spurs as an assistant coach last Summer, three years after his retirement.
Bloomberg has enjoyed a surge in the polls in recent weeks thanks in large part to the hundreds of millions of dollars he has spent on digital advertising. An NPR/PBS/NewsHour/Maris Poll published Tuesday found Bloomberg trailing only Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination.