The Spurs have decided to retire the jersey of Bruce Bowen.

Bowen, who was a key part of three titles with San Antonio, wore No. 12.

Bowen will join David Robinson, George Gervin, Sean Elliott, James Silas, Avery Johnson and Johnny Moore as members of the Spurs who have had their number retired.

“He understood his role above and beyond all,” Tim Duncan, who played next to Bowen for eight seasons, said after shootaround Monday in New Orleans. “He knew what he needed to do to stay on the floor, and he stuck to that. Those people are rare. Everybody wants to be something they’re not. His focus was to be the best he could at what he was.”

“Bruce was more of those steady factors, where he did the same thing night in and night out, whether it was a preseason game or a championship game,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “That’s just who he was. We gave him that role, and he lived it and breathed it.”