On Twitter and in various other forms of NBA conversation, greatness is often the topic during the offseason. Great players are dissected and ranked drawing ire or applause from the audience. Jordan, James, Bryant, Chamberlain, Bird, Magic, Shaq, and Kareem populate most lists. One name often stands as an afterthought: Tim Duncan.
Don’t mind Tim, he’s just a five-time champion who spurred the greatest year-to-year winning stretch by a team in American professional history. Tim’s avoidance of the spotlight, lack of gaudy career numbers, and quiet demeanor have scrubbed him from most rankings and debates. For instance, on ranker.com, the Big Fundamental resides at 13th, which makes me ask: why is Tim Duncan underrated? The PF knocked off dynasties and won NBA Finals like he was a bemused diner at a basketball buffet.
He started himself off with a light lockout-shortened appetizer by ending competitive basketball in New York for the greater part of 20 years, got back up for a main course of stopping the Shaq-Kobe stranglehold on the NBA, snuffing out the Pistons chance for a repeat title, and dethroning a young King in four. He rested, digested his meal and then, almost as an afterthought, worked with some friends to end the Big Three era in Miami as dessert.
Tim had a nine-year stretch (98-07) where he averaged 22 points, 11.9 boards, 3 assists and 2.5 blocks. He only has a 2-1 record vs LeBron James in the Finals. The PF has more rings as a primary option than anyone other than Russell, Mikan, Jordan, and Magic. Don’t mind Tim, he’s two jump shots away from seven rings and a serious argument for the greatest ever. Tim’s just tied for second-most Finals MVPs ever with three (and could have a fourth).
What remains befuddling to me as a basketball fan is that the same logic used in the Jordan vs LeBron debate by so many is swiftly abandoned once you get past the top two players. When debating between Air Jordan and the King, rings are paramount. Your playoff performances are all that matter. How much did you win?
Those same fans will have Wilt, a player immobilized by Bill Russell for a decade despite superior athleticism and skill, in their top five because he once averaged 50 in a season. Those fans say that LeBron can’t be the greatest because he choked in the playoffs. There was a three-year stretch where Kobe couldn’t elevate the Lakers to the second-round and a year where his team didn’t even make the playoffs. I’m not saying LeBron should be seen as greater than MJ, I’m just asking the fans who think Jordan is the greatest to extend their logic down the rest of the list.
Not only was Duncan amazing, he had clear obstacles at his own position for the bulk of his playoff career and all of his championship runs. For the ‘99 championship, Duncan ran a gauntlet of Garnett, Shaq, and Rasheed Wallace before getting a bit of a Finals breather vs Larry Johnson. In ‘03, Young Stoudemire, Shaq, Dirk, and Kenyon Martin. In ‘05, Kenyon/Camby, Rashard Lewis, Stoudemire, and the Wallaces. 2007 he saw Stoudemire, Boozer, and Ilgauskas.
Even at 37 in the ‘14 title run, he faced off against Dirk, Serge Ibaka, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Chris Bosh. Granted he had less of an effect than Ginobili or Leonard in those playoffs, but he was still a key factor. Although ‘05 and ‘07 are substantial in their own right, Duncan faced off against the best at his position on the road to the promised land in both ‘99 and ‘03 runs and beat all of them.
Fun stats section.
If this is the thing you’re into, read on. If not, skip this paragraph. Tim Duncan played 1,021 minutes in the 2003 playoffs, 207 more minutes than the next highest Spur (Tony Parker: 814). At 36 in the 2012-13 postseason, Duncan was third in the league with 2.7 BPG. That’s more than 27-year old Dwight Howard that season. In the ‘99 playoffs, Duncan was third in rebounding at the age of 22 among bigs who played in more than one season behind Shaq and Dikembe. In the 2002 playoffs, Duncan averaged 4.3 blocks in nine games followed by 3.3 blocks over 24 in 2003. From 2000-05, Duncan’s playoff averages were 24.5 PPG, 13.6 RPG, and 2.9 BPG.
His toughest run in ‘99 Duncan was an NBA sophomore and faced Garnett, Shaq, Wallace, and Johnson. If you want to say he only succeeded because of the Admiral’s defensive assistance, then we turn to the ‘03 stretch of Stoudemire, Shaq, Dirk, and Martin which is equally impressive. Yes, the Admiral was on the roster, but on the backstretch of his career (26.2 MPG, 8.5 PPG).
By comparison, Bryant’s toughest stretch for a title was in the 2000-01 run where he faced a washed Nick Andersen, Penny Hardaway, Steve Smith, and Reggie Miller. Also, in 08-09, his direct opponents were Ronnie Brewer, Shane Battier, JR Smith, and Courtney Lee.
I’m not saying Bryant didn’t face difficult opponents. I am saying he never ran the gauntlet quite like Duncan. Tim was a surreal player, with unmatched poise, competitive drive, willingness to improve himself and the team all while shifting roles endlessly to fit Popovich’s vision and the team’s needs.
I fear he may be faintly remembered by basketball historians as someone who picked up the scraps of the 2000s, pouncing once a dynasty showed weakness. That’s not a detractor of Duncan’s but a strength. The minute a team more talented than his began to show even the slightest weakness, the Spurs surged and snared a title away from them. The legacies of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, the Pistons, Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, and countless others have been hindered by Duncan’s steadfast greatness in San Antonio.