While he may lack the flair and style of other superstars, Tim Duncan is proving yet again that he is the best power forward in NBA history. In his ten seasons, Duncan is a three-time NBA champion (soon to be four), a three-time NBA Finals MVP; a two-time league MVP; All-NBA team 10 times (nine-time First Team All-NBA), and a 10-time All-NBA defensive team member.
His career average of 21.8 points 11.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game don’t even begin to tell the story of his consistent excellence. Last season, his worst statistically playing through plantar fasciitis, Duncan still averaged 18.6 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, and he was a turn-around shot away from beating Dallas in game seven of the Western Conference Finals. As if his season averages we re not impressive enough, he elevates his game in the playoffs, averaging 23.9 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks. In his second season (1998-1999), he led the San Antonio Spurs, a team with veteran leaders David Robinson, Sean Elliot and Avery Johnson, to the NBA Championship. He was the NBA Finals MVP in all three of his Finals appearances to date (1999, 2003 and 2005).
Duncan might not be as fiery as Charles Barkley, as beautiful to watch as Michael Jordan or Julius Erving, or as charismatic as Shaquille O’Neal, he is nonetheless a GREAT player that has no rival at his position. His combination of size, skill, intensity and will is unparalleled. Some may make the argument for Charles Barkley, Karl Malone or Elvin Hayes as the premier power forward but Duncan outshines them all. Charles Barkley was a great payer, and a freakish athlete at 6-4½, who put up monster numbers (16th all-time in points and 15th all-time in rebounds) including an NBA MVP but only had one Finals appearance - a loss to the Chicago Bulls in 1993. Karl Malone, despite being second all-time in points and sixth all-time in rebounds, did not win an NBA championship (losing in back-to-back Finals to Michael Jordan’s Bulls (1997, 1998) and losing to Detroit in his final NBA season (2004)). The “Big E” Elvin Hayes was outstanding throughout his 16-year career. He ranks sixth in points and fourth in rebounds per game all time but was only able to win one championship (1978 with the Washington Bullets) during his illustrious career.
2 comments:
Damn it, your argument is pretty airtight. I keep waiting for you to slip up :)
Still, if it weren't for David Robinson, Duncan would almost certainly be considered a center. I mean, doesn't it seem pretty ridiculous to compare Duncan with a guy like Barkley, who did almost none of the same things that Duncan does on the court? And if you compared Timmy with the great centers in history, he would be a little futher down the list, right?
Timmy is a power forward that has had to play some center at crucial times, especially in the playoffs.
While the center position has been the NBA's glory position historically, in Duncan's era, the era of the power forward, he competed over the years against the likes of Malone, Garnett, Webber, Wallace, Nowitzki, Bosh, O'Neal, McDyess, and rose above them all.
He would certainly fall just a bit short of some of the all-time great centers but at the PF position he is the man.
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