Originally posted on April 25, 2021 on Out Of Bounds
Disclaimer: A major factor in my motivation for writing this blog is that I feel more people should know that Tim Duncan, especially at his best, could hold his own with ANY player in the history of basketball. When he was at the height of his powers and the most feared player in basketball, his detractors always tried to marginalize him to any role they could to make it easier for them to downplay his dominance.
Not many people will debate that TD is one of the greatest players ever, but all the arguments I’ve heard to discredit him and marginalize his achievements have been mind-numbing. Because different people value different things in discussions on all-time player rankings, as time passes people start becoming misinformed on certain players’ impacts in the NBA’s history. Easily, the player who immediately comes to mind that’s victimized by revisionist history, misinformation, or rhetoric that’s completely based in fallacy is Tim Duncan.
None of the criticisms against TD are hard fact arguments. They serve as examples of how there is a disconnect between how he’s valued by his peers and by basketball fans and the media. It’s also the easiest way to dismiss a lot of context and dumb down discussions. Even though I’m always ready to fact check people that either undersell TD or don’t get their facts right when they talk about him, a lot of times I keep what I know to myself.
Any Tim Duncan fact that I blog, post on social media, or speak about out loud, I can back it up AND point you in the right direction if you want to research it for yourself. I’m also confident in my ability to defend my opinions without letting being a fan cloud my judgment. Bottom line, I’m here to educate, not push narratives. If I’m wrong, I’ll gladly admit it.
If Tim Duncan spent his career in either Los Angeles, New York, or Boston, he would have been seen as the basketball unicorn that he is and also as a consensus top 5 all-time player. I’m well aware that all-time rankings are subjective, but TD is worthy of being in the pantheon of basketball’s all-time greats and more than deserves to be mentioned among the very best of the best without it being seen as a joke.
For starters, let me just say that there is no clear-cut GOAT in basketball. Every candidate for that title has flaws and holes in their resumes that you can point out. It’s funny how there are certain “names” that the media feels obligated to put above Tim Duncan on their all-time lists, yet if you ask most experts, they would take him over Magic Johnson or Larry Bird to start a franchise with.
Most of the media and casual fans begrudgingly put Tim Duncan in the bottom half of the top 10 in their all-time rankings. These people fail to see that TD dominated every aspect of the game pertaining to his position, while some of the guys they rank ahead of him didn’t. There are also guys ranked ahead of TD that had shorter careers, better teammates, and the same amount or less championships. To me, there’s NO WAY you can rank TD lower than № 5 all-time. If you take nostalgia and sentimentality out of the conversation, you can’t name 5 players with better credentials than him.
Now here are 3 things that I believe make Tim Duncan a basketball unicorn:
*Abilities
Tim Duncan was an extremely intelligent, adaptive, and highly skilled basketball player. He also wasn’t a traditional big man when he came into the NBA. He was taller than a traditional power forward, more quick and mobile than a traditional big man, and also more athletic and fit than a traditional big man. Part of what made TD so good was that he also shot better and drove to the basket better than a traditional big man.
TD was a great midrange shooter, and could have likely become a good/great 3-point shooter if he wanted to. Young/prime TD could get any shot he wanted. If you play up on him, he was quick enough to beat you off the step. If you give him space, his signature bank shot was automatic. Think Anthony Davis with elite footwork along with strong post moves and the ability to back down guys. That’s basically what Tim Duncan was. The same way Stephen Curry creates gravity on the perimeter, TD created gravity from the low post, which sets up shooters for open 3-pointers.
Along with having a dominant post game, TD was a great ballhandler for a man his size, and was also a very underrated passer. He was a great passer out of double teams, and the only other player that could ever match his outlet passing skills was Wes Unseld. Because of TD’s passing abilities, he often led the Spurs in assists. He also excelled at all the things that didn’t show up on stat sheets.
For all the fuss that’s made about scoring, people tend to forget about the other aspects that are critical for an offense to function. Tim Duncan was also great off the ball and could get himself some easy baskets by cutting and rolling to the basket. He always hedged the right distance on pick-and-rolls, filled the lane on the break, and also set great screens. You don’t see too many superstars focus on those things. TD was pretty much a superstar with a role player mentality.
TD also used his athleticism, physicality, big frame, freakishly long arms, and textbook technique to become an all-time great rebounder. Those same tools also helped him to be a GOAT-level defender. Not only was he an elite rim protector, but TD was also quick and athletic enough to guard perimeter players. He also knew the tendencies of every single player he defended, which is why he was so feared in the paint. In fact, many of TD’s blocks were the result of below the basket anticipation.
TD’s defense wasn’t fully appreciated. He anchored some historic defenses throughout his career, and the fact that he never won a Defensive Player Of The Year award is CRIMINAL. How about this for perspective? TD played 19 years of All-NBA level defense and only averaged 2.4 fouls per game for his career. The one thing that never changed from Year 1 to Year 19 was him being an active defender that must ALWAYS be accounted for. No other player in basketball history was as good defensively as TD for as long as he was.
*GOAT Franchise Player
How can Tim Duncan not be the greatest franchise player of all-time? Let me make it clear that calling him the GOAT franchise player IS NOT the same as calling him the singular greatest basketball player ever. To me, there is no single greatest player ever, but there is a greatest franchise centerpiece. Those are 2 entirely different things. If your goal is to get the ultimate “team” guy that will carry you to 50+ wins for 2 decades and keep you in the mix for a championship every year, then TD is your guy.
The single biggest reason that Tim Duncan is the GOAT franchise centerpiece is because he, more than any player, provided the highest assurance of lasting excellence and championship contention if you build around him while making the GM’s job easier than with other players that qualify as legendary centerpieces. TD is the only guy who instantly makes your team a contender from Day 1 and keep you in contention for 20 years, no matter what supporting cast you put around him.
What exactly do you get from Tim Duncan as your franchise player? For starters, you get the ultimate 2-way superstar and possibly the most flexible star player of all-time. For example, if the Spurs needed him to put up a 30-point, 20-rebound game to win, he did it. If Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili had it going, he would gladly take a backseat on offense and let them shine and then dominate the game defensively. With TD it was all about whatever it took for his team to win.
Also with TD, you get a guy who will be the best player in the NBA (as early as Year 2) for arguably a decade, capable of putting the team on his back and carrying them to multiple championships, then being an elite 2-way player for the second decade of his career and the best player on a championship team in Year 17. You also have no drama or diva behavior, no laziness, no off-court issues, or hatred by teammates for his ego, nor do you have a career shortened by injuries. Who else gives you all of that?
What also speaks volumes about Tim Duncan’s greatness as a centerpiece is that the Spurs were drafting in the high 20’s every year. It’s not easy to build a team that way. Most of the recent championship teams got there with massive signings of Hall Of Fame-caliber free agents, lots of early round draft picks that panned out, or both of those things. It’s impossible to tank when you have a player of TD’s caliber on your team.
Unfortunately, people want to penalize TD for his unbelievably unselfish nature. His leadership skills helped teammates become All-Stars and ultimately Hall Of Famers themselves. He deferred to teammates offensively when they had a hot hand. He got along with his head coach and stuck with him for years, ultimately trusting the process in order for the Spurs to maximize their success. He didn’t retire in the middle of his career, never asked for a trade, nor did he go to management and tell them to fire the head coach. Again, with Tim Duncan it was team over everything.
*Greatest Winner Of His Generation
From the time Tim Duncan first stepped on an NBA court up until the last game he played, he was on a team competing for a championship. His dominance spanned 2 decades. He was a transcendent winner. For starters, in all 19 of his seasons the Spurs won 50+ games or what would prorate out to 50 games. That’s also 19 straight seasons with a winning percentage above 60%.
The Spurs had a 1072–438 record and .710 win percentage during Tim Duncan’s tenure with them, which is the best stretch in NBA history. It was also the best 19-year stretch among the 4 major pro sports leagues, as well as the most successful period in the history of North American pro sports. The Spurs are also the only team in the NBA over that span to not miss the playoffs.
The team also won 35 of the 48 (73%) playoff series that TD participated in. He also beat 18 different teams in the NBA playoffs, which is something no other player in history has ever done. TD also has a winning head-to-head record against every single franchise in the NBA, regular season AND playoffs, and nobody else was closer than 8 games under .500 during that time frame.
Of the 3 players in NBA history that won 1,000 regular season games, Tim Duncan is the only one to do it with 1 team. Also, the Spurs only lost in the first round of the playoffs ONCE with a healthy TD on the floor — in an extremely tough Western Conference, and that didn’t happen until Year 18. It’s flat out amazing how a guy can play 19 years as a starter and make the playoffs every single year, let alone his team being a championship contender every year.
A strong case can be made for Tim Duncan being the GOAT №1 pick with the return on investment he was able to produce. He brought them 5 championships, along with that ridiculous regular season winning percentage. It was easy for Spurs fans to take for granted how hard it is for an NBA team to get 50 wins year in and year out. Largely because of TD, they made it look so easy.
People are in no rush to realize that Tim Duncan was much greater than he gets credit for. If you just base it on his resume/credentials alone, he clearly deserves to be in the pantheon of basketball players and be recognized as one of the 5 greatest players ever. I don’t think you’ll find more than 4 players at ANY period in time, from the creation of the NBA to the establishment of the ABA, that have a better track record than TD. Other than his accomplishments, here are the factors that need to be considered:
*He was the best player at his position during his era.
*He is the consensus GOAT at his position.
*He was an impact player on both ends of the court.
*He was the leader/reason for his team’s success.
*He won multiple championships.
*He won championships with different player combinations.
*His team made the playoffs in each of his seasons in the NBA.
*He won Rookie Of The Year.
*He was an All-Star as a rookie.
*He was an All-NBA First Team selection as a rookie.
*He was a multiple-time regular season MVP winner.
*He was a multiple-time NBA Finals MVP winner.
*He had unmatched intangibles.
*He had a legendary will to win.
*He could always be counted on to produce in crunch time.
When you factor in all the elements that go into being a pantheon player (championships, accolades, intangibles, etc.), Tim Duncan checks all the boxes. The deeper you get into the list of these elements, the number of players that fit all of the criteria gets even smaller. Again, TD can go toe-to-toe with any all-time great with his resume, but he’s defined most by numbers that are tied to team accomplishments. Here is a list of some of his accomplishments that reflect the unmatched consistency and 2-way dominance over the course of his career:
*Had a 20+ PER (Player Efficiency Rating) in each of his first 18 seasons. (NBA Record)
*Only player in NBA history with 15 All-Star selections, 15 All-NBA selections, and 15 All-Defensive selections.
*Only player in NBA history to be selected to an All-NBA and All-Defensive team in his first 13 seasons.
*Only player in NBA history with 100 offensive win shares and 100 defensive win shares.
*Only player in NBA history to win 1,000 games with 1 team.
*One of only 2 players in NBA history with 25,000 points, 15,000 rebounds, and 3,000 blocks.
*Only player in NBA history with 5,000 points, 2,500 rebounds, and 500 blocks in the playoffs.
*Only player in NBA history to start on an NBA championship team in 3 different decades.
*Only player in NBA history to win a championship in the 1990’s, 2000’s, and 2010's.
*His 19 seasons with the Spurs are the most ever for a №1 pick with the team that drafted him.
Because Tim Duncan had such a long and successful career, there is one important thing that people either don’t realize or eventually forget: he played most of his career on 1 good leg. Having a physical disadvantage that kept him from reaching his true potential and still having the career he had only enhances his greatness in my eyes. This ABSOLUTELY has to be factored into the equation when you analyze TD’s career and compare him to other all-time greats. Why? He was only at his best physically for the first 3 years of his career.
People are comparing the Tim Duncan of his last 16 years to the peaks of those other greats (on 2 good legs) without the benefit of being able to see him at the height of his powers with both legs being healthy while all of his physical tools are on full display. This is why I can’t automatically agree when people say some of these all-time greats are better than TD. That’s when I get accused of being biased. Maybe some of those guys were more physically talented than TD, but because of how important the entire package is, that’s of limited value. It’s also practically impossible to prove because of him only having 1 healthy leg.
Tim Duncan also doesn’t get nearly enough credit for his longevity and ability to be great in any system. He won a championship in 3 different decades in different systems and with different players surrounding him. He was great in all of them and a rock no matter what situation he was in. TD won with another great big man and the Spurs playing totally through the frontcourt, he won as the sole superstar with a bunch of role players, he won meshing seamlessly with 2 other star players and no disputes about sharing the ball arising, and he won as a secondary option on a team that pushed the ball and played up-tempo pick-and-roll.
No matter what type of team you want to build, just insert Tim Duncan and you’ll do a lot of winning. He also deserves credit for sacrificing and his part in creating the culture in San Antonio for the Spurs to have their unprecedented run of success. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that he brought more value to his team than any other №1 overall pick ever has. Here’s what makes all of what TD accomplished so great: He did it all in San Antonio. When he first got to the NBA, the concept of a small market team winning an NBA championship was still foreign.
The reason why TD’s success in San Antonio is such a big deal is because it takes more to do what he did than a superstar in a big market. There are limitations (spending power, free agent attraction) that come with playing for a small market. Along with all of those constraints, TD also had to deal with a historically stacked Western Conference. The fact that he survived it 6 times to make it to the NBA Finals with those constraints says a lot about his ability to elevate a team to greatness. The Spurs had never won a championship and were considered an also-ran before TD came along and brought them 5 trophies and season after season of contending. You could argue all day long about who was more athletic or more talented than Tim Duncan, but there has never been another player that single-handedly brought more success to a single team than him.
If you truly want to know more about what makes Tim Duncan a basketball unicorn, I go into much more detail in this book titled The Underappreciated Greatness Of Tim Duncan:
