How good was Tim Duncan?

[java051997]

I've started watching NBA and became a big fan of the game since 2012 when Heat dominating the league.

My biggest questions are how Tim Duncan is the arguably best PF of all time? How good was him when he was in his prime?

He has 5 rings and 3 finals mvp
But hows his individual skills?

Ive seen his highlights. It was all good but not what i was used to watched like Barkley beasting the paint, KG and etc.
They are all athletic freak and monster inside but timmy seems kinda slow.

They said he was beast in defense yet he hasnt won DPOY in his 19 years career.

I love him as a player since he is humble and very role model . I just wanted to know how good he was.

[Goudelock]

So you know how dominant Joel Embiid is right now?

Tim Duncan was that but better. Had every move in the post, could hit shots out to about 18 feet, was a beast on the boards and boxed out as well as any player in NBA history, could pass out of the high and low posts as well as any big man not named Walton or Jokic, and basically walled off the paint with his shot-blocking.

[Augusto61]

Rich man's Brian Scalabrine

[The_Hater]

Duncan never winning DPOY was one of those mysteries that will never be answered, especially since he made one of the All-defensive teams 15 times.

He definitley wasn’t a flashy, highlight reel player, he was very boring in that regard. He was a fundamentally strong player with a sky high bball IQ who only cared about winning.

[Ballings7]

I've started watching NBA and became a big fan of the game since 2012 when Heat dominating the league.

My biggest questions are how Tim Duncan is the arguably best PF of all time? How good was him when he was in his prime?

He has 5 rings and 3 finals mvp
But hows his individual skills?

Ive seen his highlights. It was all good but not what i was used to watched like Barkley beasting the paint, KG and etc.
They are all athletic freak and monster inside but timmy seems kinda slow.

They said he was beast in defense yet he hasnt won DPOY in his 19 years career.

I love him as a player since he is humble and very role model . I just wanted to know how good he was.

Aside from what Pocky said,

Tim didn't win a DPOY because he wasn't an overly athletic flashy or substantial numbers guy for blocks like Ibaka/Camby/Ben Wallace, and most of the media aren't intelligent or dedicated enough to the game to see and understand the nuances of man-to-man defense, team-defense, rebounding, positioning, LENGTH, and the effects all those aspects have over a game --- aside from the blocks, rebounds, and steal numbers Tim would still get which were good. The former requires paying attention and repetitions and analysis, compared to the latter which is easy to see and understand "WOW! He killed/ripped him".

And most people and most media didn't watch the spurs other than when they were on national TV and in a bigger game at that.

2007 Tim should of won it over Camby. Simple as that.

[niQ]

I'll let Shaq tell it like it is.

"The Spurs won because of Tim Duncan, a guy I could never break. I could talk trash to Patrick Ewing, get in David Robinson’s face, get a rise out of Alonzo Mourning, but when I went at Tim he’d look at me like he was bored and then say, “Hey, Shaq, watch this shot right here off the glass.”

[dlts20]

Shaq gave him the perfect nickname. The big fundamentals. You can be a bum physically but still be better than a lot of people if you are fundamentally sound. Duncan was a solid athlete but had the best fundamentals, iq, and defense in the game. He was also very long and heavy. He was truly special. I would pick him over anyone rn not named LeBron and I wouldn't even hesitate.

With that being said, I always called him a under achiever. I've seen him lose to the Lakers while having beast stats. There is no shame in that but if you really watched the games, you knew that he literally could score against them on every play. He was that dominant. Like how Shaq was physically, that was Duncan fundamentally and the Lakers had no answer.

Steve Kerry used to joke about Duncan in the locker room taking blame for losses when he would have like 36 & 15 but it honestly was true. He could have averaged 46 against the Lakers but he didn't have that Shaq-kobe alpha mentality all the way and it wasn't in him to average 40 if needed even though he was definitely capable.

Just remember this. Barkley is a legend who thinks of himself as better than pretty much anyone he played against and even he says that Duncan is better than him and the best PF ever. I mean just go look at his college stats. Straight ridiculous and it's funny because he went to Wake Forrest which was like the 8th most popular school in the acc let alone the country. He never cared about big markets

[og15]

There should be some full game or game performance type videos on YouTube of Duncan; that will do him more justice than highlight videos. For example, Duncan was a superior scorer to KG who you cited.

[SpreeChokeJob]

I remember in his prime during playoffs, if the ball was dumped inside, it was going in. Automatic in the post.

Solid defender too.

[Optms]

Duncan was never the best defensive player in any given year. I watched almost his entire career from 2001 upwards. His body of work as a collection screams all time great defender but that isn't what the DPOY is for. Ben Wallace was simply better. No argument there. And that one year Camby won, he was also as good if not better.

I feel he was so good consistently for so long though, that the NBA should have honorary awards for guys like him.

[Yeezus_]

A great scorer, passer, rebounder & defender. Oh he was clutch as hell too.

[dlts20]

I'm a huge boxing fan. Mayweather is widely considered boring now but he was pretty exciting when he was younger even though he was still iq and defense 1st. Alot of people now label Floyd as a defensive genius but I used to always tell people that he was also the best, most complete offensive fighter of his Era. He just didn't have the mentality to apply it like others but he was literally the only fighter who can throw any punch and do it all at a solid level.

That was Duncan. He probably could have led the league in scoring. He was flawless offensive for his Era before bigs started expanding to the 3pt line but he never had the mentality to do that.

I feel like Tim was just Tim. He was going to work hard and be himself. He's so talented that it's all he needed to do but I wanted to see him be like other atg's and actually set his will on the game more. Even Dream had that. I don't think Duncan did but he was pretty much the prototype. A truly special talent. He would destroy the NBA right now. Like Embiid but 5x better as of now

[RGM_SU]

Doesn't shoot threes. Can't chase around three point shooters on the perimeter. Would be nothing more than Jusuf Nurkic if he played today.

[kobe808lak]

I'll let Shaq tell it like it is.

"The Spurs won because of Tim Duncan, a guy I could never break. I could talk trash to Patrick Ewing, get in David Robinson’s face, get a rise out of Alonzo Mourning, but when I went at Tim he’d look at me like he was bored and then say, “Hey, Shaq, watch this shot right here off the glass.”

This is awesome.

[infintybeyond]

Besides winning 5 chips, he's ok. Can't really shoot 3s. Doesn't provide any floor spacing. Games too fast now. He would get run off the court. Post ups are inefficient. 3>2

Plus, he hates Gatorade.

[Kempistry2]

Duncan was never the best defensive player in any given year. I watched almost his entire career from 2001 upwards. His body of work as a collection screams all time great defender but that isn't what the DPOY is for. Ben Wallace was simply better. No argument there. And that one year Camby won, he was also as good if not better.

I feel he was so good consistently for so long though, that the NBA should have honorary awards for guys like him.

HOF

[java051997]

Yup when I was watching his game. He was kinda slow . I thought because of his age then when I watched his film, that was really his playstyle. He's not the player you would used to watch in reel highlights. So I was kinda " How this guy considered as BEST PF of all time? " meh

He's so quiet tho

[OdomFan]

I really hate a lot of people are saying "this or that classic player didn't shoot 3's." I liked the game when not every single player has to shoot 3's.

It really shouldn't be held against them like that.

[og15]

Besides winning 5 chips, he's ok. Can't really shoot 3s. Doesn't provide any floor spacing. Games too fast now. He would get run off the court. Post ups are inefficient. 3>2

Plus, he hates Gatorade.

Except for when he wants to hit game winning three's

Yup when I was watching his game. He was kinda slow . I thought because of his age then when I watched his film, that was really his playstyle. He's not the player you would used to watch in reel highlights. So I was kinda " How this guy considered as BEST PF of all time? " meh

He's so quiet tho

He wasn't a high flyer, but he was an extremely mobile and fluid player. High flying gets overrated. Imagine a team right now having prime Duncan at C while playing the 4 out styles. We saw what old Duncan was doing with SA. He would eat up pick and rolls as a roll man, passer and pop guy, and then he can supplement your offense with post ups to get you out of a funk and to kill mismatches. Then of course, he anchors your defense, and he can even slide to PF if you wanted to go big, drool...

[Duffman100]

One of my favourites of all time. Just a quiet, efficient, all time great assassin.

Ridiculous post moves, great 16 foot bank shot, great passer out of the double team and always a top 5 defender, if not top 3 defender in the league.