Can you make the case that Duncan is top-7 all time?

[WarriorGM]

Far more interesting is to make the case for top 1. It actually can be made.

You do know we're talking about Duncan, not Curry right?

Do you know how to read?

[Iwasawitness]

Far more interesting is to make the case for top 1. It actually can be made.

You do know we're talking about Duncan, not Curry right?

Do you know how to read?

I do.

[zeebneeb]

Starting 5.

Magic
Jordan
Bird
Duncan
Wilt

Yes, he is top 5, all-time.

Take out Wilt add In Russell, basically my top 5

I'm not gonna argue with you, but for me, pure talent wise, and physical stature, Wilt stands above all for me. He is my personal #1 Physical talent of all-time. Love Russell. His tenacity, and will always reminds me of all-time Pistons greats, but Wilt was truly a one of a kind athlete. Just absurd.

[pipfan]

I have tiers
LBJ's longevity has pushed KAJ to the 2nd tier
MJ/LBJ
KAJ/Russell/Wilt/Shaq/Duncan (not sure Magic)
Bird/Curry/Kobe/Hakeem (magic here?)
Next group is bigger

[Myth]

He is frequently in people’s top 7. This is an easy yes. Even if you don’t have him top 7, you should be able to understand why others do.

[70sFan]

A harder case to make is that he's not. His resume is unbelievable and he was magnificent player for a very long time.

I personally have him 5th on my list, just behind my GOAT candidates and in the tier with the rest elite bigs (Hakeem, Wilt, Shaq, Garnett).

[RB34]

Duncan is criminally underrated, especially in the social media space.

[dk1115]

GOAT lists are subjective. Duncan isn't in my top 7, but I have 3 players in my top-7 that I've basically never seen play.

[FarBeyondDriven]

I think the top 6 is pretty set in stone (MJ, Bird, Magic, Wilt, Lebron, Kareem) but after that it's a toss up so he certainly has a case.

[Onlytimewilltel]

Far more interesting is to make the case for top 1. It actually can be made.

You do know we're talking about Duncan, not Curry right?

Yea I think he was confused

[Lalouie]

he checks all the boxes for what i love in a player AND IN THE PR)PER ORDER AS WELL. smart, winner, seamless, lengthy resume from college to pros, balance skillset, a legacy that enhances the game in ways I care about.

,,but i think my bias gets in the way. he's not your typical whatever sport star that tends to really shine to people who don't know the game

but if he's a top10 then top7 ain't that far removed is it?

aaaa, screwit. he's a top7. just switch out wilt for bird. wilt was a critical part of the game(imo the game needed him back then), but if i abide by my criteria i'll take bird

[dhsilv2]

I guess you're wanting a case?

Duncan is about the 12-15th best player in raw stats when you value peak impact stuff. And I"m just throwing out numbers, don't question me!

But stats don't value defense fairly and he was elite till the end.

He was a leader like we can't really compare.

So yeah that's a solid case.

[dhsilv2]

I think the top 6 is pretty set in stone (MJ, Bird, Magic, Wilt, Lebron, Kareem) but after that it's a toss up so he certainly has a case.

Omg..that list is so bad. I can't even.

One could try and make this work by talking like...ok I only care about peak...but then shaq would clear guys out. And then you know not worth it. While all guys you could have on a top 6 list. You couldn't get these 6 doing any logical list.

[dhsilv2]

Starting 5.

Magic
Jordan
Bird
Duncan
Wilt

Yes, he is top 5, all-time.

Take out Wilt add In Russell, basically my top 5

I'm not gonna argue with you, but for me, pure talent wise, and physical stature, Wilt stands above all for me. He is my personal #1 Physical talent of all-time. Love Russell. His tenacity, and will always reminds me of all-time Pistons greats, but Wilt was truly a one of a kind athlete. Just absurd.

Sure but not a top 8 player!

[Karate Diop]

There's a case for Duncan as GOAT if you value leadership and defense (actual defense not just defensive awards).

[Yoshun]

It's interesting how so many people are saying "it's not close.". The number of different top 7s in this thread would suggest otherwise.

[Joao Saraiva]

Far more interesting is to make the case for top 1. It actually can be made.

I have Duncan high on my all time list. I think you can argue him in top 5 maybe even top 3. But what is his case for GOAT? I just find it very hard since I don't think he can be argued as a top peak ever, top ever prime if you consider it 5 years (02 and 03 are way above anything else) and even longevity wise he ranks high but not the highest.

So we're left with defense perhaps? Bill Russell and Hakeem seem to be better defenders to me, tough he can go ahead of Hakeem based on longevity. But then Bron and KAJ might even be more difficult to overcome if you weight longevity a ton. Disregard Russell cause of era?

[zimpy27]

I have Duncan at #4 all-time and I think you can reasonably argue him higher than that.

Very iron-clad resume of accomplishment with tons of statistical evidence of massive impact that stacks up against anyone.

He's not the greatest offensive player ever, but he was pretty incredible with his resilient post-scoring game + all the intangibles he brought as a screener, cutter, and passer. Then on defense, he's in the GOAT discussion there. He's sort of the inverse of Kareem in this way.

What does Jokic need to do to surpass him in your view?

If Jokic won 2 more championships while putting up another 3 seasons like he's had recently (giving him 8 seasons at 30+ PER), would that do it?

[jokeboy86]

Easily and you could make a case he’s high as 4 but only the most knowledgeable basketball people would have this conversation. You will never see this conversation take place in the casual social media space or even casual sports media because they try to dismiss Duncan because he was “boring”, “not box office”,”low ratings” , or “not a superstar”. If Jokic had two more rings right now they would try the same thing. Duncan has always had the accolades for these conversations and they can’t just use the “eras” thing to dismiss him like they try with Russell, Wilt and KAJ

Again since Magic,Bird, and Jordan the sports media has this idea of who the greatest players of all time should play like (preferably not traditional big men) or act like(preferably not KAJ, Duncan or Jokic). There’s an ongoing movement in the media right now to place Steph over Duncan like it’s an absolute no brainer. Does anybody doubt that if KAJ didn’t have the resume he did they would try to rank him lower as well? They already try to have this “GOAT” conversation without him by just saying it’s between MJ/Lebron.

[tsherkin]

YES.

Hugely unjust he never won DPOY either.

That Marcus Camby DPOY pissed me off so much. I think playing with Bruce Bowen probably robbed him of a bunch of votes which might have sent him over the top, which is weird and lame.

As pointed out in another thread, one of only a handful of players in NBA history to have won five titles with the same team.

Ja ja. Russell, Kareem, Magic, Jordan, Kobe... and Timmy.


I'm very comfortable with Duncan in the top 7.

Not in my top 7.

MJ, KAJ, Russell, LBJ, Wilt, Magic, Bird, Hakeem all higher than him. I have him 9th all time then Shaq 10th.

What would possess you to rank Hakeem higher than him?