Kevin Garnett vs Tim Duncan - Defense

[JordansBulls]

Who was the better defender?

[RCM88x]

To me Duncan is more of an anchor while KG is more of a howitzer. I probably will side with KG here though, he seemed to carry more load and achieve slightly less with much less.

I can easily see an argument each way though, I don't think there's really a wrong answer.

[70sFan]

Yes, it was a matter of preference. Duncan was better rim protector and used his body better while KG was more mobile and better on perimeter.

Personally, I prefer Duncan's defensive style as he rarely made mistakes and was always in good position to help his teammates. I also like Duncan's post-prime years more.

The only wrong answer is saying that "_____ and it's not close".

[Odinn21]

Peak and prime wise, really close. I'd prefer Duncan's rim protection over Garnett's mobility. It's basically a coin toss.

Duncan was way healthier than Garnett after their respective primes, even though he had major issues himself. So, I think that's a bigger decider than personal preference between their peak/prime level.

[OverAndOut]

I rank Duncan higher all time but in today's NBA I would take Garnett.

[70sFan]

I rank Duncan higher all time but in today's NBA I would take Garnett.

40 years old Duncan was great in today's NBA, I don't think his prime impact would be reduced at all.

[Threetimes10]

I rank Duncan higher all time but in today's NBA I would take Garnett.

40 years old Duncan was great in today's NBA, I don't think his prime impact would be reduced at all.

But Garnett's impact might be enhanced.

[70sFan]

I rank Duncan higher all time but in today's NBA I would take Garnett.

40 years old Duncan was great in today's NBA, I don't think his prime impact would be reduced at all.

But Garnett's impact might be enhanced.

Maybe, although I'm far from convinced. I still believe that Gobert is the best defender in the league and he's much closer to Duncan than Garnett style-wise (and he's theoretically less suited than Duncan to modern perimeter oriented game).

[Doctor MJ]

Different types of players, but I'll give you a rule:

The more spaced the game becomes, the more the optimal defensive player looks and speaks like Garnett.

In a game where the opposing offense thinks the best strategy is to get the ball as close to the basket before shooting though, Duncan would be the more valuable piece.

[henshao]

Although on paper they are both power forwards, Duncan leans much more heavily toward Center and Garnett much more heavily toward SF/Wing. For their positions both were very good defenders, I think Garnett was a better defender in a relative-to-position aspect, for example Garnett vs Pippen and Duncan vs Russell. However I think Duncan was a more impactful defender in an absolute sense, as even to this day rim protection hasn't fully gone out of style

[limbo]

In theory, KG's defensive skillset should receive a bigger boost today, as the game is more about pace/space, ball/player movement, while Duncan might lose some of his impact due to the league moving away from post play, using floor spacers to pull defensive anchors out of the paint, playing higher up the halfcourt etc.

In reality, Duncan surprised me with how good his defensive impact was still able to be in the mid 10's, despite clearly playing on his last legs. I guess when Duncan is not forced to stay deep inside the paint because he has to guard a potential low post attack, but can be used ala Brook Lopez, playing higher up the paint and walling off any potential attacks, is it possible his impact might also receive a boost because of this?

Like i said, not only does Brook Lopez (who isn't even half the defensive player Duncan was in his prime) show us how effective an elite paint anchor can be in this situation, but Duncan himself was also able to replicate this to great success in his twilight years.

Idk, this kind suggest to me that, even if you're an elite low post defender like Duncan, you might still BENEFIT for not having to guard someone in the low post. That might sound crazy at first, but think of it this way. When you're not forced to guard a 'worse' offensive possession down low, you are given more freedom to play higher up the court, which means you are now in better position to wall off the ENTIRETY of the paint and more effectively scare off and prevent dribble penetration, which offers a higher probability of a quality offensive possession than you having to stick to some Big down low who can't dribble/pass...

Just a theory of mine.

[Kobe187]

Although Garnett was faster and more athletic, Duncan’s situational awareness was legendary. Tim was one of the smartest players to ever play the game; was an interior wall, solid rim protector, help defender and rebounder. Garnett would be more useful as a PF defending the 3, but Duncan would likely be playing C in today’s game, going with Duncan.

[tihsad]

I don't think there is a wrong answer here. For the time in which their peaks occurred I'd take Duncan, but agree that KG's skill set would be more valuable now.

[homecourtloss]

I rank Duncan higher all time but in today's NBA I would take Garnett.

40 years old Duncan was great in today's NBA, I don't think his prime impact would be reduced at all.

But Garnett's impact might be enhanced.

It’s really interesting to look at. One thing about all time great defending big men is the value they bring on defense from start to finish of their careers, even after multiple injuries, slowing down, slower reflexes, etc., they’re still impact defenders. How many all time great big men defenders start off even as neutral defenders? Very few if any. And almost all of them continue to be impact defenders into geriatric times [Ewing, Olajuwon, DRob, Mutumbo, KG, Duncan, etc.]. And these two were very effective beginning in a different game than the one they played in at the end of their respective careers though we never saw them at peak space and once 2020, but what they did in 2016 hunts at how effective they would be today if coming into the league.

2014 DRPM:

1. KG, +6.6
3. TD, +5.38

2015 DRPM:

5. TD, +4.67
40. KG, +2.32 [injury plagued half season played]

2016 DRPM

2. TD, +5.43
6. KG, 4.18 [more injuries]

TD was a high impact defender even at the edge of retirement as was KG [thoguh KG was a sizable negative offensively by this time]. Really a case of “can’t go wrong” though theoretically the defense KG plays and what he’s most effective at lends itself to a pace and pace era defender as a 5.

[LukaTheGOAT]

If we are talking relative to era, I would say Duncan was a bit better because I believe the game at the end of the 1990s and for the 2000s decade had much poorer spacing, meaning rim protection meant a bit more as there was a possibility of bigs that played in the paint getting to more shots with their long arms/as well as perimeter defense for a big mattered a bit less because switchability isn't as big of a deal, which I think is a big part of what Garnett could do on defense.

I think Duncan was the better post defender because of strength and he was possibly even longer, while also being a better rim protector- he had a nice trick where he would target the ball when the shooter had the ball low and knock it out of their hands before they could fully rise at the rim.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

If my team has Rudy Gobert and DeAndre Jordan taking all the center minutes then I prefer KG to Duncan as the defensive power forward.

Duncan did not want to be a center. KG did not want to be a center even more than Duncan did not want to be a center. I am still stuck in the 1980s when the shot blocking center was absolutely important because people were not shooting 3s and most of the offense was going through the paint. As a center, Duncan has been a better shot blocker than KG.

I have to go with Duncan's shot blocking.

[Threetimes10]

Although Garnett was faster and more athletic, Duncan’s situational awareness was legendary. Tim was one of the smartest players to ever play the game; was an interior wall, solid rim protector, help defender and rebounder. Garnett would be more useful as a PF defending the 3, but Duncan would likely be playing C in today’s game, going with Duncan.

Calling Tim Duncan a "solid" rim protector and help defender is too much of an understatement

[No-more-rings]

I see this as much more debatable than their offense, where i give Duncan a comfortable edge in that due to more robust scoring resilience. I don't disagree with the general sentiment here, I'd give Duncan a slight edge as their careers actually happened, but would give KG a slight edge if their careers started 10+ years later than they did. I used to give KG a slight edge even in their own times, but looking more at it it's too hard to go against Duncan's track record. Duncan anchored or co-anchored a top 3 defense for a decade straight and many of those were the 1st ranked defense, and 12 straight years of a top 10 defense. The Spurs in Duncan's 18 year career only had 1 season where their defense wasn't in the top 10(2011 ranked 11th). They were then a top 3 defense every year between 2013-2016. The results are just incredible. Perhaps KG could've emulated that with the proper support, but I'm just not going to assume it anymore. The Celtics run gave us a nice 5 year glance at what KG could do defensively but you have to wonder if the effort would stay there year in year out if more offensive responsibility was required of him.

[No-more-rings]

40 years old Duncan was great in today's NBA, I don't think his prime impact would be reduced at all.

But Garnett's impact might be enhanced.

Maybe, although I'm far from convinced. I still believe that Gobert is the best defender in the league and he's much closer to Duncan than Garnett style-wise (and he's theoretically less suited than Duncan to modern perimeter oriented game).

I do think its fair to say Draymond is getting older, and doesn't put in the same consistent effort anymore though. Like i don't think there's many that would take any Gobert versions over 15-17 Draymond defensively. I think KG could do pretty much everything green does but with 4-5 more inches. That doesn't mean you couldn't still take Duncan, but if we're bringing up styles, i don't see how that does Duncan justice.

[70sFan]

But Garnett's impact might be enhanced.

Maybe, although I'm far from convinced. I still believe that Gobert is the best defender in the league and he's much closer to Duncan than Garnett style-wise (and he's theoretically less suited than Duncan to modern perimeter oriented game).

I do think its fair to say Draymond is getting older, and doesn't put in the same consistent effort anymore though. Like i don't think there's many that would take any Gobert versions over 15-17 Draymond defensively. I think KG could do pretty much everything green does but with 4-5 more inches. That doesn't mean you couldn't still take Duncan, but if we're bringing up styles, i don't see how that does Duncan justice.

I would take Gobert over prime Green.