3 FMVP’s almost certainly hurt his case a lot. MJ went 6 of 6.
KatnissBot
Lebron and MJ are better. That’s why. Hate to be reductive, but it’s not complicated.
spira1out024
He never craved the spotlight. He loved the game for the game not the money/fame.
Anxious_South_5150
For me, I don’t think he ever proved to be quite as versatile as KAJ or Bron (That’s not a slight at TD at all though since those guys are just different types of players). All and all he’s still EASILY a top 5 guy for me (maybe as high as 3 all time) tho others could put some respect on his name for sure.
NayK210
Why doesn’t Tim have a statue outside frost center?
tinkady
According to the best aggregate impact metric, he just might be… for now… pay no attention to the alien in the corner
For all his all-around greatness and longevity I think a lot of people look at the fact that he never put up insane PPG numbers. Never lead the league in points. Never had a signature 60, 70 point game. (Tony, lamarcus, and drob all he higher scoring games) Never won championships back to back.
moonshadow50
Because he’s not – and those stats are incredibly selective and aren’t actually that impressive in GOAT level conversations.
Timmy is firmly entrenched somewhere in the 6-13 range of guys, and there is no consistent way of separating out that group, and anyone who tries is being biased. I would put him near the top of that group, but can’t strongly argue against other’s who view it differently.
But I don’t think there is any reasonable argument for putting him on the same tier as the top 3. I would personally then have Magic, Russell and Wilt next – but that starts to become more subjective. (And for the latter 2 for any arguments against them and their era, there is no argument against their otherworldly results team-wise, and individual-wise, respectively).
The comment I will always make about Timmy is that he did this whilst playing on dodgy (/non-functioning) knees for 2/3 of his career, and whilst being low maintenance and a complete non-Diva who didn’t care about his touches, minutes or numbers. There’s another version of Tim who stays healthy and chases individual numbers, and becomes a consistent 30/15 guy: the team probably wouldn’t win as much (and/or he might have moved in free agency), but in that world he may well be in the GOAT conversation.
mberk24
He’s good
WoodpeckerNo7968
Honest to god question, did TD ever get a signature shoe? I vaguely remember Adidas commercials as a kid but wasn’t old enough to understand the shoe game.
Edit: I only ask because he never craved the spotlight so he is still very much an enigma to most people that make these GOAT debates.
Dsarg_92
Because he played in a small market, non flashy style of play and didn’t have much of an electrifying personality ala Kobe, Jordan or LeBron. Duncan was all about showing up to work, eat, sleep and repeat. Except he did it so effortlessly.
Malemansam
Who is 1st in finals rebounds in the ’00s?
Shaq has 4-5 appearances depending when you start counting so he’d be the only real contender I can think of.
paxusromanus811
It comes down to really one thing. As good as Duncan was, and he’s a 100% guaranteed top 10 player of all time, if you compare his absolute peak To the top two (Lebron/mj) It takes a ridiculous amount of silver and black bias to argue that Duncan ever had a 3 or 4 year period that rivaled Both of those guys absolute insane runs at their peak Powers
Then if you look at the next step below (Bird/ magic/ Kareem) Duncan has a slightly better case but it still favors those guys when it comes to peak
When it comes to overall career accomplishments and longevity, there’s pretty much no one that can stand toe to toe with him, but the reality is pretty much no sport Is going to put someone as their greatest of all time if there’s not an argument for them to be made that they had one of, if not the absolute best overall peaks in their sports history
Duncan just doesn’t really have much of a case to be made for a top three player in NBA history as a result
He does however have a genuine case to be made in that top five or six range because his overall accomplishments and again his longevity is staggering
nrojb50
Those are stats from just the 2000s….
artunarmed
The guys usually placed above him by media outlets and NBA podcasters in that 5-9 range are more impactful offensively, and thus appeal more to the average basketball fan. (i.e. Bird, Magic, Shaq)
Duncan’s the second-best defensive player in the history of basketball, but defense doesn’t get clicks. He’s the second-greatest winner in the history of the NBA, but for some reason, it’s been decided that if you never win back-to-back championships, two decades of 50+ wins doesn’t matter.
LeBron, Jordan, Kareem and Russell are all better IMO, but that’s where the list ends. Duncan’s the 5th best of all time.
DantexConstruction
Uh cause he is not better than the people generally considered goats? Are you trying to say you think Duncan was better than Lebron and Jordan? You’re fucking crazy
21 Comments
Because he didn’t play in Boston, New York or LA
3 FMVP’s almost certainly hurt his case a lot. MJ went 6 of 6.
Lebron and MJ are better. That’s why. Hate to be reductive, but it’s not complicated.
He never craved the spotlight. He loved the game for the game not the money/fame.
For me, I don’t think he ever proved to be quite as versatile as KAJ or Bron (That’s not a slight at TD at all though since those guys are just different types of players). All and all he’s still EASILY a top 5 guy for me (maybe as high as 3 all time) tho others could put some respect on his name for sure.
Why doesn’t Tim have a statue outside frost center?
According to the best aggregate impact metric, he just might be… for now… pay no attention to the alien in the corner
https://preview.redd.it/8o0i7kjfexjd1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1f08c387ca20c45f87438b9cab0bf8fe77db4322
He wasn’t that good at basketball
He is in my top three players list.
Nephews
For all his all-around greatness and longevity I think a lot of people look at the fact that he never put up insane PPG numbers. Never lead the league in points. Never had a signature 60, 70 point game. (Tony, lamarcus, and drob all he higher scoring games)
Never won championships back to back.
Because he’s not – and those stats are incredibly selective and aren’t actually that impressive in GOAT level conversations.
Timmy is firmly entrenched somewhere in the 6-13 range of guys, and there is no consistent way of separating out that group, and anyone who tries is being biased. I would put him near the top of that group, but can’t strongly argue against other’s who view it differently.
But I don’t think there is any reasonable argument for putting him on the same tier as the top 3. I would personally then have Magic, Russell and Wilt next – but that starts to become more subjective. (And for the latter 2 for any arguments against them and their era, there is no argument against their otherworldly results team-wise, and individual-wise, respectively).
The comment I will always make about Timmy is that he did this whilst playing on dodgy (/non-functioning) knees for 2/3 of his career, and whilst being low maintenance and a complete non-Diva who didn’t care about his touches, minutes or numbers. There’s another version of Tim who stays healthy and chases individual numbers, and becomes a consistent 30/15 guy: the team probably wouldn’t win as much (and/or he might have moved in free agency), but in that world he may well be in the GOAT conversation.
He’s good
Honest to god question, did TD ever get a signature shoe? I vaguely remember Adidas commercials as a kid but wasn’t old enough to understand the shoe game.
Edit: I only ask because he never craved the spotlight so he is still very much an enigma to most people that make these GOAT debates.
Because he played in a small market, non flashy style of play and didn’t have much of an electrifying personality ala Kobe, Jordan or LeBron. Duncan was all about showing up to work, eat, sleep and repeat. Except he did it so effortlessly.
Who is 1st in finals rebounds in the ’00s?
Shaq has 4-5 appearances depending when you start counting so he’d be the only real contender I can think of.
It comes down to really one thing. As good as Duncan was, and he’s a 100% guaranteed top 10 player of all time, if you compare his absolute peak To the top two (Lebron/mj) It takes a ridiculous amount of silver and black bias to argue that Duncan ever had a 3 or 4 year period that rivaled Both of those guys absolute insane runs at their peak Powers
Then if you look at the next step below (Bird/ magic/ Kareem) Duncan has a slightly better case but it still favors those guys when it comes to peak
When it comes to overall career accomplishments and longevity, there’s pretty much no one that can stand toe to toe with him, but the reality is pretty much no sport Is going to put someone as their greatest of all time if there’s not an argument for them to be made that they had one of, if not the absolute best overall peaks in their sports history
Duncan just doesn’t really have much of a case to be made for a top three player in NBA history as a result
He does however have a genuine case to be made in that top five or six range because his overall accomplishments and again his longevity is staggering
Those are stats from just the 2000s….
The guys usually placed above him by media outlets and NBA podcasters in that 5-9 range are more impactful offensively, and thus appeal more to the average basketball fan. (i.e. Bird, Magic, Shaq)
Duncan’s the second-best defensive player in the history of basketball, but defense doesn’t get clicks. He’s the second-greatest winner in the history of the NBA, but for some reason, it’s been decided that if you never win back-to-back championships, two decades of 50+ wins doesn’t matter.
LeBron, Jordan, Kareem and Russell are all better IMO, but that’s where the list ends. Duncan’s the 5th best of all time.
Uh cause he is not better than the people generally considered goats? Are you trying to say you think Duncan was better than Lebron and Jordan? You’re fucking crazy
He is.