Personally I've always thought he played more like a center. He's listed at PF simply because at that position he is the greatest. If he was listed as a center he would be absolutely no better than 4th behind Wilt, Kareem, and Russell and there would be some serious debate with Hakeem and Shaq - not to mention he is more of a hybrid 4/5 than any of those guys.

It's also likely that because he joined the team where the beloved Robinson was already the renowned center in Spurs history it was logical to be identified as a PF.

[This message has been edited by Judge (edited 4/13/2012 2:48p).]

Duncan hasn't played half his career at Center.

Does anyone have documented proof of Duncan "insisting on being listed at forward"?

I hear and read it all the time but I don't recall seeing or hearing him say it. It also doesn't really seem like something he would care about. Just curious.

1. There is no official definition of an NBA center or an NBA PF, because players from different teams play different roles based on their strengths.

2. David Robinson, Rasho, Elson, Oberto, Kurt Thomas. Duncan has played alongside one or more of these guys up until 2010. If Duncan isn't the greatest PF of all time, then David Robinson is.

3. I don't think anyone would disagree that the role Duncan has played since 2010 is that which is usually reserved for a center. However, for these semantic type of "who's the best" discussions, it would be MORE unfair to label Duncan as a C since he played the PF in his prime. If you are going to take that away, then you can't put Magic's name in the "best PG" discussion either, because (a) he played center in the 1980 finals, and (b) if he played today, he would be designated a point-forward like Pippen was.

4. Arguing against Duncan's merits because of the way his role is labeled is 100% sour grapes, and you all know it.