Duncan gets the nod over Dream for 2 reasons. 1-more championships. 2-less funding terrorism.

Sure, Duncan has more championships but how many back to backs has he won?

Titles are clearly invalid because they came over the course of eight years rather than four.

A decade of dominance is clearly less impressive than a few consecutive years.

TheMasterplan is trolling. I feel dumb that it took me this long to figure it out.

Well played, sir!

I haven't even read the full thread yet, but I can already tell you Mavs and Rockets fans have ZERO room to talk about one of their players being as dominant as Duncan. Winningest team in the past 15 years in any sport. Pretty much all that needs to be said.

I defy anyone of you to name a player on your team that has had a more succesful career. If you can't, then stop the pointless bickering and give credit where it's due.

The only troll post was the back to back ships post.

But seriously though, kinda sad Duncan has never won back to backs with the elite supporting cast, elite coach and elite organization he has had his entire career.

^No troll.

With that said, he's still my #1 PF of all time. And the fact he's had all those is why I say Dirk's championship is run is greater than Duncans since he's never had one of those things.

[This message has been edited by TheMasterplan (edited 5/18/2012 11:30p).]

quote:

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And the fact he's had all those is why I say Dirk's championship is run is greater than Duncans since he's never had one of those things.

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Troll or ignorance?

FACT: Dirk's 2011 teammates > > Duncan's 2003 teammates

Shaq was more dominant than Duncan on offense simply because he was huge and athletic. An NBA version of JTrain taken to the 10th degree. There's never been anybody like him.

That said, basketball 1) is a team sport and 2) isn't just about offense.

Duncan is a better passer and has a higher basketball IQ (the 2nd leads to him doing lots of little things that make his teammates better and affect the game in other ways). Shaq is also a pain in the ass in the locker room, while Duncan is a great teammate who works with other players and seems to double as a coach.

Regarding point #2, Duncan is a better defender (again, higher basketball IQ means he doesn't fall for fakes, knows when to help out, can goad people into bad shots, etc).

I'd say Duncan is better. I am a Spurs homer, but I think that's still the right call. Shaq is the best in NBA history at dominating the paint, but while that's an important aspect of the game, it's not the only one.

I love Shaq and do not like the Spurs

If Spurs win this year, Duncan moves ahead of Shaq. If Duncan is finals MVP, I think he's legitimately in top 5 best of all time talk.

I don't really care to get into the who is better than whom.

I will say this. Duncan is a player every youth coach in American can point to in the present and say:

1) That's how the game used to be played
2) Watch and copy that guy and you will be good in every area of your game
3) That's a leader

When Duncan is gone there will be a void in the NBA as far as complete players.

I figure that's good enough to be in the Top 10 and the rest does not really matter.

Well said, policywonk. Duncan's greatness goes beyond statistics or vertical leap.

He's one of the most talented players in the game while simultaneously being one of the players who does all the little things on the court, in the locker room, in practice, and during the offseason to make the team better.

Duncan is the Emmitt Smith of the NBA

Best running back in NBA?

Policywonk +1

Just enjoy the hell out of this Tim Duncan 2012 playoff run, fellow Spurs fans. This rates up there with a wakeup BJ as an awesome, unexpected treat.

I don't want to imagine the Spurs without Tim, or Pop for that matter. But it's right around the corner. The fact that Pop and RC have put together a roster like this and Tim has seemingly moved back in time 5 years... it's just mind boggling. Let's hope they keep this lighting they've caught in a bottle for another month.

What a great career. What a complete player. What a leader. What a teammate. And going to the end of his career with guns blazing.

One thing that rarely if ever is mentioned about Tim is a prime example of how he doesn't need his ego stroked to know his own value. Consider this. Although Tim is clearly the greatest San Antonio Spur of all time, he has never been the final guy in pregame introductions. You know that's because he doesn't want that. Tim is about team and winning doing the little details that separate greatness from failure. We are blessed to see such a player.

Needs more sig figs.

Personally I just like the logic that because Shaq was one of the worst FT shooters in history it is a reason to consider him great.

Of course these threads always get into a Rockets/Spurs/Mavs hatefest. That's what this board is dominated by. Kind of makes me smile.

If you think Dream was a better player than Duncan, good for you. There just aren't many folks that would agree with you outside of the Greater Houston Area. There is no changing your minds. I spit out my coffee though with the "Hakeem didn't have talent around him" argument.

I do find the folks who laugh at the dominance of Duncan in '03 though curious. Duncan's 37 and 16 en route to the Spurs beating the 3 Time Champ Lakers on their home court by 28 points was incredible. The fact he followed it up with a near quad double and 20/20 to win the NBA championship was amazing. The fact that he did this after an unquestioned MVP season where he led the Spurs to the #1 seed is the icing. You can argue that others were "more dominant" I suppose but when folks act as though Duncan somehow wasn't dominant in his prime its funny. He just gets that label because he never wanted pub, he never talked smack, and he never made a big deal out of anything he did. I guess if he did more "King Kong" impressions like Shaq after he did a slam dunk that would have made him a better player?

BTW, Duncan isn't done in case you haven't noticed. So far he has been the Spurs' MVP of the playoffs and is playing like the Timmy of 5 years ago. That block yesterday of Griffin was incredible, he's still got it. I also realize though that Duncan could win 4 more Larry's and Rocket fans would still say "He's still not as good as Dream!"