How Is Tim Duncan Not Top 5 All-Time With THIS Resume?

How Is Tim Duncan Not Top 5 All-Time With THIS Resume?


4/25/18

Tim Duncan is widely recognized as the greatest power forward of all-time and generally considered one of the 10 players of all-time regardless of position. I personally believe that he's the most underrated and underappreciated superstar that the NBA has ever had. Most all-time lists have TD in the bottom half of the top 10 in their rankings. I know these lists are subjective, but to me, there's NO WAY he should be lower than 5. In addition to being one of the 5 greatest ever, I consider him the greatest of his generation.

I can go on ALL DAY LONG about why Tim Duncan is worthy of being in the pantheon of basketball's all-time greats, but for right now I'll leave you with his resume and dare you to come up with a good reason for why he shouldn't be mentioned among the best of the best.


Career Highlights And Awards
-Naismith College Player Of The Year (1997)
-AP College Player Of The Year (1997)
-John Wooden Award (1997)
-Adolph Rupp Trophy (1997)
-USBWA College Player Of The Year (1997)
-Sporting News Player Of The Year (1997)
-ACC Male Athlete Of The Year (1997)
-2x Consensus First Team All-American (1996, 1997)
-3x NABC Defensive Player Of The Year (1995, 1996, 1997)
-2x ACC Player Of The Year (1996, 1997)
-Honored By The U.S. House Of Representatives
-Jersey #21 Retired (Wake Forest)
-ACC 50th Anniversary Men's Basketball Team (2002)
-College Basketball Hall Of Fame (2017)

-5x NBA Champion (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014)
-3x NBA Finals MVP (1999, 2003, 2005)
-2x NBA MVP (2002, 2003)
-NBA All-Star MVP (2000)
-15x NBA All-Star (1998, 2000-2011, 2013, 2015)
-15x All-NBA Selection (10 First Team, 3 Second Team, 2 Third Team)
-15x NBA All-Defensive Selection (8 First Team, 7 Second Team)
-NBA All-Rookie First Team (1998)
-NBA Rookie Of The Year (1998)
-NBA Shooting Stars Champion (2008)
-NBA Teammate Of The Year (2015)
-Sports Illustrated Sportsman Of The Year (2003)
-USA Basketball Male Athlete Of The Year (2003)
-NBA Community Assist Award (2003)
-Sports Illustrated NBA Player Of The Decade (2009)
-Jersey #21 Retired (Spurs)


Here are some of the countless milestones and achievements Tim Duncan had piled up by the time he retired:

-Had a 20+ PER (Player Efficiency Rating) in each of his first 18 seasons. (NBA Record)
-Received MVP votes in 16 of his first 18 seasons.
-Only player in the last 35 years to be selected to the All-NBA 1st Team as a rookie.
-Only player in the modern NBA era to lead a team to a championship with his team's 2nd through 5th scorers all shooting under 42%.
-Only player in NBA history to start on an NBA championship team in 3 different decades.
-Only player in NBA history with 15 All-Star selections, 15 All-NBA selections, and 15 All-Defensive selections.
-Only player in NBA history to be selected to an All-NBA and All-Defensive team in his first 13 seasons.
-Only player in NBA history with 100 offensive win shares and 100 defensive win shares.
-Only player in NBA history to average at least 13 points and 9 rebounds at age 38 or older.
-Only player in NBA history with 5,000 points, 2,500 rebounds, and 500 blocks in the playoffs.
-Only player in NBA history to win 1,000 games with 1 team.
-One of only 3 players in NBA history with 1,000 wins. (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Robert Parish)
-One of only 2 players in NBA history with 25,000 points, 15,000 rebounds, and 3,000 blocks. (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)
-One of only 4 players in NBA history with 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists, and 2,500 blocks. (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O'Neal)
-One of only 3 players in NBA history to win the Wooden Award, NBA Rookie Of The Year, NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP, and NBA All-Star Game MVP. (Michael Jordan, Larry Bird)
-One of only 5 players in NBA history to win 3 NBA Finals MVPs. (Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, LeBron James)
-One of only 3 players in NBA history with a championship, NBA Finals MVP, MVP, 10 All-NBA selections, 10 All-Defensive selections. (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant)
-One of only 4 players in NBA history to be selected to the All-NBA 1st Team in each of his first 8 seasons. (Bob Pettit, Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird)
-One of only 6 players in NBA history to ever win Rookie Of The Year and all 3 MVP awards. (Wilt Chamberlain, Willis Reed, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal)
-One of only 5 No. 1 overall picks in the last 25 years to win a championship with the team that drafted him. (Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving)
-NBA record for most seasons played by a No. 1 overall draft pick for the team that drafted him. (19)
-Most consecutive seasons of at least 50 games played for the same franchise. (19 - tied with John Stockton)
-Most All-NBA selections in a career. (15 - tied with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Kobe Bryant)
-Most NBA All-Defensive Team selections in a career. (15)
-Most career defensive rebounds in All-Star Game history. (98)
-Oldest player in NBA history to record 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game. (23 points, 21 rebounds vs Hawks on 12/3/13)
-Has a winning record, regular season and playoffs, against every single franchise in the NBA. No other player is closer than 8 games under .500 during that span.
-Has beaten 18 different teams in the NBA playoffs. No other player in history has done this.
-He has a winning head-to-head record against every top power forward of his generation.
-Co-anchored a Spurs defense that finished the 1998-99 season with an NBA-record .4016 opponent field goal percentage.
-In his first 10 seasons, the Spurs were either No. 1 or No. 2 in the NBA every year in points allowed and opponent field goal percentage.
-He, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili have the NBA record for most regular season wins (575) and most playoff wins (126) by a trio.
-Had 5 lottery picks from his draft class as teammates, which is the most for a No. 1 pick. (Antonio Daniels, Ron Mercer, Tracy McGrady, Austin Croshere, Derek Anderson)
-Had 9 players from his draft class as teammates, which is the most for a No. 1 pick. (Antonio Daniels, Ron Mercer, Tracy McGrady, Austin Croshere, Derek Anderson, Charles Smith, Jacque Vaughn, Stephen Jackson, Ira Newble)
-He and Gregg Popovich outlasted some historic teams in his 19 years: Shaq/Kobe Lakers, (1st) LeBron Cavs, Dirk Mavs, Larry Brown Pistons, 7 Seconds Or Less Suns, Kobe Lakers, Pierce/Garnett/Allen Celtics, The Heatles, Durant/Westbrook Thunder

Here is an overview of the impact Tim Duncan had on the Spurs organization:

-The Spurs had only been to the conference finals 4 times in 30 years before he joined them.
-The Spurs had a .600 or above winning percentage in all 19 of his seasons.
-The Spurs won 50+ regular seasons games in 17 consecutive seasons. (NBA record)
-The Spurs never finished a regular season with worse than the 2nd best record in their division in that span.
-The Spurs made the playoffs all 19 years he played. That's the most ever for 1 player with 1 team in NBA history.
-The Spurs won 35 of the 48 (73%) playoff series that he played in.
-The Spurs' .710 winning percentage with him is the best 19-year stretch in NBA history and the best of any franchise in all 4 major pro sports leagues.
-The Spurs have been the most successful organization in the history of North American team sports.


The GOAT Power Forward also made a huge impact on the NBA as well, but that's another story for another day. He played his game in a way where he could shine and his teammates could shine as well, and do their own thing without getting in each other's way. He also found ways to impact the game with his intangibles, putting his team in the best possible position to come away with a win. Winning was the most consistent thing TD did. Most of all, he continued to be a gracious mentor to his teammates and was willing to help them become better overall basketball players and people.

Tim Duncan was a constant for the Spurs no matter who his teammates happened to be, and was the common denominator for all 5 championships.....with different supporting casts for all of them. He welcomed them all and found a way to help them fit in and feel comfortable in their roles. Not a lot of players can do that. The "boring" label that was attached to TD was probably meant to be endearing, but it tended to overshadow how great he was. In other words, he was sold short throughout his career. I believe it's safe to say that there will never be another Tim Duncan. Never again will the NBA have anybody with the transcendence of his skills packaged quite like that.

Again......how his he not top 5 all-time?