Tim Duncan - A Basketball Unicorn (Part 1)

Disclaimer: A major factor in my motivation for writing this blog is that I feel more people should know that Tim Duncan, especially at his best, could hold his own with ANY player in the history of basketball. When he was at the height of his powers and the most feared player in basketball, his detractors always tried to marginalize him to any role they could to make it easier for them to downplay his dominance.

Not many people will debate that TD is one of the greatest players ever, but all the arguments I've heard to discredit him and marginalize his achievements have been mind-numbing. Because different people value different things in discussions on all-time player rankings, as time passes people start becoming misinformed on certain players' impacts in the NBA's history. Easily, the player who immediately comes to mind that's victimized by revisionist history, misinformation, or rhetoric that's completely based in fallacy is Tim Duncan.

None of the criticisms against TD are hard fact arguments. They serve as examples of how there is a disconnect between how he's valued by his peers and by basketball fans and the media. It's also the easiest way to dismiss a lot of context and dumb down discussions. Even though I'm always ready to fact check people that either undersell TD or don't get their facts right when they talk about him, a lot of times I keep what I know to myself.

Any Tim Duncan fact that I blog, post on social media, or speak about out loud, I can back it up AND point you in the right direction if you want to research it for yourself. I'm also confident in my ability to defend my opinions without letting being a fan cloud my judgment. Bottom line, I'm here to educate, not push narratives. If I'm wrong, I'll gladly admit it. 

If Tim Duncan spent his career in either Los Angeles, New York, or Boston, he would have been seen as the basketball unicorn that he is and also as a consensus top 5 all-time player. I'm well aware that all-time rankings are subjective, but TD is worthy of being in the pantheon of basketball's all-time greats and more than deserves to be mentioned among the very best of the best without it being seen as a joke.

For starters, let me just say that there is no clear-cut GOAT in basketball. Every candidate for that title has flaws and holes in their resumes that you can point out. It's funny how there are certain "names" that the media feels obligated to put above Tim Duncan on their all-time lists, yet if you ask most experts, they would take him over Magic Johnson or Larry Bird to start a franchise with. 

Most of the media and casual fans begrudgingly put Tim Duncan in the bottom half of the top 10 in their all-time rankings. These people fail to see that TD dominated every aspect of the game pertaining to his position, while some of the guys they rank ahead of him didn't. There are also guys ranked ahead of TD that had shorter careers, better teammates, and the same amount or less championships. To me, there's NO WAY you can rank TD lower than No. 5 all-time. If you take nostalgia and sentimentality out of the conversation, you can't name 5 players with better credentials than him.

Now here are 3 things that I believe make Tim Duncan a basketball unicorn:

*Abilities

Tim Duncan was an extremely intelligent, adaptive, and highly skilled basketball player. He also wasn't a traditional big man when he came into the NBA. He was taller than a traditional power forward, more quick and mobile than a traditional big man, and also more athletic and fit than a traditional big man. Part of what made TD so good was that he also shot better and drove to the basket better than a traditional big man.

TD was a great midrange shooter, and could have likely become a good/great 3-point shooter if he wanted to. Young/prime TD could get any shot he wanted. If you play up on him, he was quick enough to beat you off the step. If you give him space, his signature bank shot was automatic. Think Anthony Davis with elite footwork along with strong post moves and the ability to back down guys. That's basically what Tim Duncan was. The same way Stephen Curry creates gravity on the perimeter, TD created gravity from the low post, which sets up shooters for open 3-pointers.

Along with having a dominant post game, TD was a great ballhandler for a man his size, and was also a very underrated passer. He was a great passer out of double teams, and the only other player that could ever match his outlet passing skills was Wes Unseld. Because of TD's passing abilities, he often led the Spurs in assists. He also excelled at all the things that didn't show up on stat sheets.

For all the fuss that's made about scoring, people tend to forget about the other aspects that are critical for an offense to function. Tim Duncan was also great off the ball and could get himself some easy baskets by cutting and rolling to the basket. He always hedged the right distance on pick-and-rolls, filled the lane on the break, and also set great screens. You don't see too many superstars focus on those things. TD was pretty much a superstar with a role player mentality.

TD also used his athleticism, physicality, big frame, freakishly long arms, and textbook technique to become an all-time great rebounder. Those same tools also helped him to be a GOAT-level defender. Not only was he an elite rim protector, but TD was also quick and athletic enough to guard perimeter players. He also knew the tendencies of every single player he defended, which is why he was so feared in the paint. In fact, many of TD's blocks were the result of  below the basket anticipation.

TD's defense wasn't fully appreciated. He anchored some historic defenses throughout his career, and the fact that he never won a Defensive Player Of The Year award is CRIMINAL. How about this for perspective? TD played 19 years of All-NBA level defense and only averaged 2.4 fouls per game for his career. The one thing that never changed from Year 1 to Year 19 was him being an active defender that must ALWAYS be accounted for. No other player in basketball history was as good defensively as TD for as long as he was.

*GOAT Franchise Player

How can Tim Duncan not be the greatest franchise player of all-time? Let me make it clear that calling him the GOAT franchise player IS NOT the same as calling him the singular greatest basketball player ever. To me, there is no single greatest player ever, but there is a greatest franchise centerpiece. Those are 2 entirely different things. If your goal is to get the ultimate "team" guy that will carry you to 50+ wins for 2 decades and keep you in the mix for a championship every year, then TD is your guy.

The single biggest reason that Tim Duncan is the GOAT franchise centerpiece is because he, more than any player, provided the highest assurance of lasting excellence and championship contention if you build around him while making the GM's job easier than with other players that qualify as legendary centerpieces. TD is the only guy who instantly makes your team a contender from Day 1 and keep you in contention for 20 years, no matter what supporting cast you put around him.

What exactly do you get from Tim Duncan as your franchise player? For starters, you get the ultimate 2-way superstar and possibly the most flexible star player of all-time. For example, if the Spurs needed him to put up a 30-point, 20-rebound game to win, he did it. If Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili had it going, he would gladly take a backseat on offense and let them shine and then dominate the game defensively. With TD it was all about whatever it took for his team to win.

Also with TD, you get a guy who will be the best player in the NBA (as early as Year 2) for arguably a decade, capable of putting the team on his back and carrying them to multiple championships, then being an elite 2-way player for the second decade of his career and the best player on a championship team in Year 17. You also have no drama or diva behavior, no laziness, no off-court issues, or hatred by teammates for his ego, nor do you have a career shortened by injuries. Who else gives you all of that?

What also speaks volumes about Tim Duncan's greatness as a centerpiece is that the Spurs were drafting in the high 20's every year. It's not easy to build a team that way. Most of the recent championship teams got there with massive signings of Hall Of Fame-caliber free agents, lots of early round draft picks that panned out, or both of those things. It's impossible to tank when you have a player of TD's caliber on your team.

Unfortunately, people want to penalize TD for his unbelievably unselfish nature. His leadership skills helped teammates become All-Stars and ultimately Hall Of Famers themselves. He deferred to teammates offensively when they had a hot hand. He got along with his head coach and stuck with him for years, ultimately trusting the process in order for the Spurs to maximize their success. He didn't retire in the middle of his career, never asked for a trade, nor did he go to management and tell them to fire the head coach. Again, with Tim Duncan it was team over everything.

*Greatest Winner Of His Generation

From the time Tim Duncan first stepped on an NBA court up until the last game he played, he was on a team competing for a championship. His dominance spanned 2 decades. He was a transcendent winner. For starters, in all 19 of his seasons the Spurs won 50+ games or what would prorate out to 50 games. That's also 19 straight seasons with a winning percentage above 60%. 

The Spurs had a 1072-438 record and .710 win percentage during Tim Duncan's tenure with them, which is the best stretch in NBA history. It was also the best 19-year stretch among the 4 major pro sports leagues, as well as the most successful period in the history of North American pro sports. The Spurs are also the only team in the NBA over that span to not miss the playoffs.

The team also won 35 of the 48 (73%) playoff series that TD participated in. He also beat 18 different teams in the NBA playoffs, which is something no other player in history has ever done. TD also has a winning head-to-head record against every single franchise in the NBA, regular season AND playoffs, and nobody else was closer than 8 games under .500 during that time frame.

Of the 3 players in NBA history that won 1,000 regular season games, Tim Duncan is the only one to do it with 1 team. Also, the Spurs only lost in the first round of the playoffs ONCE with a healthy TD on the floor - in an extremely tough Western Conference, and that didn't happen until Year 18. It's flat out amazing how a guy can play 19 years as a starter and make the playoffs every single year, let alone his team being a championship contender every year.

A strong case can be made for Tim Duncan being the GOAT No. 1 pick with the return on investment he was able to produce. He brought them 5 championships, along with that ridiculous regular season winning percentage. It was easy for Spurs fans to take for granted how hard it is for an NBA team to get 50 wins year in and year out. Largely because of TD, they made it look so easy.

People are in no rush to realize that Tim Duncan was much greater than he gets credit for. If you just base it on his resume/credentials alone, he clearly deserves to be in the pantheon of basketball players and be recognized as one of the 5 greatest players ever. I don't think you'll find more than 4 players at ANY period in time, from the creation of the NBA to the establishment of the ABA, that have a better track record than TD. Other than his accomplishments, here are the factors that need to be considered:

*He was the best player at his position during his era.

*He is the consensus GOAT at his position.

*He was an impact player on both ends of the court.

*He was the leader/reason for his team's success.

*He won multiple championships.

*He won championships with different player combinations.

*His team made the playoffs in each of his seasons in the NBA.

*He won Rookie Of The Year.

*He was an All-Star as a rookie.

*He was an All-NBA First Team selection as a rookie.

*He was a multiple-time regular season MVP winner.

*He was a multiple-time NBA Finals MVP winner.

*He had unmatched intangibles.

*He had a legendary will to win.

*He could always be counted on to produce in crunch time.

When you factor in all the elements that go into being a pantheon player (championships, accolades, intangibles, etc.), Tim Duncan checks all the boxes. The deeper you get into the list of these elements, the number of players that fit all of the criteria gets even smaller. Again, TD can go toe-to-toe with any all-time great with his resume, but he's defined most by numbers that are tied to team accomplishments. Here is a list of some of his accomplishments that reflect the unmatched consistency and 2-way dominance over the course of his career:

*Had a 20+ PER (Player Efficiency Rating) in each of his first 18 seasons. (NBA Record)

*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 win 1,000 games with 1 team.

*One of only 2 players in NBA history with 25,000 points, 15,000 rebounds, and 3,000 blocks.

*Only player in NBA history with 5,000 points, 2,500 rebounds, and 500 blocks in the playoffs.

*Only player in NBA history to start on an NBA championship team in 3 different decades.

*Only player in NBA history to win a championship in the 1990's, 2000's, and 2010's.

*His 19 seasons with the Spurs are the most ever for a No. 1 pick with the team that drafted him.

Because Tim Duncan had such a long and successful career, there is one important thing that people either don't realize or eventually forget: he played most of his career on 1 good leg. Having a physical disadvantage that kept him from reaching his true potential and still having the career he had only enhances his greatness in my eyes. This ABSOLUTELY has to be factored into the equation when you analyze TD's career and compare him to other all-time greats. Why? He was only at his best physically for the first 3 years of his career.

People are comparing the Tim Duncan of his last 16 years to the peaks of those other greats (on 2 good legs) without the benefit of being able to see him at the height of his powers with both legs being healthy while all of his physical tools are on full display. This is why I can't automatically agree when people say some of these all-time greats are better than TD. That's when I get accused of being biased. Maybe some of those guys were more physically talented than TD, but because of how important the entire package is, that's of limited value. It's also practically impossible to prove because of him only having 1 healthy leg.

Tim Duncan also doesn't get nearly enough credit for his longevity and ability to be great in any system. He won a championship in 3 different decades in different systems and with different players surrounding him. He was great in all of them and a rock no matter what situation he was in. TD won with another great big man and the Spurs playing totally through the frontcourt, he won as the sole superstar with a bunch of role players, he won meshing seamlessly with 2 other star players and no disputes about sharing the ball arising, and he won as a secondary option on a team that pushed the ball and played up-tempo pick-and-roll.

No matter what type of team you want to build, just insert Tim Duncan and you'll do a lot of winning. He also deserves credit for sacrificing and his part in creating the culture in San Antonio for the Spurs to have their unprecedented run of success. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that he brought more value to his team than any other No. 1 overall pick ever has. Here's what makes all of what TD accomplished so great: He did it all in San Antonio. When he first got to the NBA, the concept of a small market team winning an NBA championship was still foreign.

The reason why TD's success in San Antonio is such a big deal is because it takes more to do what he did than a superstar in a big market. There are limitations (spending power, free agent attraction) that come with playing for a small market. Along with all of those constraints, TD also had to deal with a historically stacked Western Conference. The fact that he survived it 6 times to make it to the NBA Finals with those constraints says a lot about his ability to elevate a team to greatness. The Spurs had never won a championship and were considered an also-ran before TD came along and brought them 5 trophies and season after season of contending. You could argue all day long about who was more athletic or more talented than Tim Duncan, but there has never been another player that single-handedly brought more success to a single team than him.

If you truly want to know more about what makes Tim Duncan a basketball unicorn, I go into much more detail in this book titled The Underappreciated Greatness Of Tim Duncan: 

LaMarcus Aldridge Appreciation

July 4, 2015 is a day that will always loom large in Spurs history. It was the day the Spurs signed LaMarcus Aldridge, the biggest free agent in franchise history. The Spurs have signed some big names in the past, but those players were nearing retirement. LA was the first ever big-name free agent to sign with the Spurs that had some prime years left. He's also the only big-name free agent to ever sign with the Spurs because they were his #1 choice. I will always appreciate him for it and will never forget it.

Here are the things I'll remember most about LaMarcus Aldridge in his 6 years with the Spurs: 

*Choosing the Spurs when he had other offers on the table

*Filling the All-Star big man void after Tim Duncan retired

*Keeping the Spurs afloat during one of the darkest times in recent history

*Carrying the Spurs to the playoffs in 2018 and 2019

*His contributions on back-to-back 60+ win Spurs teams

*His career-high 56-point game against the Thunder (1/10/19)

Signing LaMarcus Aldridge was as big as it can get for the Spurs. He is the best free agent pickup in franchise history, and in my opinion, the timing of his addition doesn't change the value he brought to the team. Even in the massive shadow cast by Tim Duncan, LA delivered on expectations in San Antonio, and the Spurs' failure to win a championship during LA's time with them is not his fault.

I can't help but feel bad for LaMarcus Aldridge not being able to get a championship in San Antonio. What better way to reward your biggest ever free agent catch? The reason I feel bad is because LA was robbed of a couple of opportunities for a ring due to injuries to Tim Duncan (2016) and Kawhi Leonard (2017), and another one when Kawhi sat out and ultimately forced his way off the team. If not for those things, I believe the Spurs would have won at least 1 championship during LA's tenure and his legacy would look a lot different.

Even without a championship, LaMarcus Aldridge still has his place in Spurs history. He was an All-Star in 3 of his first 4 years with the team, and even in the year he didn't make it he still had an All-Star caliber season. He was a major piece on a team that won 67 and 61 games in his first 2 seasons, including a trip to the Western Conference Finals, which the Spurs were up big in Game 1 on the road against an all-time great team until Kawhi got injured.

Besides being an integral part of a championship contender in his first 2 years with the Spurs, LaMarcus Aldridge's biggest contribution to the team was keeping the Spurs competitive and carrying them on his back through some of the most tumultuous times the franchise has ever faced. He kept the team relevant longer than they probably should have been. Without LA, the Spurs might have become a 20-win team after the Big 3 retired.

In my opinion, LaMarcus Aldridge played his best basketball with the Spurs from 2015-2019, with his peak being 2017-19, when he carried what should have been a lottery team to the playoffs to help them extend their playoff streak to 22 years in a row, which tied an NBA record. It would have been a completely different Spurs era if they didn't have LA. I would even say he's one of the top 10 performers the team has ever had.

Again, you can't help but feel bad for LA because he signed with the Spurs to be an All-Star running mate to Tim Duncan in the frontcourt and give the veteran nucleus a good shot at 1 last championship. Also, with Kawhi Leonard developing into a superstar, he and LA were setting up to be a formidable 1-2 punch that could keep the team in contention. Instead, LA ended up being the man to lead the Spurs through an unusual transition period.

All in all, it's hard to be upset about LA's tenure with the Spurs. Given that the team had legends retire and the team's franchise player forced his way out, LA did the best he could with what he had. He was forced into a role he wasn't supposed to have, and because of that I won't be too hard on him for the Spurs' playoff failures. They had a good thing going, with so many opportunities to make more history, and it was never supposed to end abruptly. Even though things didn't go as planned, I still believe that the LaMarcus Aldridge signing was a great acquisition for the Spurs, and I'm grateful for his contributions.

Spurs vs Bulls Hypothetical 1999 NBA Finals (My Opinion)

Disclaimer: This hypothetical is solely based on Michael Jordan's claims in The Last Dance documentary that the Bulls would have won their 7th championship in 1999 if they had stayed together. Since we can't go back in time, it's impossible to prove. All we know is that the Spurs are the team that actually won it that year. Most of the media personalities seem to side with MJ in his beliefs, but I personally don't agree with him. Yes, I'm a die hard Spurs fan, but in this hypothetical I'll do my best to be as logical as I can without letting being a fan cloud my judgment.

As always, I use FACTS to back up my claims. If you ever want to dispute any of the facts I present, I would be happy to point you in the right direction so you can do your research. This piece of writing is strictly MY OPINION, but an opinion that will be based on facts. I can't promise that readers won't feel a sense of partiality whenever they read what I write about my favorite teams/players, but the one thing I can promise is that it's based on what actually happened. In other words, you might not agree with the presentation of my narratives, but you WILL NOT find a lie in anything I write.


At the end of the series finale of The Last Dance, Michael Jordan made the claim that he felt like the Bulls could have won a 4th straight NBA championship in 1999, which would have been No. 7 for him and the Bulls franchise. He said that the team was robbed of the opportunity, and that they were entitled to defend what was theirs until somebody took it. I agree with MJ on both of those points. It's a shame that things had to end the way they did.

A Spurs/Bulls 1999 NBA Finals has been a hot topic in the sports world since The Last Dance, a 10-part documentary highlighting the 1997-98 Bulls championship team. I know for sure this matchup would have been highly rated. You had the Spurs Twin Towers of David Robinson and Tim Duncan, co-anchoring a historic defense, going up against a Bulls Big 3 of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. Then you have the coaching battle between Gregg Popovich and Phil Jackson. The big mistake I always see people make when they favor the Bulls in this hypothetical matchup is that they compare what the 1997-98 team did and dismissing the reality of what happened to the players after that season.

Before I get into how I think the series would play out, let me present you with the facts that support my logic:

*Michael Jordan severed a tendon in the index finger on his shooting hand with a faulty cigar cutter.
This happened in early January 1999 on a trip he took to the Bahamas. He had nerve damage that made it hard for him to palm a basketball. MJ needed surgery to fix the finger that would have sidelined him for 2 months if he decided to come back. But he said that by the time this happened he had already decided to retire, even though he didn't make it official until later in the offseason. MJ said in the documentary that he wouldn't have been messing around with a cigar cutter if he knew the team was being kept together.

*Scottie Pippen was coming off an injury-plagued season.
He had surgery on his left foot right before the start of the 1997-98 season that sidelined him for the Bulls' first 35 games. Then in the Eastern Conference Finals, Scottie injured his lower back and then aggravated it in Game 5 of the NBA Finals when he scored the Bulls' first basket of the game on a dunk. He had surgery on his back in the summer of 1998 and was never the same player. Scottie was still a high-end starter, but not the All-NBA player he was before those injuries.

*Scottie Pippen was highly upset about being underpaid for so long and wanted out of Chicago.
He was the 6th highest paid Bulls player and was determined to get a long-term deal done once his Bulls contract ran out. Michael Jordan rationalized that if Phil Jackson had committed to coming back, that he and Phil could have gotten everybody to come back on 1-year deals so they could try to win 1 more championship. I couldn't see a 33-year old Scottie Pippen, who was angry for years about being criminally underpaid with Jerry Krause refusing to renegotiate his contract, on the verge of getting the first big contract of his career, coming off a year where he missed just under half the season, coming off of back surgery, and didn't get along with the Bulls front office leaving money on the table to come back on a 1-year deal. Scottie finally got his money when he was traded to the Rockets.

*The 1997-98 Bulls were an older team and running on fumes.
They would be another year older in 1999, with their nucleus being in their mid to late 30's. Assuming they did stay together, at the time of the 1999 NBA Finals you would have a 36-year old Michael Jordan, 33-year old Scottie Pippen, and a 38-year old Dennis Rodman. To round out the starting lineup, you would have a 35-year old Ron Harper, and Luc Longley being the young one in the group at 30.

*There were other hungry teams on the rise.
The Pacers took the Bulls to 7 games in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals, where the Bulls escaped Game 7 with a 5-point win. The Pacers came back the next year and finished the season in a 3-way tie with the Heat and Magic for best record in the East. The Heat gave up the 2nd fewest points per game in the 1998-99 season and had a tandem of Alonzo Mourning (MVP runner-up) and Tim Hardaway. Zo would have given the Bulls front line fits. There was also the eventual conference champion Knicks, who weren't a true 8th seed. They upset the Heat in the 1st round and went on to eventually lose to the Spurs in the Finals. It's hard to imagine a Bulls team with Michael Jordan losing to the Heat or the Knicks, but seeing how the Pacers had them on the ropes in 1998 showed how much motivation teams had in dethroning them.

*The NBA squeezed a 50-game regular season into 90 days in 1999.
People look at the fact that the regular season was just 50 games and assume that would have given the Bulls an advantage because they were running on fumes. The season came after just 12 days for training camp, where rosters weren't even fully set because of free agency also going on at the time. Squeezing in 50 games in 90 days resulted in some instances where teams had 3 games in 3 nights, 3 in 4 nights, and plenty of back-to-backs. The quality of play suffered because there was little time to practice and players had to quickly work themselves back into shape. A grind like that would have been hell on the Bulls, especially since they played 58 playoff games over the previous 3 years. There was no such thing as load management back then, so the Bulls would have had to play their stars as much as it took to secure home court advantage because only 6 games separated the 8 playoff teams in the East by the time the regular season ended.


For the sake of this hypothetical projection, let's say Phil Jackson called a truce with Jerry Krause and agreed to come back for another year. Michael Jordan was somehow able to convince Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and all the role players to take 1-year deals. Now the Bulls have everything they need in place to try and become the first team since Bill Russell's Celtics to win 4 championships in a row. But there would be significant obstacles standing in their way, even in the East, because that conference still had the teams that made the road to their last championship difficult. In the end, they would run into a buzz saw in the Spurs and come up short. Here's how I see it playing out:

First of all, keep in mind that whatever the Bulls accomplish in this projection is under the assumption that the players' bodies would hold up long enough for them to go out and make it happen, which was far from a guarantee under the circumstances. The Bulls were worn out physically and mentally by 1999. The biggest thing working against them in this situation would be 302 games played in the previous 3 seasons. Exhaustion is often a major factor in dynasties falling off. There's also the fact that the 1998-99 season was a very condensed 50-game schedule, which is not good for old legs.

Here's a look at the star players for both teams and what they had going on........ 

Spurs
Tim Duncan: He was a monster in his 2nd year in the NBA. This a 23-year old pre-knee injury Tim Duncan we're talking about. He was fast, mobile, and athletic. Not to mention young and hungry. TD was a quiet assassin on offense and a terror on defense. He would have been too dominant, and wouldn't have been intimidated by Dennis Rodman's antics. TD put up double-doubles the first 2 times he faced The Worm in his career, with 19 points and 22 rebounds the first time, and then 14 and 12 the other time. With TD's improvement from his rookie season to Year 2, imagine how he would have feasted on a 38-year old Dennis Rodman.

Here's what former Bull and 3-time champion BJ Armstrong said about TD on ESPN's First Take leading up to the documentary:

"Technically speaking, Tim Duncan, to me, is a player that is really just probably as unique of a talent that I've seen in the NBA. And if you're going to have a player that's going to be able to counter a talent like Michael Jordan, who was almost like flawless technically in his game, Tim Duncan can do that because he could do things - not only offensively but defensively - to control the game."

David Robinson: He was in his 10th season and wanted to win a championship very badly. Athletic big men were the Bulls' kryptonite, so who would guard David Robinson? Granted, he wasn't the same guy that averaged 25 points and 11 rebounds in his first 7 seasons, but he was still an elite athlete at 33 years old. Also, by 1999 The Admiral appeared to finally be at peace with who he was and what he did so well. He was also noticeably playing with more fire and more of a sense of urgency.

Bulls
Michael Jordan: He was clearly slipping. From 1988-1997, in every year he played MJ led the NBA in offensive and total win shares, win shares per 48, offensive box plus/minus, total BPM, and value over replacement player. By every advanced statistical measure, MJ was the best player in basketball for a whole decade straight. He didn't lead any of those categories in the 1997-98 season, his last with the Bulls. His PER (25.2) and VORP (7.1) in that season were career-lows with the Bulls. MJ's raw numbers had also started to decline, and his shooting efficiency was dropping off. He wasn't terrible by any means, given the fact that he won his 5th MVP trophy, but he was no longer the clear-cut winner.

Fast forward a year and now Michael Jordan is 36 years old and the years have taken their toll. He seemed perfectly fine with playing 39 minutes per game in all 82 games in the previous season and then carrying his team in the playoffs by averaging 41.5 minutes per game at 35 years old. MJ was the best in the business at using his mind to push his body to places nobody thought it could ever reach. That's what gave him the strength to push through the food poisoning he played with in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals. In a season that saw so many injuries, a 36-year old MJ coming off 3 straight championship runs would likely feel the physical effects of a challenge no human body was prepared to withstand. You couldn't help but wonder how much more his body could take at that level of play and the amount his psyche could handle. MJ also had the burden of being the world's most famous celebrity.

Scottie Pippen: He was never the same player after having his back surgery in the summer of 1998. At 33 years old, he was still a high-end starter, but not the difference maker he had been. The agile and athletic Scottie Pippen that we saw before the 1997-98 season was gone. It should also be noted that he never made another All-Star team after his foot surgery in 1997. These are facts that most people conveniently ignore when they just assume that a hypothetical Bulls team in 1999 would automatically win it all. All that's doing is minimizing how great Scottie was before the surgeries, acting like a lesser Scottie Pippen would still make them favorites in 1999. The lockout season might have helped him a little bit, but he only averaged 14.5 points per game as the Rockets' 3rd best player behind Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley. To Scottie's credit, he did play all 50 games that season. But again, he just wasn't the same player.

Dennis Rodman: He wasn't having the kind of impact he had in previous years. There were concerns that Dennis Rodman was disinterested, even at the end of the 1997-98 season. For that reason, along with him being 38 years old by the time the 1999 NBA Finals came around, I couldn't see him being able to guard Tim Duncan 1-on-1. The Worm was also playing a physical style that could only hold up for so long. He even started coming off the bench for the Bulls in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals (except for Game 3), and did it through the Finals. After the 1997-98 season, The Worm only played 35 games over the next 2 seasons (with the Lakers and Mavericks) before retiring in 2000.


As for how the series would play out, I see the Spurs taking it in 6 games, 5 with a couple of lucky breaks. The difference in this series would have been the Twin Towers. Their size would pose some real issues for the Bulls, who had never faced an interior duo like that in the Michael Jordan Era. As great as MJ and Scottie Pippen were in big moments, David Robinson and Tim Duncan would have been too much for the Bulls. They would have destroyed the Bulls front line of Dennis Rodman, Luc Longley (if retained), and Bill Wennington. Say what you want about the Bulls having the better perimeter tandem and backcourt, but I believe Sean Elliott, Mario Elie, and Avery Johnson would have made enough contributions for the Spurs to pull out the win. I'm pretty sure they would get a lot of wide-open shots with the Bulls putting most of their energy into collapsing in the post.

On the defensive end is where you would see the true advantages for the Spurs. Their GOAT-level half-court defense would wreak all kinds of havoc on a Bulls team that operated exclusively in the half court. The Twin Towers would be clogging the paint and forcing the Bulls into shooting a lot of jumpers. They would also be killing the Bulls on the glass. The Spurs were the best defensive team in 1998-99 and had the NBA record for opponent field goal percentage (.4016), which still stands today. They were also top 5 in rebounding (No. 1 in defensive rebounding). Points would certainly be at a premium.

In my opinion, the key to beating that Bulls team would be to let Michael Jordan get his and lock everybody else down. With the Twin Towers shutting the paint down, MJ would just have to shoot jumpers until his arm fell off. Who would help him score? Scottie Pippen was a shell of himself by then. So was Dennis Rodman, but he was never much of a scorer, and he was disinterested in basketball. This series would resemble the early part of MJ's career, when it was him vs. everybody. He escaped Utah in '98 by the skin of his teeth and would have to play an even bigger role in '99 as the only elite player on the team. That's an awful lot to ask out of a 36-year old man who had played in 3 NBA Finals in the previous 3 seasons. 

A Spurs/Bulls series would have definitely been more competitive than the Spurs/Knicks series was, but again, I say the Spurs would take it in 6 games at most. Athletic big men were the Bulls' weakness, and the Spurs had 2 of them. David Robinson and Tim Duncan were just too good on the inside, and the Spurs had a nice mix of veterans. The wear and tear from 3 straight championship runs would have been a lot to overcome against a hungry Spurs team. Many of the Bulls players declined after their last championship season, some quite a bit. As great as Michael Jordan still was, especially in crunch time, I just don't see him and a Bulls team that's another year older beating an already-great-but-still-ascending Tim Duncan and a David Robinson who was still capable, with both of them co-anchoring a historic defense.

So many people to this day still sleep on the 1998-99 Spurs. In fact, they are one of the more underrated and forgotten great teams in NBA history. They tied with the Jazz for the NBA's best record (37-13) after a 6-8 start. The Spurs also had the best metrics of any team by a wide margin that season, including a league-leading scoring margin (+8.1) and defensive rating (95.0). They were a runaway train after getting off to that slow start. The Spurs closed out the regular season by winning 12 of their last 13 games, including 3 against the Blazers (their Western Conference Finals opponent) and the Jazz. Then they went 15-2 in the playoffs on the way to their first championship.

For the record, Dennis Rodman said in The Last Dance that the Bulls would have "easily" won their 4th straight championship. The way they won their last one in 1998 suggests otherwise. They got pushed to the limit by the Pacers and then got taken to 6 games by the Jazz for a 2nd straight year. Not to mention the Nets playing them tough in the first 2 games of the opening round of the playoffs. That team was on its last legs and barely won that championship, mostly on the strength of some clutch plays and bad calls. To me, when you barely win it's always a sign that your time is up.

I won't say that the Spurs would have been able to stop Michael Jordan, but they most certainly would have made him a less efficient player. They held the Knicks to 39.2% shooting and allowed 79.8 points in the NBA Finals over 5 games. The Bulls would have fared better, but it still would have been a struggle for them to score. The Spurs were basically a superior version of those 90's Knicks teams that gave the Bulls problems. They would have been the best defense the Jordan Bulls have faced. In this case, the 2nd best would be the 1992-93 Knicks, who held a younger and better MJ to the most inefficient series of his prime. The Spurs were a different animal altogether.

It really is too bad that this matchup never happened because it very well could have been among the highest rated NBA Finals series ever. I also know the Spurs would have been extremely fired up to face the Bulls. The Spurs winning that series would have also been a nice passing of the torch from Michael Jordan to Tim Duncan. What better way for TD to start his legacy off by beating the consensus GOAT? The media would have also naturally made a bunch of excuses for the Bulls, with the main excuse being it wasn't the same Bulls team. But it still would have robbed the Bulls of some of their mystique and further elevated TD and the Spurs.

Tim Duncan's Draft Day Scouting Report

Tim Duncan is undoubtedly one of the very best to ever pick up a basketball. His consistency, ability to win multiple championships, leadership, numbers, and accolades are all proof of that. Year in and year out he always found a way to impact games and was able to dominate by for the most part just keeping his game simple. TD was the last superstar player to stay in college for 4 years before going to the NBA. We might not see that for a very long time, if ever again. 

Here is a look at Tim Duncan's draft day scouting report courtesy of Usenet Draft:

Scout: Kevin Lachance

Duncan is the best player available in the draft and a lock to be the first overall pick. He has the ability to become an NBA superstar.

Scouts have mixed opinions on Duncan's NBA position. He may be a more dominant player early on in his career at power forward, but has the tools to be a dominant center. His position will depend on the team that selects him.

In terms of comparisons I have heard David Robinson and Brad Daugherty. I feel Hakeem Olajuwon is a closer comparison because of his mobility and size.

In terms of physical skills Duncan has great mobility. He is capable of consistently beating his man down the court. He has long arms and excellent timing for blocking shots. His footwork on post moves is constantly improving.

In terms of basketball skills, Duncan has the total package. Duncan can score in a variety of ways. He can take his man down low with an assortment of post moves. He uses the glass well on his turnaround jump shot. He can also step outside and hit the mid-range jumper. Duncan's passing ability is incredible for a player of his size and experience. He led Wake Forest in assists. Duncan handles the ball better than most post players.

Duncan's greatest attribute is his defense. He averaged double figures in rebounds in his final 3 years of college. This past season he averaged close to 15 boards a game. Duncan can swat shots with the best of them. He is the all-time blocked shots leader in the history of the NCAA. 

Despite his overall game, he has a few things to work on. His biggest need is adding strength and weight. He will need to adjust to the power of the NBA. He needs to continue to develop his offensive game. One concern is his low free throw percentage (64%). However, it was the lowest total of his 4 years.

As NBA scouting director Marty Blake says "He may be the most complete player to enter the NBA in the last 10 years".


Scout: Philip Kasiecki

Tim Duncan is not the most talented player in this draft. However, he is the best player in it, and he will be a successful NBA player because of his style of play. For Duncan, it is simple: he plays. He plays hard every minute, with confidence and emotion at both ends of the floor, and he plays to win. He has a winning attitude that will greatly help the team that drafts him, going beyond what he will do that shows up in the box score.

Duncan is the type of player who can lift his team with his play, as he can take over games at either end of the floor, and is the consummate team player. He can dominate defensively, as he is an excellent shot-blocker and rebounder. At the offensive end, he is constantly adding to his game, as he has expanded his shooting range with time. When double-teamed, he will pass the ball back out to an open teammate; he involves his teammates as though he were a point guard, as he realizes that he alone will not win ball games.

Duncan will be a franchise player because he makes his teammates better, in addition to being a great individual talent. He averaged a double-double in each of his last 3 seasons in college, in scoring and rebounding.

If Tim Duncan is not the first pick in the draft, the GM doing the selecting will be referred to the best psychologist within a 50-mile radius. This holds even if the team selecting first is set at center, as Duncan can play power forward as well.


Scout: mmauer@bellatlantic.net

Duncan is one of college's most dominating centers to play the game since HAKEEM OLAJUWON. Duncan makes all the right plays offensively, which is perhaps his only weakness is that it is raw but still developing.

He is a HUGE defensive presence in the paint as a rebounder and a shot blocker. He isn't the kind of leader that some coaches would prefer. But if you look at Wake Forest's record you'll see that he did just fine. If he had desired to go into the past 2 drafts he would have been number 1 overall. But there is no doubting that he is a huge talent that will surely develop into a fine superstar. His averages are 20.8 PPG, 14.7 RPG, 3.2 APG, and 3.3 BPG.

This is the most complete player I've seen in years.


Scout: dedelman@acpub.duke.edu

Tim Duncan - An extraordinary college ballplayer; if you haven't seen him night in and night out you can't appreciate it. Needed badly to stay the extra year to work on his offense, but now has excellent footwork inside. Can nail the mid-range J. Good rebounder, both athletic and technical; reasonably good shot-blocker. Man defense not really tested in the ACC (no other centers of note). Starts as a 12/10 guy like Mutombo (fewer blocks) but his work ethic could make him into an Olajuwon type. To my mind a very easy #1 pick, the only guaranteed star and the most probable superstar in the draft.

Worst he could be: Otis Thorpe with a few assists thrown in.
Best he could be: Olajuwon.

Emmitt Smith - The Most Underrated All-Time Great RB

Emmitt Smith - The Most Underrated Great RB

5/15/18

It's mind-blowing to me how a running back of Emmitt Smith's caliber could be so underrated. It's impossible to have one of the greatest records in all of sports and all of the other accomplishments he piled up and still be underrated, but that 's exactly what he is. In my opinion, Emmitt is undoubtedly a top 3 all-time RB, and a case can be made for him as the greatest of all-time.

What makes Emmitt underrated is that most "experts" have a hard time putting him in their top 3 and possibly top 5 all-time running backs list. So many people have a hard time acknowledging that he was a very special RB. He made it look easy, and so many people took it for granted.

Emmitt Smith was everything you want in a running back. He was the epitome of a complete RB. He was tough as nails, a warrior, a ferocious blocker, a lethal receiver out of the backfield, and if he had an open lane, most likely he would be adding another football to the collection in his storage room. Emmitt was also the Cowboys' best 3rd down back, best goal line back, and best pass protector.....in the good and bad years. I'll just leave his resume right here for you to look at and tell me why he shouldn't be mentioned among the best of the best.


Career Highlights And Awards
-NFL All-Time Leading Rusher
-NFL All-Time Leading Postseason Rusher
-Monday Night Football All-Time Leading Rusher
-Dallas Cowboys Ring Of Honor (2005)
-Pro Football Hall Of Fame (2010)
-NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
-8x Pro Bowl Selection (1990-95, 1998, 1999)
-4x First Team ALl-Pro (1992-95)
-Second Team All-Pro (1991)
-3x Super Bowl Champion (XXVII, XXVIII, XXX)
-Super Bowl XXVIII MVP
-1990 NFL Offensive Rookie Of The Year
-1993 NFL MVP
-1993 PFWA NFL MVP
-1993 TSN NFL MVP
-1993 Miller Lite Player Of The Year
-1994 TSN Sportsman Of The Year
-2x NEA NFL MVP (1991, 1992)
-1993 Bert Bell Award
-5x Galloping Gobbler Award
-3x First Team All-SEC (1987-89)
-1989 SEC Player Of The Year
-1989 First Team All-American
-1987 SEC Freshman Of The Year
-Gator Football Ring Of Honor
-College Football Hall Of Fame (2006)
-Florida High School All-Century Team
-Florida High School Athletic Association Player Of The Century
-1986 USA Today High School Player Of The Year
-1986 Parade Magazine High School Player Of The Year


NFL Records
-Most rushing yards in a career (18,355)
-Most rushing touchdowns in a career (164)
-Most rushing attempts in a career (4,409)
-Most consecutive 1,000-yard seasons (11)
-Most 1,000-yard seasons in a career (11)
-Most 100-yard games in a career (78)
-Most games in a season with a touchdown (15 in 1995)
-Most games in a season with a rushing touchdown (15 in 1995)
-Most rushing yards after turning 30 years old (5,789)
-Most playoff rushing yards in a career (1,586)
-Most playoff rushing touchdowns in a career (19)
-Most playoff total touchdowns in a career (21 - tied with Thurman Thomas)
-Most consecutive playoff games with a rushing touchdown (9)
-Most 100-yard playoff games (7 - tied with Terrell Davis)


Accomplishments
-Only running back in football history to be his state's all-time leading rusher in high school, school's all-time leading rusher in college, and the NFL's all-time leading rusher

-Only running back in NFL history to win a rushing title, MVP, Super Bowl, and Super Bowl MVP in the same season

-Only running back (since the merger) to lead the NFL in carries, rushing yards, all-purpose yards, rushing touchdowns, and total touchdowns in the same season

-First running back to win a rushing title and Super Bowl in the same season

-First running back to rush for 1,400+ yards in 5 straight seasons 

-One of 2 non-kickers in NFL history to score over 1,000 points in a career (Jerry Rice)

-One of 5 players with 10,000 rushing yards and 400 receptions in a career

-One of 3 running backs to start their careers with 7 straight 10-touchdown seasons (Jim Brown, LaDanian Tomlinson)