I assume you are referring to this season, the first without Duncan? Ye they are still successful without him, after Leonard turned into a top 5 player and they signed one of the best PF's in basketball. I think any team would have success if they retired and the team signed one of the best in the game at the same position as a replacement, while another teammate became a top 5 player. As a Rockets fan, you should be aware of how much success a team can have with just one top 5 player. By the way, once Duncan fell off a cliff the Spurs didn't look like title contenders last postseason. Also, does this mean you think Jordan is overrated? The Bulls were successful without him. The 99/00 squad. His coach obviously agreed because he tried to trade him. Any team that had Shaq or Gasol on it. Who was playing like a HOF'er in 2003? Rookie Manu? 2nd year Parker? Near 40 year old Robinson? They didn't start resting Duncan until around 2009, after he already led SA to 4 titles. Neither was a great player in 2003. Using that logic, Kobe really blew it in 2012 with Nash and Howard on the roster, alongside Gasol. Oh, but now you can recognize that Nash and Howard weren't playing at a HOF level, right?
Besides one year they tanked, Spurs have been great every season last 30 years. This isn't stopping anytime soon.
I'm referring to almost any season he played. Duncan could literally sit out 7-10 games a season and even not play a 4th quarter and his team still won. So how was his individual "impact" on the game so powerful if his team was still successful without him in the lineup? The Spurs were a great team with or without Duncan on every championship except one. The Bulls were successful without Jordan. But the talent gap between Duncan & Jordan is huge. Bad comparison Tried? Did he pull the trigger? Pau Gasol? Lmaoooo. Solid center but in NO WAY goat status. I'm glad you said this because I've noticed Kobe haters like to overrate Gasol to take away from Kobe's greatness. "Well umm, errr, atleast he had a dominant center in Pau Gasol!!!!!". Gasol did play great in the Celtics series but Kobe carried that team the whole season. Duncan primarily never had to single handedly carry anything. He was great in his role in Pop's system which allowed him to sit out games. Manu had been playing overseas and was a beast. Parker was erratic but talented. Robinson was still solid. Make no mistake, Duncan was the man on that team but the Spurs were still VERY talented. So it was all Kobe's fault? lol. Not Dwight or anybody else? lol. Um, ok. We're talking about championship teams and you're bringing up nonsense
End of the day its 1A or 1B. Both have very talented teams. Both had great coaches with great systems that helped them flourish and both have 5 rings. Personally I'll pick Duncan, but that is my personal preference. Skill-wise the gap is so close that either can be ahead, its simply to hard to compare as both played different positions.
Almost any season that he played? Even the ones where he played 82 games and avg 39-40 mpg? Which specific seasons are you referring to? Then we can see how many games (or possibly) 4th quarters were missed in those seasons. The talent gap has nada to do with my point. You dismiss Duncan's impact because the Spurs were successful without him. Wouldn't you have to dismiss Jordan's impact for the same reason? Jackson may be the GM for the Knicks now, but he was never the GM for the Lakers. You don't need to be GOAT status to lead a successful team. And neither was a better player than Odom at that point in their careers. In 2003 Manu avg 8 ppg on 43% (9 on 39% in the playoffs). He was not a beast. Parker was solid, not great. Same for Robinson. None of those guys were playing at a star level. My point is not about that season being anyone's fault. Just as you can recognize Nash was not playing at a star level, you should be able to recognize the same for every player on the 03 roster aside from Duncan. That was a quality deflection attempt though.
Great move by the Spurs. Never thought I’d see Duncan as a coach, just weird tbh. But he’ll be great for the culture in the locker room if nothing else. That Pop quote is great too.
