Rasho Nesterovic Nazr Mohammed Francisco Elson Fabracio Oberto masquerading = unofficial; if he were a true center, he would start a center like Shaq, Mourning, Yao, Mutombo, and etc.
I gave you that stats showing for the last few years he by far plays more PT at C. In the playoffs the disparity is even more--he has played more minutes at C than PF since DR left. You can call TD a Power Forward just as you can call Manu "a career bench player". They both are true statements, but when the game matters Manu is in the game and TD plays center (and has for many years). The latter are also true--and I think much more informative about their real roles.
Not only do I disagree, I strongly disagree. Not only do I disagree that Duncan is the best of all time, I don't even think he's the best power forward of his time. I think the Spurs would have just as many rings and maybe more if they had Kevin Garnett instead of Duncan. Instead, Garnett has languished on a terrible franchise. Now that he's finally on a good team, they're wrecking shop. As for previous power forwards that I think are better than Duncan - Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, and possibly Kevin McHale. Duncan has got to be one of the most over-rated players of all-time.
So, to win 4 championships in the past 8 seasons, which Spur is incredibly under-rated? In Ginobilli as good as Kobe? Parker = Nash? Was the older Robinson = Hakeem. The rings don't lie; and the Spurs don't collect 'em without talent. Duncan has been the ONLY player that has been there for all 4 titles; ALL of the power forwards you list ahead of him have NONE between them! So, prove your not a hater. Which Spurs have game that explains those rings, if it isn't Duncan?
I HATE this argument. Duncan also has two more rings than Hakeem. He also has one more MVP trophy than Hakeem. Are you going to tell me that he's a better player than Hakeem? Because he isn't half the player Hakeem was. Championships have a whole lot to do with the franchise itself. No matter how good a basketball player is, he isn't going to single-handedly carry the Clippers to a Championship. Awards also have a whole lot to do with the quality of the franchise/team and the size of the market. A good defensive player on the Lakers is always going to have a better shot at DPOY than a good defensive player in Charlotte. And of course, the quality of the league as a whole has a lot to do with awards. Currently, we're in an era in which Steve Nash can win back to back MVP trophies. Meanwhile, John Stockton, Isiah Thomas and Gary Payton never won a single MVP trophy. All three of those guys had better overall careers than Nash and all three of them went to the NBA Finals - something Nash has yet to do. Personally, I don't think the NBA is as strong now as it was in the 80's and 90's and I don't think Nash or Duncan would have managed a single MVP in that period. Nevermind that is pure speculation and cannot be proven. In summary, I know we still have to consider things like championships and awards, but it's a big mistake to say "Look at the hardware. Case closed."
1st - the entire League is weaker. 2nd- Ginobilli doesn't have to be as good as Kobe. Parker doesn't have to be as good as Nash and Robinson doesn't have to be as good as Hakeem. The TEAM has to be good. Are the Spurs a great TEAM? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean any of their players deserve the GOAT title. 3rd - The answer to that question is "All of them". The Rockets just proved what great TEAM work can do when they won 22 games in a row. Are you going to tell me Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady are better than Lew Alcindor and Oscar Robertson whose Bucks team is now in 3rd place for greatest streaks ever because of our Rockets? Hell no. Again, the Spurs are a great team and a great franchise - and Tim Duncan is a very good player. But when people start talking greatest of all-time, I have to say he's completely over-rated. If he is the greatest of all-time, he's the first ever GOAT to bore the living **** out of me.
I forgot about those two while making the poll and I know that they both are better than several players on the list.
Duncan does have the title of "best center to masquerade as a power forward" of all time. I would put him a notch ahead of Malone, Barkley, & Petite as players, and major notches ahead of McHale and the next tier. Duncan is more aptly compared in his game however to the best bigs of all time, which includes the greatest centers --Wilt, Kareem, Russell, Oneal, and Hakeem. I say this because let's not pretend Kareem or Hakeem in their peaks could not due what Duncan did if they conveiniently happened to start games at PF before spending most fo the rest of the games at C. Further, Duncan's offensive and defense game is most like a "lite" version of these two. Duncan on this list of best bigs is somewhere between #6 and #8 IMO--very elite company. But no, Duncan is not overrated. He is the 2nd best player (career wise) still playing (only Shaq has had the more impressive total career at this point) and a top 12-15 player of all time. KG nor Webber nor Dirk nor any other player (throw in Kobe or Tmac or Nash or AI or Kidd or any other of the greatest player of recent) around his era (outside of Shaq) would have lead those Spurs teams to 4 titles, 2 of which Duncan was most cleary the best player on the court (Manu and Parker were really co-MVPs the last 2--but the 1st two, slam dunk due to Duncan).
