8 seasons. All-NBA each one. 3 times in the Finals. 2 rings. Surrounded by young talent. How many do you think this guy can win?
He's gonna have to get them this year and the next couple years because after that he is going to start to decline and players like TMac, Lebron, Melo, Yao, Amare aren't going to get worse but better. Realistically, I think he's got a chance at 2 more rings and that's about it.
a 3rd one this season and probably another one or two if that team stays together. The Spurs organization has made shrewd and very good decisions with their player personnel. They got lucky landing Duncan, Manu and Parker but they're smart to get guys that compliment the trio.
1st, let us wait and see what happens in the finals. Most of ya'll were saying would Shaq and Kobe catch Jordan at this same point next year. 2nd, team and players can fade quickly. Us after 95, Lakers afters 02. It all depends in Duncan staying at the elite level (Shaq and Hakeem declined quickly, particularly defensively. Overall, they could get 0 more rings (including this year, Miami or Det has a great chance) or at most 3 (including this year). But there is a lot of parity and 3 teams left built pretty equally for playoff success (excellent defense, some offensive mistaches)--SA, Detriot and Miami. The next year or two us and Phx could be right there too with some very modest tweaks. For us, with Yao continuing to develop, Tmac staying the same, modest upgrading our 4 spot, and adding more guard/SF depth--all fairly minor and achievable increments, we can be right there. Phx just needs a hire an assistant coach to teach their very long and athletic guys to play team defense (they seem to have the ingredients for defense, just not the knowldge and committment--far easier to get than the talent), and have great young pieces (Amare, JJ) around a great vet whose cerebrial game should last for a number of years (Nash). So overall, an SA legacy is way premature and there could easily be 4 other teams in the same ball park next year. Us and Phx I think long term (4-5 years away) have the most pieces but the changing of the guard could happen sooner rather than later. The Spurs know this--the Rasha, Barry, Bowen, Nazr moves/signings were made with this year and maybe 1-2 more in mind.
But doubtfully a top 5 big. Based on his game he really should be more compared to a finese hyperskilled center like Hakeem or Kareem, more so than Malone or Barkley. Also, most of the critical moments TD is playing C anyway, with a Robert Horry out there as the 4. Honestly IMO Kareem and Hakeem are out of TD's league when they were at their best. Amare was able to get what 35PPG against him, better players could do that to Hakeem.
TD is a great example of being all who you can be. He isn't called the "Big Fundamental" for nothing. He's not nearly as gifted as Hakeem was but has had a better supporting cast and coach throughout his career. At 29, it's hard to say how close he is to decline, but if Tony Parker and Manu Ginobilli take their games up a couple of notches, they will remain championship contenders for a very long time. Spurs management has also proven very adept at adding support players.
He needs to go back to Nike because them ankles aren't gonna last any longer in those Adidas. Think I'm joking? He never had these injuries when he was with Nike. And everytime I see a clip of him spraining his ankle, you can see those shoes are giving him enough ankle support. It's like that one year when Nike put out the Hyperflights during the playoffs. The shoes looked nice, but it didn't have any ankle support. Terrell Brandon messed his ankle up and White Chocolate had to switch shoes.
Ok this might be a stupid question, but you said 3 trips to the finals 2 championships, which time did they lose a champsionship series? or did you include this year as a trip to the final? thanks i think Duncan can become the best PF ever to play in the NBA. Who else, most great Pf do not have a ring, and Duncan already has 2
Historically, Rasheed Wallace has matched up very well against Duncan. Ben Wallace, McDyess, and Elden Campbell would also be tougher defenders on Duncan than anything he's seen in the past 2 series. To me Duncan has the fundamental skills and low-post moves for an effective inside game. But he doesn't have such exceptional size or strength or quickness that he can absolutely dominate inside. Instead he relies on his smarts. And he also gets bailed out every other possession by refs making calls for him. Anyways, the point is that I don't think Detroit would necessarily have to double team Duncan. They can play him with single coverage and use up 24 fouls if need be. And with the rest of their adept one-on-one defenders and stifling team defense, I am not sure how much offense Duncan's supporting cast would be able to come up with. Hakeem you could never get away with not double teaming. Same goes for Shaq (at least when he's healthy). But Duncan is not so dominant that the defense absolutely needs to force the ball out of his hands. On the contrary, a lot of his success in winning has come from his fortune of having a great supporting cast that has been there to make the big shots (Robinson, Avery, Kerr, Manu). In fact, one could argue that Duncan was actually Robinson's supporting cast in their first title year. So as far as I'm concerned, his legacy right now is middle of the pack at best when you talk about the great players in the history of the game.
i look at us as the only team that could knock them off and only because we have so much room to improve at the 4 spot and athleticism-wise in the backcourt. hopefully we don't screw it up.
as far as duncan's legacy, i'm kind of annoyed by the damn consecutive all-nba streak. i know he's been awesome but it seems like other players in history have been great w/o an auto birth on the all-nba 1st team. to me they could've easily considered lebron a sf (edit: apparently they did and still put duncan ahead of him) or amare a pf or not taken kg's team success so much into account and kept him off this year's 1st team. but nope, even with just over 20 ppg he's on it again. hell, karla plays the same position and was the mvp one year and duncan still made the first team b/c they don't distinguish b/t sf and pf. it's unfair to the centers like hakeem, drob, ewing, and shaq who all had to compete with each other for one spot. hakeem was the best center over a 12 year period but any year he sort of slipped up and drob or ewing stepped up he got knocked off. shaq has a good year and he's 3rd team. duncan got back to back mvp's even though no one ever gets that. he's such a golden boy to the media. his legacy will be amazing but it would be nice if he ever didn't get to be on an awesome team. has there ever been a year SA didn't have a great supporting cast for him? goes right from drob to ginobili and parker. imagine hakeem w/o those 6 dead years in the middle of his career b/t sampson and the championship team. or hell jordan w/ a better team to start with. but no, duncan just leaps right into a 50+ win team even by being the #1 pick. couldn't he have just gone and suffered on the celtics or any other sucky team #1 picks always end up on. definitely not. maybe in duncan's first year, but not the title year, which was duncan's second. robinson put up 16 and 10 that year iirc w/ about 2 blocks. very nice numbers, but that was duncan's team.
A guy that tall and who can score at will deserves an automatic berth in the HoF. He hasn't been injured or been a cancer. He is like the Hank Hill of the NBA...Service and Dedication. I'd rank DRob higher in talent and athleticism but luck and success overrides the competition at the time. I'd like to imagine him playing during the Era of centers, but that shouldn't discount his role in NBA history. So while Duncan might not show any raw athleticism or displays of dominance, Duncan's rings will be the measure of his greatness. With more rings, he'll be in the top 5.
I think he will be remembered as a great PF, but not a top big-man. He just doesn't have enough stats. Hes a great winner, and a great team guy, but his stats aren't huge. He's only hit 24 pts/gm one season, never over 13rbs/gm, never 3blks/gm, never 1st/gm. I think hes a great player, but all time great big man.
If he could go one time down the court without b****ing to an official about something, I'd like him a lot more.
everyone is missing the big picture here... duncan - 2 rings malone - ZERO! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! DIE CARL!
