Is Duncan the most undisputed G.O.A.T at his position?

since when he's not?

 

since when he's not ?

 

Since he plays the low block most of the time even when paired with Robinson. The only time Duncan plays center is on defense.

Hakeem was better than Duncan in every regard. Scoring, defense, shot blocking, steals, and passing.


edit: I meant the only time he plays PF is on defense.

 

What criteria puts Jordan above the other SG as GOAT?

I'm just curious because I believe that Kobe, when it is all said and done, will have the undisputed title of "Greatest Offensive Player" and although his defense has fall off lately (especially last season), he is a good defender. If you count number of rings, then you could have that argument that MJ is much better than Kobe, but then again, if you just focus on the rings, you can claim to give Horry some type of GOAT title also.

 

Kobe is undoubtedly an offensive force but MJ was a 10 time scoring champion and has the highest career scoring record...I know Kobe has set scoring records recently but MJ's accomplishments are more impressive because he did it over a good number of years.

Going back to the topic....Malone is a better "scorer" but he was never a post-up threat. Barkley was a more creative offensive player and certainly the more entertaining to watch...but Duncan is simply a great winner and has delivered in the clutch!

 

There is a bigger gap between Magic and Stockton, Maravich, et al. than there is between Duncan and Karla.

 

But the gap between Oscar Robertson and Magic is not so big. He averaged a triple double one season. He has many years fo 30 ppg and > 10 apg.

PG: Magic, close 2nd: Oscar
SG: Jordan, distant second: Kobe, West
SF: Bird, close 2nd: Dr. J
PF: Duncan, distant second: Malone, McHale, and Barkley
C: pretty much a tossup, with Wilt and Russell, then Kareem, Moses Malone, and Hakeem following very close behind


In today's game 6'9" Bill Russell would be a PF, and better than Duncan. He once had 30 points and 40 rebounds in an NBA finals close-out game.

 

I think the positions are pretty artificial. Is Duncan a 5 or a 4? Was Sampson a 5 or a 4? How about Amare and Dirk?

Is TMac a 2 or a 3? With the zone rarely played, centers and PFs pretty much do the same things, and SFs and SGs are interchangeable. I think the NBA only has three different categories of position:

Big man
Perimeter swing man
Point guard

That's why the all-star voting in centers, forwards, and guard, is so ridiculous.

 

He is not really a 4 if the position he plays is center

 

The Greatest offensive player............Wilt the Stilt......

 

Amare plays the position of Center in name only! They have to give names to each of the starting five!

 

Bill Russell was 6'10" when playing Power Forward for the Celtics, same height as Hakeem.

 

Please define "position" in the NBA game.

 

I'd guess generic description would be:

PG: Ball handler, distributer
SG: Shoots ball
SF: I guess a mix between SG and PF
PF: Low post offensive threat, rebounder
C: Paint defender, rebounder

 

Center: back to the basket, predominately places on the low blocks
Forward: faces the basket, typical catches the ball on a high block
F/C: equal parts of both

Amare Stoudamire is a F that plays on a small ball team. Chris Webber is a F that could have played as a F/C but hated contact. Shawn Kemp was a F that was occasionally manning the C position when the Sonics went small ball.

Duncan's a F/C.

I agree that McHale's pretty terribly underappreciated in this conversation. Watching ESPN Classic this weekend (old school Finals games) it was pretty surprising to be reminded how similar his game was to Duncan's. Neither one were dominating scorers unless they had to be. If you flip them, would McHale keep the Spurs contending? Maybe not. But would Duncan be the man instead of Bird? No way. Different eras, and our current talent pool is a bit shallow. Teams went a lot deeper back then, and unfortunately, McHale being a #2 guy on a great team sticks in our mind too much.

Evan

 

Duncan on the Celts instead of McHale.....they would of swept the 80's

 

PG: Magic
SG: MJ
SF: Bird close 2nd: Dr. J
PF: Duncan
C: convulted

 

I don't think Duncan is the GOAT at the PF position.

1) He has never dominated the league. Yeah he won MVP awards and plays great in the playoffs but I still remember how Shaq and Lakers dominated him in that 3 year championship run. Sorry but in order to the GOAT in my book you have to beat the best of the best when the opponent is in his prime.


2) Your greatness is defined but who you beat and how badly you beat them and Duncan really has nothing to show here. Put him back in the 90's against Malone, Barkley, Hakeem etc... and he would have a very hard time trying to dominate those players. Now people who bring up his 3 ring should know that he had better talent around him than other PF's in the 90's and you put a Barkley or Malone in their PRIME in today's NBA and they would dominate. Most of these guys never won because of some guy named JORDAN the GOAT regardless of position.

 

I couldn't disagree more. For all the talk of the watering down of the league, the 4 postition is the strongest it's ever been. From Duncan to Garnett to Jermaine O'Neal to Brand to Dirk to Boozer, there's never been as much talent and variety of talent at that position. Duncan dominating the PF age isn't on the same level as Hakeem dominating the golden age for centers, but it is certainly an accomplishment.

 

Horry's got 7. Add him to the club.