Sorry if this has been discussed before, but me and my buddy got into an argument. Malone is number 2 all time in scoring. Duncan has 4 rings. I went with Duncan.
malone better offensively over the course of his career (though I'd say Duncan was his equal offensively in his prime) But Duncan was way better defensively and a more complete player. Malone had the FT% edge I think (without looking it up) I'd give it to Duncan by a little bit. His defensive prowess more than makes up for the other 2 things.
it's ok to chill out and stop replying to your own thread a million times. i promsie people will still read it and reply if they are so inclined
Personally I think Duncan is a bit overated, so I picked Malone. I think Duncan benefitted greatly from playing in one of the weakest eras of basketball and didnt have to go through too many terrific defensive bigs like Malone did. He also never had to suffer through a rebuilding stage due to some very lucky circumstances. I believe if Duncan comes into the league in 89 instead of 99, then he gets zero mvps, dpoy and rings. Just my opinion.
so you're essentially saying that David Robinson is also better than Duncan? Because Robinson came in around that time, but got an MVP (albeit questionable) and a DPOY before Duncan came along
I didn't really watch Malone play that much, so I might not really be qualified to have an opinion on this, but I would probably have to go with Duncan. He had an immediate impact in the NBA, and especially within the Spurs organization. He's also a winner. I can see some people arguing that Malone faced much stiffer competition during his prime, but the Jazz had two chances at the Bulls and blew both of them. 4 championships is 4 championships, and I think that stat speaks for itself; and its not as though Malone was out there with a bunch of slouches. I have a good time watching Duncan play. He is a very cerebral player both offensively and defensively, and you know the other team is scared of him, even if he doesn't run around shouting and pounding his chest all the time.
Best how? If Karla is so great how come he doesn't have any rings? Wouldn't that at least factor into the equation? Duncan is great, but the greatest? Barkley, McHale, David Robinson (center only on paper), Garnett, and Moses need to be mention in the discussion. My vote would go to McHale. Not the greatest defender of the bunch, but definitely the better offensive weapon, especially in the paint.
Malone was good no doubt. But his stats were padded by the system (just like Boozers offense is padded) and a great PG in Stockton. Malone never demonstrated the ability to elevate his game to the next level like Jordan, Olajuwon, etc... Malone was never unshackled, meaning deviated from the offense, and just given the ball 10 consecutive plays and asked to get it done. Malone was a system player... nothing more.
Just because Duncan calls himself a 4 doesn't make him a 4. He's a quasi 5 who doesn't like to guard real centers. Yes, Malone scored a lot. So what. I'll take Mr. 20/20, Jerry Lucas (who also made a slew of all-defensive teams). When you think about it, the 4 is the least glamorous of all the positions and has the least amount of talent compared to the all-time greats at the other positions. If you had an all-time draft, I'd be very surprised if a 4 went in the first 20.
when I tried to Google "all time great power forwards", the wikipedia page caught my eye: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_forward_(basketball) That wikipedia page needs some serious editting. Back on topic. Duncan is better Malone, because he has proven that he could lead a team to a championship. Malone can score all he wants, but he has never won the big one.... he has never gotten that monkey off his back.
Like, Karl Malone would've been NBA MVP in this era or NBA champion, if Karl Malone were to come into the league 10 years later, and be one the same type of Jazz teams. Those teams still wouldn't have turned into great champions. His team would not have gotten by a prime Shaq/Kobe team or even Duncan-led team. Malone and the Jazz had their chances at winning and they didn't get it done. Besides, Duncan elevated his game offensively and defensively in the playoffs, what usually happened to the Mailman, he often didn't deliver when his team needed it .
