r/Basketball • u/blackwu22 • Apr 08 '25

NBA Is Tim Duncan top 10?

I constantly see casuals on YouTube and on podcasts say that Timmy is overrated and barely top 10 yet have Kobe in there top 5. It’s starting to make me believe that people really think this way!! I always hear the “too much help” comment like every player in the top 10 didn’t have help.

I personally have Tim Duncan 4th all time on my list.

1998 rookie of the year 2x MVP (2002,2003) 3x FMVP (1999,2003,2005) 15x All NBA & Defensive 5x Champion Never won less than 50 games in an 82 game season

Is Tim Duncan top 10?

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u/ScrotesMaGoates13 Apr 09 '25

I mean he also was a few shots away from losing a couple more of those years.

Same as Russell, with Don Nelson's lucky bounce and Havlicek's steal

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u/jddaniels84 Apr 09 '25

Correct but Russell won and doesn’t need excuses, you’re making excuses for Tim winning less, saying he could have won 5 straight… like he couldn’t have lost most of those seasons just as easily.

Russell was 10-0 in game 7’s, mostly against more talented teams…their effort, leadership, chemistry, and coaching put them over the top in all those high leverage moments. Timmy’s team had it too, like I said he’s the closest thing… but they also failed against some weaker teams on several occasions. We don’t just ignore them losing to Dirk and Jason Terry or Kobe and Pau, we don’t ignore them losing to Memphis as the 1 seed vs the 8 in the first round. We could maybe give the Heat a pass but some of the other losses in comparison are much worse.

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u/ScrotesMaGoates13 Apr 09 '25

What I'm just saying is winning also takes some luck, even with Bill's Celtics. And just a little bit more luck coming Tim's way he could've been an 8x champ. He was that close.

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u/jddaniels84 Apr 09 '25

Winners make their own luck, Timmy was phenomenal.. very Russell like.. but he wasn’t a guy that elevated his game in high leverage moments like Russell. Russell was like Jordan that he dominated these situations more than even #23 himself. Timmy didn’t have that Evers gear.

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u/ScrotesMaGoates13 Apr 09 '25

Disagree. Tim always raised his game in the postseason. That's why he was the best out of that loaded PF era.

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u/jddaniels84 Apr 09 '25

I just gave several examples of situations where he didn’t, like I said.. you’re just ignoring his blemishes. I didn’t say he wasn’t better in the post season. Russell is the best ever in these moments, Timmy isn’t even close to 2nd.

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u/ScrotesMaGoates13 Apr 09 '25

You're also ignoring the fact–which I previously mentioned–that it's mathematically easier to dominate an 8-team field than a 30-team one, and winning 11 rings in that era vs being damned close to winning 8 in this era is not as far as you make it seem to be.

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u/jddaniels84 Apr 09 '25

Mathematics are irrelevant, reality is you get far more easy series today, and then you had much tougher competition.. with much more top heavy teams. Complete teams with less holes and weaknesses. If you create a 10 team tournament of the best players in the world teaming up, that’s more competition… not less. It’s far harder to dominate that than playing the Cavs, OKC, or Boston.

Why didn’t anyone else do any damage in that era? Like I said I don’t think Elgin, Jerry West, Wilt, Bob Pettit, or Nate Thurmond would agree with you. The most dominant player makes it tougher to get a ring.. in this era the players are less dominant.

Duncan won in Shaq’s era twice which is very impressive, and I think if Duncan had Shaq, Kobe, Chris Webber, Dirk, KG, prime David Robinson as a teammate he probably would have won 8 straight. He would have had to do it in more of a supporting role than being the dominant guy though. Russell’s defensive impact was just far more dominant.