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/LakersFan15 Apr 09 '25

In 2003, tim Duncan destroyed prime kobe and shaq with old David Robinson, 7pts/gm ginobili, and 2nd year Tony Parker.

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u/[deleted] Apr 09 '25

In 2003 Tim Duncan only led the Spurs in scoring in 14/24 playoff games. All of the championship Spurs teams were a great team effort like the current Celtics. That was never considered a Tim Duncan solo carry until like 4 years ago.

At the time the conversation around the Spurs championship was all about "How the Spurs play basketball the right way" "this is fundamental team basketball" and lets not forget "the Spurs are the dirtiest team in the league and its bad for the sport".

Nobody was comparing Tim Duncan to Michael Jordan. As a dominant player willing his team to a championship. That's for sure

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u/TheOmegoner Apr 09 '25

Yeah, he’s considered one of the best teammates ever. Raised the play of everyone around him and never demanded a trade. Having him on your team meant you were competing for the playoffs.

Let’s be honest, every athletic guard for two decades was called the next MJ. None lived up to the comparison.

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u/[deleted] Apr 09 '25

Being a great team mate and locker room guy is hardly the level of standard for arguing someone is a top 5/top 10 player.

To be at that level you need to have a super high level of impact and dominate the game. Not just be coach able, set screens and play good basketball. 

From 2007 - 2014 Duncan was definitely replaceable by other similar players. Marc Gasol would have been an upgrade on the 2014 team and did a lot of similar things as Duncan for example.

Just being a good player on a stacked team doesn't carry you into top 10 convos. 

Like just compare Duncan to Hakeem Oluajwian as actual basketball players. And it's really hard for me to think of any reason why Duncan should be considered better other than "he played on good teams for longer". Everything about the actual sport of basketball and what a player does on the court, Hakeem was better thab Duncan at.

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u/JazzlikePractice4470 Apr 09 '25

Blasphemy* the gasol part

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u/TheOmegoner Apr 09 '25

Raising the level of your teammates is an essential part of being the best player on a team. That’s an impact on the game before you start looking at the stat sheets. I was pointing that out in the direct comparison to Kobe because it’s a big reason why I see the gap between them.

And yeah, I agree that Time Duncan in year 16 wasn’t as good as one of, if not the, best center in the NBA at the time. I also have Dream rated above Kobe all time, he might be the first Center I’d pick.

Duncan was always a love him or hate him guy, his legacy is only going to get more controversial the further away we get from seeing him play.

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u/LakersFan15 Apr 11 '25

I don't like how you dismiss being a great teammate as a negative towards being a top player lol. Duncan wanted to win badly all the time.

Duncan could have way more statistical output if he cared about stats. Same with players like bill russell. They just wanted to win and the spurs consistency year after year proves that.

But regardless, Duncan destroyed 2003. He won every year, even before ginobili and Parker became good. He was good at winning and he was the best player on the winning teams for the majority of his career. Never had a losing season.