For many fans, Tim Duncan is the greatest power forward in the history of the NBA. The San Antonio Spurs legend played in the league for almost 20 years and had one of the most legendary careers in the history of the league.
But the lack of conversation around his greatness makes him the most underappreciated superstar in history.
Tim Duncan is heralded as the greatest player in the history of the San Antonio Spurs, and the leader of their historic big three with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. In fact, his head coach Gregg Popovich has said that the Spurs wouldn’t have won any of their championships if it wasn’t for Tim Duncan.
Which makes what Channing Frye said all the more interesting. The former NBA champion took to Twitter to ask why fans don’t have Duncan in their top 5 greatest players of all time, despite him being the best power forward of all time.
If Tim Duncan is the greatest power forward of all time why don’t more people have him on the Top 5list? Just curious pic.twitter.com/yUJu6mMht9
— Channing Frye (@channingfrye) October 27, 2021
If Tim Duncan is the greatest power forward of all time why don’t more people have him on the Top 5 list? Just curious
Duncan is a 5-time NBA champion, 3-time Finals MVP, 2-time regular-season MVP during his time in the league. On top of that, he was a 15-time All-Star and made an All-NBA and All-Defensive team 15 times in his career. For his career, he averaged 19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks a game.
What speaks to Duncan’s greatness is also his astute play. His numbers were never out of this world, but they were effective. In fact, Duncan never led the league in points, assists, rebounds, steals, or blocks, but he is still considered the best ever to play at the power forward position.
Duncan was never a flashy player. His moves were never must-see, and his style of play was extremely methodical. Maybe this is why he gets overlooked when it comes to debates about the greatest of all time. But his résumé does all the talking for his standing in that debate.
But perhaps Channing Frye is asking the right question, as Duncan’s placement on the all-time list for most fans is surprisingly low. Given everything he has accomplished, he should be higher up on the list.
