- Gilbert Arenas chooses Kevin Garnett as the better player over Tim Duncan
- Arenas says Duncan was lucky to be drafted by a winning team
- Duncan was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs using the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft
Tim Duncan is regarded as the greatest power forward of all time by most. A close second to him is none other than Kevin Garnett.
But according to former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, Kevin Garnett is actually better than Tim Duncan. Agent Zero believes Duncan was extremely lucky to be drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the 1997 NBA Draft.
“99% of No. 1 picks go to bottom-feeding teams where you have to build that legacy yourself,” Arenas said on a recent episode of Gil’s Arena. “Then there are these greats that they’re considered Top 10 players of this game that when you look at where they got drafted to a team that came off the gates winning 60 games, so their legacy.
“50 wins every year. They just had that one bad year, and they set everybody to get the number one pick. They set everybody, they set David Robinson on that bull****.”
Arenas further explained his point by talking about how the Spurs already had a winning roster.
“Before Tim Duncan, 50 games, 50 games, 50 games,” he said. “And then Tim Duncan’s in the Draft, and they tank it like they did this year to get Wemby, and then you add Tim Duncan, the National Player of the Year, to a team that’s winning 50 games in the NBA.”
He concluded: “He has a better chance of winning more because he’s coming on to a number one team. You’re not taking into account that it’s the number one team. We’re adding this foreman, we’re having this seven-footer, even if he plays just defense. It heightens our chances versus Tim Duncan going to a bottom-feeding team, now he has to work this system. He was good because he has a good team around him.”
(Starts at 2:20)
Prior to drafting Duncan, the Spurs won more than 55 games in three consecutive seasons. But they tanked in the 1996-97 season and had a 20-62 record. They were awarded the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, and they selected Tim Duncan with it.
Duncan instantly made a difference and helped the Spurs reach a 56-26 record in his rookie year. He averaged 21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game.
Who Was A Better Player Between Kevin Garnett And Tim Duncan?
Kevin Garnett was drafted into the league as the No. 5 overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft. Garnett entered the league straight from high school and averaged 10.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game during his rookie season.
As compared to Duncan, Garnett’s contributions fade in comparison. But let’s take a look at their career accolades in the league.
Duncan was a 5x NBA Champion, 3x NBA Finals MVP, 2x NBA MVP, 15x All-NBA, 15x All-Defensive, and 15x NBA All-Star.
On the other hand, Garnett retired as a 1x NBA Champion, 1x NBA MVP, 1x NBA Defensive Player of the Year, 9x All-NBA, 12x All-Defensive, and 15x NBA All-Star.
It’s obvious that Duncan had a better career than Garnett. Moreover, when we compare the career highs of Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, the former is better than the latter in almost every category.
At the end of the day, Duncan was indeed lucky to be drafted by a team which was already excellent. The Timberwolves, on the other hand, didn’t even advance to the playoffs even once before KG’s sophomore year.
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