Kobe Bryant often gets mentioned by people in the GOAT conversation, but one of his contemporaries, Tim Duncan, doesn’t get any of those shouts.
Duncan and Kobe were as different as any two players, the Big Fundamental was a dominant inside presence, while Bryant was known for his elite guard play. Both retired with five championships, although their other accolades are a bit different. In any case, NBA fans recently got into debating whose career was better.
The comparison of their careers posted on an Instagram page shows that Duncan did lead in more categories than Kobe, although Fadeaway World did a more comprehensive comparison. Fans had a lot to say, though, one fan made it clear he would pick Duncan.
Another fan thought it was Kobe Bryant and that he couldn’t believe this was something fans were even debating about.
There was someone that pointed out that Kobe Bryant did have Shaquille O’Neal for a majority of his titles.
But another pointed to their head-to-head playoff record, noting that Bryant had the upper hand.
The Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs were the two most dominant NBA teams from 1999 to 2014, with both winning five championships each in that span. Team success is hard to factor in, so perhaps it might be better to compare the two in terms of their head-to-head performances and records.
Kobe Bryant vs. Tim Duncan Head-To-Head Stats
Seeing as Bryant and Duncan were both in the same conference their entire careers, it’s not surprising to learn that they faced off on 82 occasions. Tim Duncan had more wins, although only by a small margin, with the Spurs beating the Lakers in 43 of those games. In their 30 playoff matchups though, Bryant and the Lakers won 18 compared to Duncan and the Spurs’ 12.
The individual stats in those games tell an interesting story. Kobe averaged 25.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in games he played against Duncan. The Spurs legend averaged 21.0 points, 12.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.8 steals, and 2.0 blocks in those same games. Hard to determine who was better there.
In terms of personal accolades, Kobe was selected to the All-NBA First Team 11 times to Duncan’s 10. But he made 15 All-Defensive Teams in comparison to Bryant’s 12. Duncan also got two MVPs and three Finals MVPs, one more of each award than Bryant. It’s tough to pick the better player in this situation, though, and we should perhaps just settle for being grateful to have witnessed both legends for as long as we did.
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