Nearly every basketball fan in the world will tell you that the greatest power forward to ever play in the NBA is Tim Duncan. Immediately upon arriving in the NBA, Duncan overpowered opponents with his perfect fundamentals and humble approach to the game. Duncan became a 5-time NBA champion, 2-time MVP, and 3-time Finals MVP. He ranks among many experts’ Top 10 greatest players of all-time list and in some cases, the Top 5. The part of his incredible resume today that we will be discussing is the 464 opponents that have never defeated him in a single game. That’s right, Tim Duncan has a perfect record against 464 different players throughout his career, and the ones he dominated most are the topic of discussion at hand.
- Tim Duncan’s Best Records vs. Individual Opponents
- Tim Duncan Holds Interesting Records Against Other All-Time Great Big Men
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By no means does his 464-0 record move the needle on where you may have Tim Duncan ranked as a player, but it is an incredible feat nonetheless. Duncan’s Hall Of Fame career speaks for itself. Duncan was named an All-Star in his rookie season and began a streak of 8 straight seasons, averaging at least 20.0 PPG and 11.0 RPG. In his second season in 1999, he led the Spurs to their first NBA championship in franchise history and started a dynasty in San Antonio. Duncan would be named Finals MVP for his efforts and things had only just begun for him.
Duncan would lead the Spurs to 3 more championships in 2003, 2005, and 2007, giving the Spurs 4 championships in 10 seasons with Tim Duncan on the team. With his 15 All-Star appearances, 15 All-NBA Team selections, and 15 All-Defensive Team selections, Duncan had become the greatest big man in the modern NBA and rivaled the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Wilt Chamberlain, and Hakeem Olajuwon for their status as the game’s greatest.
Again, it is important to note that having an undefeated record against these players is not the end-all-be-all for debate conversations. How Duncan played head-to-head against some of these greats certainly does matter in terms of consistency and greatness. It certainly makes for fun banter to see who the players are that could never topple the mountain that was Tim Duncan.
These are Tim Duncan’s best-undefeated records against other NBA Rivals.
*Rule: Players must have played at least 10 games against Tim Duncan to qualify for this list*
Tim Duncan’s Best Records vs. Individual Opponents
16-0 vs. Dan Dickau
16-0 vs. John Starks
14-0 vs. Walter McCarty
12-0 vs. Bimbo Coles
12-0 vs. Al Thornton
12-0 vs. Chris Mills
12-0 vs. Eddy Curry
11-0 vs. Shelvin Mack
11-0 vs. Rashad McCants
11-0 vs. Andray Blatche
10-0 vs. Bryant Reeves
10-0 vs. Hakeem Olajuwon
To begin, we will take a look at the 2 players that Duncan had the most wins against without any losses, Dan Dickau and John Starks. Duncan took on point guard Dan Dickau 16 times during the prime of his career from 2003 through 2007. Dickau only started in 3 of those contests and registered 15.6 minutes per game. Duncan, on the other hand, averaged 21.3 PPG, 11.2 RPG, and 2.9 BPG in these 16 wins. Dickau had played for the Hawks, Trail Blazers, Mavericks, Hornets, Celtics, and Clippers during this time.
From 1997 through 2022, Tim Duncan went head-to-head with John Starks 16 times while Starks had been with the Knicks, Warriors, and Jazz. Starks started in 10 of the 16 games and averaged 7.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 2.2 APG against the Spurs. Duncan dominated these matchups, averaging 23.2 PPG, 11.3 RPG, and 2.8 BPG. Duncan’s best game against Starks came in January 2022 when Duncan went off for 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks against the Utah Jazz.
The next best-undefeated record against NBA opponents for Tim Duncan came against Walter McCarty. From 1997 to 2005, Duncan and McCarty met 13 times in the regular season and once in the playoffs while McCarty was with the Boston Celtics. McCarty only made 3 starts in these games and averaged a measly 4.5 PPG. Duncan was at his absolute best as a player during these days and averaged 21.6 PPG, 12.4 RPG, and 2.8 BPG. Duncan had a game against McCarty in his 1999 championship season that is worth mentioning. He recorded 30 points, 17 rebounds, and 5 blocks in the 103-94 win.
Bimbo Coles was another veteran point guard whose team had no luck in their matchups with Duncan. Coles had been a journeyman most of his career, playing for 7 different teams in his career. In his 12 losses against Duncan, Coles only made 6 starts and averaged 5.3 PPG. Duncan was once again at the height of his career and averaged 20.3 PPG, 10.6 RPG, and 2.1 BPG. Duncan had his best game against Coles’ Warriors in 1999. Duncan had 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks in the victory.
Duncan also had a perfect record of 11-0 against 3 different NBA stars during the 90s and 2000s. Against Andray Blatche, Duncan recorded 11 wins while averaging 15.3 PPG and 7.5 RPG during his later days from 2007 to 2012. Former UNC standout Rashad McCants also dropped all 11 of his games against Duncan in his career. Duncan had the better numbers once again, with 17.5 PPG and 12.3 RPG. Duncan defeated Shelvin Mack all 11 times he faced him as well with averages of 15.4 PPG and 12.5 RPG. As you can see, even later in his career and Tim Duncan was still dominant enough to contribute to consistently winning basketball.
Tim Duncan Holds Interesting Records Against Other All-Time Great Big Men
While researching this topic, I discovered that Tim Duncan has other interesting records against NBA legends to who he is often compared. You may have noticed that Duncan had a perfect 10-0 record against Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon. Well, it is important to note that Olajuwon was in the twilight of his career, and half of those games came when he was In Toronto as a bench warmer with the Raptors. However, there are some other interesting records I’d like to discuss against players he squared off with during their primes.
First is Kevin Garnett, a name many exclaims could have had Duncan’s career had he been drafted by the Spurs instead. Duncan holds a 33-19 record in 52 games against Garnett from 1997 through 2015. Duncan also holds a winning record of 53-37 against Dirk Nowitzki while averaging 20.2 PPG and 11.9 RPG. Against Shaquille O’Neal, Duncan has a losing record of 29-33, with Shaq getting the best of Duncan with 22.0 PPG and 12.1 RPG. With a better glimpse into Duncan’s resume today, it is clear to see why many consider him to be a Top 10 or Top 5 player of all time.Â
Credit the source: Basketball Reference
