Video: Tim Duncan Scores Game-Winning Hook

Love seeing this. Timmie!

If I were to build a basketball team, aside MJ the first player I would pick is Duncan. Yeap, ahead of Bird, ahead of Magic, ahead of Kobe, Shaq, Lebron. The reason is he is the best two-way player the game has ever seen apart from MJ. I know people are stuck with their Holy Trinity of MJ, Bird, Magic, but if you look the numbers, if you look the defense, the consistency, clutch, intelligence, attitude, the intangibles (the lack of understanding of which is the reason he is so underrated) I truly believe that TD is ahead of at least Bird and probably ahead of Magic. People say he has “only” for rings. Well… Bird has three… Furthermore, if not for the Fisher .4 shot (after one of the most amazing clutch shots in the face of Shaq) and the stupid Ginobili foul, he would have won another 2. I know all this sounds absurd to most, but if you truly watch basketball,without any of the media hype and marketing darlings promotion, then Duncan’s brilliance is obvious.

Agree with RedRum, Timmie-D is one of the most underrated players of all time. He has influence on both offense and defense. I would build a basketball team around him.

not under-rated. sports analysts have always praised Timmy. what they didn’t do was predict they’d win a title during the start of each season that they won it. i’m looking at you, Slam.

T-ROBOT still got it. Remember when KG slapped him on da back of da head for nothing. Lol

Duncan is underappreciated. I have a friend who only got into the NBA about 3 years ago…he had no idea Duncan was a two time MVP. You rarely hear about his greatness, but in his prime, Duncan was untouchable.

^this can’t be jtaylor, this dude has been trolling like crazy lately

F u slam for calling this shot wild. Give tim credit, it was a calculated move over good defense.

I’m probably gonna get flamed for this, but I think a case can be made for Kevin Garnett as well . . . TD and KG are the best 2-way power forwards to ever do it. KG has less rings, but he didn’t play with the same level of talent/coaching that TD had access to for the first 10 years of his career.
Some would mention Malone(stats),McHale(rings) and Barkley(dominance) as well, but Malone and Barkley lack rings and McHale never had to be “The Man”.

Just to clarify, I don’t mean he is underrated in terms of not being called great. He gets plenty of kudos from the media and public. But I do believe he is underrated in terms of his place in the pantheon of great players and how close he is to being top 3 ever. Lets make not mistake, unfortunately players like Chamberlain, Russell, Oscar etc, before the 80s, cannot be really compared because of how different the game was. No defense was played. What I am arguing is that since defense became important in the NBA, early 80s, TD is along MJ the best two-way player. Magic and Bird did not play defense, neither Malone, Barkley and McHale. TD also won rings without premium talent either, look up the lineups of the teams that he won rings with. And another number. The Spurs are probably the most consistent team probably in the history of the NBA, they have won the most games within the past decade. Listen, I know it is hard to go by all the hype Kobe and Lebron get , or the sentimental significance that Magic and Bird have on us born in the 70s and were brought up with their greatness. But leaving all these aside, looking at the numbers and how Duncan has played and led his team to greatness for more than a decade, one can make the argument that Duncan can only be behind MJ as one of the greatest players to have played this game. And this comes from someone who is european, does not have any ties with SA, I just love basketball. And I cannot close my eyes nor be swayed by marketing of how great Duncan is. I truly hope one of the big names in journalism will make this right. For example Simmons, who likes Duncan, only has him as 7 all time I think, and has recently said that Kobe surpassed him… how ridiculous is that???

But that is the point. What is he missing? Who is your 2nd best? I am sure whoever it is, if you look at the numbers and also include the fact how much of an amazing defender Duncan. Again, this is a very underrated aspect of making those “arbitrary” lists who is the best. Defense. I argue that TD is the best two-way player after Jordan. I have watched both play live, the way they directed the whole defense, it was one of the most amazing thing I have seen in basketball. I ask you this. You want to create a team. If you pick MJ and Duncan as your foundation, you are guaranteed rings. Because they had no flaws in their games. Again, I know it is hard to conceive because Duncan’s greatness has not been shoved down our throats. Yes, Bird, Magic, Kobe, Lebron, Shaq are great. But they have substantial flaws in their games. I am not expecting to have many supporters in my claim, but once you start looking at the numbers and consider his defense, clutch and leadership, I truly cannot find someone better than TD.

@redrum – you ever see a guy called Hakeem play, you know, the one who did everything Duncan does but faster, quicker, and better? Duncan is just the slow-footed version of Hakeem, with lower stats? Hakeem was a better shot-blocker, rebounder, and just as good if not a better scorer? Plus he had to compete with Drobinson, Rodman, Barkley, Moses Malone, Mutumbo, Shaq etc for rebounds, not just Shaq and Kevin Garnett. What is this stuff about TD being better than anyone other than mike? He’s not even the best post player! If you would like to bring up rings, Dream played his whole career when Magic, Mike and Larry were winning theirs! In a two year window he took the prize, if Duncan had shared the same career frame he might (might) have taken those two himself, but even that’s not a given!

@redrum – we’re just old. I will confess that if I had to pick an all time starting five, it would be Dream, TD, Bird, MJ, Magic. These players are essentially beyond equals at their relative positions, and although old, i’m not old enough to call judgement on Wilt over Hakeem.

@ Jimmer, I am a HUGE fan of every single player on your “all-time” roster. But MJ aside, your team’s perimeter defense would be atrocious. And Bird’s, Magic’s, and Jordan’s unique ability to post up smaller defenders would be hindered because they’d be playing along side 2 of the best post players off all time.

Even in the clutch, Duncan is boring. zzzz