Sunday, October 10th, 2010 at 8:00 am  |  125 responses

Top 50: Tim Duncan, no. 14

The definitive ranking of the NBA’s best players.

by Dennis Tarwood / @tuffyr

Think about the last time you drove to work. What did you notice?

Yes yes; there was a convenience store on the left 15 minutes into the drive. The red light at 5th Ave. caught you like it always does. You parked in the same spot you usually take.

But that’s what you expected to happen. What did you actually nTim Duncanotice?

You were thinking about your 11 a.m. conference call or that you forgot your packed lunch at home. Perhaps, if you’re of a certain age and disposition, you squinted your eyes and rubbed your temple to try to shake the hangover.

You didn’t notice anything during the drive, though. You anticipated the parts of the drive and moved on when they occurred. You might have seen them, but you didn’t notice them.

And so it is with Tim Duncan. Last season, you saw Tony Parker collapse under the long-term fatigue of a professional playing career, at least for one year. You saw Richard Jefferson completely fail at being Richard Jefferson and it stuck in your craw. You saw George Hill and Garrett Temple and then saw them for what they actually were.

They were new. Or, if they weren’t new, they weren’t acting the same. You made the green light on 5th. You noticed. Not so for Timmy.

There he is, setting up on the right block after two shoves to his defender with that elongated right arm extended to the sky, parrying a hapless defender with the left elbow. There he is, one dribble and then two. Step over, shoot, score. Shuffle downcourt.

There he is on the left block, executing the same move in a mirror. Step over, shoot, score. Shuffle downcourt.

Now he’s back on defense, undermining his opponent’s center of gravity with his knees and that massive base as counterweight. Never having the skill to leap out of the gym, he doesn’t leave the ground for the first nor the second pump fake. Tim Duncan waits.

Help doesn’t come. Help doesn’t have to come. The Merlin Wall has been erected. None shall pass, except perhaps his opponent. Force them to settle for an outside shot. Shuffle downcourt.

The only change you might have noticed in the last few years is on the help defense. Tony Parker has undoubtedly noticed. His way to work has dramatically altered on the defensive end without Duncan to bail him out. Fewer blocks lead to more drives. Not a million: just more. It might even be unnoticeable if you haven’t looked up recently.

Otherwise, Tim Duncan is unchanged. He still has those sharp elbows. He still holds the same disdain for the media. (Even in an otherwise-empty locker room, claustrophobia sets in when approaching him.) He still harbors the same smart and silly sense of humor when surrounded by his inner circle.

And so we take him for granted. General managers drop him down their ranking. SLAMonline drops him down their ranking. He grows older. Slower. (Though, since he didn’t start out blazingly fast, he didn’t have to find an old man’s game at 29; it was already present and accounted for.)

This season, tap the brakes at least once and notice Tim Duncan. There will be fewer opportunities to do so, assuming Tiago Splitter pans out as Spanish gold and DeJuan Blair continues to mock human physiology. Gregg Popovich will follow through on his plan to play Duncan less nightly and fewer nights overall, nursing him to June for the last two seasons of his contract.

After the 2012 season ends, Tim Duncan will be 36 years old with four or more rings to his credit and possibly zero interest in chasing any other career totals. He says he’ll “play until the wheels fall off“, but who knows when that will happen?

Perhaps he’ll take the opportunity to retire and open a swimming pool just outside San Antonio. Or maybe he’ll tour with the Renaissance faire, winning jousts daily because no one can knock him off his massive base.

And you? You’ll be driving to work and notice briefly that the convenience store went under over the weekend. You went in that store once when you forgot donuts for a meeting. It was a good store, you’ll think.

And then you’ll drive on and you won’t notice again.

SLAMonline TOP 50 PLAYERS OVERALL RANK POSITION RANK
Player Team Position 2010 2009 2010 2009
Ray Allen Celtics SG 50 36 10 9
Gilbert Arenas Wizards SG 49 34 9 8
Lamar Odom Lakers PF 48 33 14 10
John Wall Wizards PG 47 NR 13 NR
OJ Mayo Grizzlies SG 46 46 8 12
Al Horford Hawks C 45 NR 6 NR
Jason Kidd Mavs PG 44 45 12 10
Joakim Noah Bulls C 43 NR 5 NR
LaMarcus Aldridge Blazers PF 42 39 13 12
David West Hornets PF 41 31 12 8
Monta Ellis Warriors SG 40 NR 7 NR
Andrew Bogut Bucks C 39 NR 4 NR
Yao Ming Rockets C 38 NR 3 NR
Brandon Jennings Bucks PG 37 NR 11 NR
Zach Randolph Grizzlies PF 36 NR 11 NR
Stephen Curry Warriors PG 35 NR 10 NR
David Lee Warriors PF 34 NR 10 NR
Brook Lopez Nets C 33 NR 2 NR
Gerald Wallace Bobcats SF 32 NR 7 NR
Manu Ginobili Spurs SG 31 29 6 7
Tony Parker Spurs PG 30 15 9 3
Kevin Garnett Celtics PF 29 13 9 3
Rudy Gay Grizzlies SF 28 44 6 9
Josh Smith Hawks PF 27 40 8 13
Andre Iguodala 76ers SG 26 26 5 6
Al Jefferson Jazz PF 25 23 7 7
Russell Westbrook Thunder PG 24 NR 8 NR
Chauncey Billups Nuggets PG 23 19 7 5
Tyreke Evans Kings PG 22 NR 6 NR
Danny Granger Pacers SF 21 21 5 5
Carlos Boozer Bulls PF 20 32 6 9
Paul Pierce Celtics SF 19 17 4 4
Joe Johnson Hawks SG 18 20 4 4
Rajon Rondo Celtics PG 17 27 5 8
Amar’e Stoudemire Knicks PF 16 16 5 6
Steve Nash Suns PG 15 22 4 6
Tim Duncan Spurs PF 14 6 4 1

Notes
• Rankings are based solely on projected ’10-11 performance.
• Contributors to this list include: Jeremy Bauman, Maurice Bobb, Erildas Budraitis, Sean Ceglinsky, Ben Collins, Bryan Crawford, Sandy Dover, Adam Figman, Manny Maduakolam, Eddie Maisonet, Ryne Nelson, Doobie Okon, Ben Osborne, Charles Peach, Branden Peters, Quinn Peterson, David Schnur, Todd Spehr, Kyle Stack, Adam Sweeney, Dennis Tarwood, Tracy Weissenberg, Lang Whitaker, Eric Woodyard, and Nima Zarrabi.
• Want more of the SLAMonline Top 50? Check out the archive.

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  • Furious

    OK people, enough about Tim Duncan. I don’t understand why nobody’s talking about Derrick Rose!

  • http://www.springbored.net letsmotor

    cosign whooooo, although I still might take Duncan over Gasol because of Timmy’s defense (not saying Gasol’s a bad defender though). but really, I would love to hear from someone who thinks that someone besides Duncan is the best PF of all time. I mean, there are a bunch of guys I’d put up there with him (Malone, KG, Barkley, McHale, to name some), but it’s pretty clear to me that Duncan’s the best.

  • TrailBlazing&SportingLisbon

    Duncan da best big foward of all time but today Gasol´s number 1, only guy who can guard D12 1on1( like Perkins) AND SCORE ON HIM

  • http://thephotoriot.com davidR

    i think you all need to read Brandon’s 10:48 comment.
    and dennis, this was a dope read. my favorite of the top 50 so far. great job!

  • haslem

    Tim Ducan is one of the top ten players of all time

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Yao Ming does a better job of guarding D12 and scoring on him.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    *Than Gasol.

  • Harry Twatter

    Dam it actually feels good to have so many Derrick Rose haters on here. I mean think about it. The only people that can get this much hate is Kobe, Lebron and now yup Derrick Rose. That would be a hell of a 123 punch. I sort of feel like some people just sit here and cant wait to hate on Rose. I even see people lie like their from Chicago LOL. So we got Rose at the PG Kobe at The SG Lebron at the SF who else is hated on so much? we need a PF and a C to complete our dominate hated on roster. I BET 90% of the hate is coming from Boston. LOL Rajon Rondo created 12 accounts.

  • Harry Twatter

    Anybody that wouldn’t choose a 21 year old Rose over a 40 year old Nash (without Amare) and Duncan (health issues) automatically takes nut to the throat from sucking way too much veteran d$*k!!!

  • KB8toSG8

    @Harry Twatter

    I’d suggest you give it a rest. Rose will get his due soon enough. But why start hating on Duncan? Amare>Duncan? NY fans seem to be too delusional. Amare can’t even play a lick of defense to save himself and needs a great pick and roll PG to be effective. Nash is a better passer than Rose. I think we can all agree on that. And he has a wonderful consistent outside shot which is essential. Rose is better than Nash defensively, I admit. But Nash has a more complete game on the other side of the court. Its effective as well. But I’d rather select Rose for personal reasons though :P . BOSH<<<<Duncan. He doesn’t even have a post game dammit! He isn’t a franchise player. Hell, his on ball defense ain’t as good as Duncan’s as well! The ONLY player who is better than Duncan right now at PF is Pau Gasol.

  • http://www.kb24.com The Seed

    Karl Malone is the greatest small forward of all time. I don’t care if about the rings, I can state stats that show Ginobli and Parker played hugher roles that what people give them credit for. Tim was good, but Malone could do it all. Jazz should have won one title, but the team was very unlucky, playing against the Bulls, then against the upstart Lakers. If Malone had one or two rings he would be consider better. Also Tim is not number 14 no more, this list is projected on his stats for next year, not who is better. Tim will have another down year, like last year. Watching spurs games, was like watching a dead man walking. So this list is supposed to be based on projected stats for next year, not a player who had a great career. Based off of projections for next year, Rose should be above him. Not who is better. Also some of yall need to dust off some old Karl Malone tapes and see that he was way better than what people give him credit for.

    * Scoring: Malone averaged 25 points per game. Duncan 21.1.
    * Efficiency: Malone shot 51.6% from the floor and 74.2% from the line. Duncan’s respective numbers; 50.8% and 68.7%.
    * Reliability: Malone’s work ethic and incredible conditioning was legendary and that shows in the numbers. He played in 99.3% of the Jazz possible games during his 18 year career in Utah . Duncan so far with San Antonio has only played in 94.5% of the possible games. Over an 82 game NBA season that means that Malone would play in about 4 more games than Duncan.
    * Longevity: The same conditioning led him to be able to play for so long at such a high level. Not to say that Duncan can’t do that, but let’s see if he is still playing as effectively as Malone was when he was 39 and still contributed 11.1 wins (10th in the league) to the 2002-2003 Jazz team.
    * Front line help – Sure this is a little subjective, but I think that playing with the Greg Ostertags and Felton Spencers of the world didn’t help Malone quite as much as playing along side David Robinson helped Duncan.
    Duncan is great, but really if you could start a team, would you want a prime Malone or prime Duncan. Also only thing Duncan has is rings, but base it off of game, because Malone is 2nd all time in career points. I would take Malone. BOOK IT!!

  • http://www.kb24.com The Seed

    ^^^Malone is greatest power forward of all time!!!

  • KB8toSG8

    @The Seed

    Duncan played with a declining Robinson. No offence. I think championships are important. No matter who it is. Do you seriously think Elgin, West, Big O and others wouldn’t be like at the top every time (they didn’t even have a 3pt line back then and still got 27-30pts!!!!) if they had won more rings? Malone didn’t even win 1 ring. As much as I like him, I can’t overlook all of Duncan’s MVPs and rings to award him that.

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    I guess the main thing is that if this is going to be based on this coming season; I would have swapped the order of amare nash and t dunc. I can see amare getting the ball so much more with NYK. I’m sure this season will be a big dub dub season for him. Sure tim duncan is awesome for all the comments that have been mentioned, but this is meant to be a list of the top 50 players of next season.

  • bashmo

    okkk….Derrick Rose over Timmy?? Come on Slam. Where will Chris Paul be? Top 6-7 HE BETTERRR

  • Shan

    yup called it..Duncan at 14. Next is Rose or Brandon Roy

  • Shan

    Top ten goes like this: Dirk, DWill, Melo, Paul, Gasol, Dwight, Kobe, Wade, Durant, LeBron.

  • KB8toSG8

    @Shan:Now really??? Wade ove Kobe? LeBron over Durant? Top 10: Dirk, Pau, DWill, Melo, Paul, Dwight, Wade, LeBron, Kobe, Durant.

  • JTaylor21

    People that disagree with KG and CB34 being in the GPFOAT convo are out of their minds. For chuck to put up 23,000+ pts, 12,500+ rbs and shot 54% at 6-6 has to be one of the greatest feats in sports history. KG during his prime Min years was putting up numbers that no one in history done, consistently 23/12/5 with 50FG% and was one of the if not the BEST player in the league from 02-05. TD is an all-time great but is not the clear cut GPFOAT because Malone/KG/CB34 all have a say.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    I’m one of the biggest Derrick Rose fans on the planet, and I’m loving all this hate he’s getting too. That being said…Rose cannot be in the top 10. He just can’t. Yet. And I gotta agree with my boy JTaylor21, KG in his prime was SICK. Come on now, who else averaged at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists for SIX seasons in a row?….I’ll wait. He HAS to be considered as one of the greatest PF’s of all time. My personal all-time top 5 are 5. Kevin McHale 4. Charles Barkley, 3. Kevin Garnett, 2. Tim Duncan and 1. Karl Malone. Most have Malone over Duncan, but not me. Personal choice.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    1. Duncan 2. Malone 3. Barkley 4. Garnett 5. McHale
    For now… It’s a toss-up between Barks and Garns, I can’t decide who’s better. Although, Garnett wipes the floor with Barkley’s defense.

  • Dagger

    To put it simply:

    Duncan in his prime: one of the best scoring big man to ever play, great rebounder, good passer, great shot blocker, truly exceptional defender, and incredibly clutch (averages go way up in postseason, and lots of memorable clutch buckets).

    The other PF’s all have their flaws. Barkley was a slightly better rebounder than Duncan, but neither he nor Malone defended at anything near the level of Duncan. Garnett was great – a better passer and man-to-man defender – but he’s just not clutch at all. Put it all together, throw on the MVP’s and championships, and is it really a debate?

  • KB8toSG8

    @Dagger

    You pretty much sum it all up.

  • Ronald

    Sigh, Chuck can’t be better than Duncan for the spot of greatest PF of all time, because Chuck himself has called Tim Duncan the best PF of all time and admitted that Tim was better than he ever was.

  • itiswhatitis

    i used to hate timmy but now a days he is pretty cool

  • JTaylor21

    Yeah sure like CB34 is really going to say that he’s the GPFOAT, if he does that people are going to call him selfish and arrogant. It’s the same way that Magic and Bird claim that MJ’s better than them even though deep down inside none of them believe that sh*t. It’s called POLITICS.

  • Ronald

    Yeah, sure. ‘Cause Chuck is infamous for being mindful of what he says and giving canned comments. /s

  • Anthony

    Duncan has more rings than KG, CB and Malone combined . I respect their games a lot but they cant touch Duncan’s greatness. Malone was a better scorer but Tim has always been team oriented, he didnt care about scoring or stats, still he puts up unbelievable numbers. And defensively he was way above Chuck or Malone, nobody can deny that.

  • Anthony

    And also, @TheSeed, please stop smoking.

  • KB8toSG8

    What Seed said is pretty much valid……until the issue of championships and MVPs comes to the forefront…. :|

  • Morgan

    The only debate among those power forwards is whether Malone or Garnett was less clutch.

  • Furious

    that last comment was me. i have no idea why it came up as ‘morgan’

  • JoeMaMa

    Tim Duncan is the greatest PF of all time. Anyone who’s played basketball, is a student of the game, and who can dissect the game dispassionately knows that. Tim Duncan may be the soundest player, fundamentally speaking, most of us have ever seen. He’s been winning since he’s been in the league. 4 championships as THE MAN. I’m not going to talk about the other PFs in contention; that’s pointless. Duncan’s the best. Respect the FOUR rings.

  • KB8toSG8

    @JoeMaMa….Garnett never had the help he was promised. If he did though….someone who could help him out consistently, I think Garnett’s legacy could’ve ended differently. Another reason why I hate the Timberwolves so much!

  • Shan

    Yup, Wade over Kobe, remember these rankings are for next season’s projections and Kobe will start slow due to his injuries, impacting his overall year. Wade will undoubtedly outperform the aging and injured Kobe at the SG position. Kobe is pushing 36, 000 career minutes. I dont buy that crap about DWade being any less of a player with LB on his team…Durant and LB at 1 and 2 could be flipped but we know that in the end, they are the 1 and 2 in the league. Kobe is the best up until the beginning of the season but he will never be the best player after this year.

  • Morgan

    I think when he eventually retires they shouldn’t just retire his number, but also name the Backboards at the AT&T Center: “Tim” and “Duncan”. I have never seen someone use the bank shot so consistantly well. Top PF of all time no doubt…people seem to miss the fact that Malone had Stockton (who was one of the best PGs in the NBA) and still couldn’t win a ring. TD should be top 25 every year until he retires.

  • Ouse

    CHRIS BOSH & DERRICK ROSE ARE NOT BETTER THAN TIM DUNCAN OR STEVE NASH. Just to be clear.

  • BBaller

    I’m glad to see the NBA looking so healthy and abundant in talent, 13 players ranked above a legend like Tim is a promising sign for the up coming season.As a spurs fan Tim Duncan is always 2nd on any list i do, only behind Dave Robinson who is my personal GOAT( i know not yours ).But with Duncan, he has always performed at the highest level and i thank the basketball gods for Duncan’s unique ability to put that ball in the basket when we desperately needed. Tim is the greatest Power Forward of all time, of course. 14 maybe fitting for this current season, but these rankings are strange, KG at 29 did it for me.

  • BBaller

    In regards to all of those who’s the greatest at which Position debates, the PF position i think is the clearest, with Duncan being the obvious choice at number one.He was number one on the Spurs ( i hate to say that ) rosters that won those 4 rings and is just a better player than Malone. The greatest Small Forward is the hard one! No it’s not Larry.

  • Anthony

    @BBaller, the SG position seems pretty clear for me too

  • Pingback: SLAM ONLINE | » Top 50: Chris Bosh, no. 13

  • Armando

    I’d take TD over Bosh short term. They will probably put up similar stats this season, so despite all his moronic contributions to the debate Fotsis has a point with the factory worker comparison. Bosh’s skill level won’t regress because he is going to play with Wade and James. So if he puts up something like 17-18ppg and 9 rebs, it doesn’t mean he’s a worse player than he was in Toronto putting up 23 and 10. Top 10 PF’s of all time is difficult given that I only started watching in the early 90′s and was probably not able to objectively analyse the skills before way later. Thus the only measuring stick is stats, which are far from a reliable way to rank how good players are or were. Nevertheless, in my opinion the top 10 the last 20 years: 1. Duncan 2. Malone 3. Barkley 4. Garnett 5. Nowitzki 6. Webber 7. Kemp 8. Rodman 9. Coleman. All time, in no particular order, the candidates I guess would be: Duncan, Malone, McHale, Barkley, Pettit, Hayes, Schayes, Lucas, Garnett, DeBusschere, Nowitzki…

  • Armando

    10. Pau Gasol. Unless Rose really impresses this year a top 13 rank is to high. IMO, top 10:
    1. Bryant, still a killer who is the best at winning when it’s important, which is the most important thing in basketball.
    2. James, most skilled physically and arguably technically, but not the winner Bryant is (for now).
    3. Wade
    4. Durant
    5. Howard
    6. Williams
    7. Paul
    8. Gasol (tie)
    8. Nowitzki (tie)
    10. Anthony

  • Armando

    By winner I don’t necessarily mean that a player with a ring automatically is better than one without. But I mean by being a player that can will his team to the win, who does whatever it takes for the team to win and is able to do it. Historically only a handful of players belong in this category: Jordan, Russell, Bird, Duncan, Bryant, Olajuwon, O’Neal, Robertson, Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, Chamberlain)

  • Harry Twatter

    @ The Seed I SECOND YOUR LAST COUPLE POSTS!!!! To many fools here are looking at Duncan and Nash’s entire career stats and base who’s better off of that. I would choose Rose and Bosh today over Nash and Duncan 9 games out of 10. First of who will stop Rose?

  • whoooo!

    like Ronald said, when Barkley, as opinionated as he is, says “Tim Duncan is the greatest PF of all time”, that means A LOT. if a player doesn’t even believe he’s better than his next contender, how on earth can you claim he’s the greater player?….. also, compared to Malone, remember that Duncan’s stats all go up in the playoffs – it’s a given. the biggest thing is, he takes over to win games in ways Malone wasn’t able to. i remember him hanging 37 & 16 to blow out LA in ’03 in game 6, and of course he had his 20/20/10/8 closeout against the Nets. yes, he outmatched K-Mart/Deke, but he took advantage of his mismatch like he should’ve. even against the Pistons in ’05, when everyone questioned his rocky series, he took over in game 7, against the best defending frontline in recent memory (Ben/Sheed/Dyess). got them in foul trouble, exploited the mistmach vs Tayshaun, and then found wide open shooters when they started collapsing/triple teaming. he’s a winner, flat out.

  • http://theurbangriot.com The Nupe

    This is a decent spot for TD. As far as the debate of who’s the greatest PF ever, I’d have to say Elvin Hayes. If you don’t know who he is, look him up. TD, Mchale are the next level down along with Malone followed by Chuck.

  • unrel

    good read.. Timmy is the best PF of all time.. period.. we can all debate over skills, etc.. but he’s had the most successful career of all PFs that are up for debate..

  • TheTruth

    Man you guys are ridiculous. Every Nba legend says Tim Duncan is the greatest PF ever. You’ll only find 1 out of 50 nba players, hall of famers, past or present coaches, or retired players who say Duncan isn’t the greatest. And Duncan still the best PF in the league. Gasol’s overrated, Dirk always chokes, Kg use to rely on his athleticism and speed but that’s pretty much gone, Bosh doesn’t have leadership, and Amare has yet to prove what he can do in the Nba as the ‘man’ on a team.

  • http://sdklff.com Jukai

    Oh oh oh oh!!! Are we doing a Greatest PF list? I love lists!
    1. Tim Duncan – He’s got the skills… solid offensive force with lots of post moves and range… amazing rebounder… great passer… perhaps the BEST DEFENSIVE FOUR OF ALL TIME (yeah I went there). He has the longevity, four rings as the leader through several supporting cast changes. Easily the greatest, and probably the BEST too (although there can be an argument made for Malone as best. I usually just consider skill for best).
    2. Karl Malone – Amazing offensive, amazing rebounding, no one gives him credit for his passing. Best pick-and-pop four of all time, but he could score pretty much anyway facing the basket and great at banging down low; not to mention great hands to pretty much finish anything given to him! Defense was alright, nothing spectacular but solid enough. No rings, but three finals appearances and 20-some years in the NBA make up for that somewhat. Don’t know how much of Malone was Stockton, but since we can never know, I never discount it. Awful in the clutch, but that’s sort of a power forward’s MO.
    3. Kevin Garnett – Massively varied offensive skillset although he doesn’t often use them. Most range out of the power forward list. His assist numbers are often overlooked, but they’re the best on this list. Super great rebounder, and probably the only defender who can match KD. I know he wasn’t on the level of Barkley at CB’s height, but I think KG’s ring and his longevity place him slightly above Barkley, not to mention the defense that Barkley refused to play. Another clutchless power forward.
    4. Charles Barkley – Unlimited offense. Played offense like a three with slashing and rebounding but could also bang with the trees. Ludicrous rebounding, great passing, zeroooooo defense. Sort of faded fast thanks to lack of conditioning, but he was probably on par with Malone and Tim Duncan at his height.
    5. Kevin McHale – The most post moves out of anyone on this list, with great range and great hands to finish just about anything. It should be noted he was never the center of attention for the defense on the other teams. Great rebounder and fantastic defender but often times didn’t get the whole “passing” thing. Kevin McHale makes it in the top-5 because of his rings, but his career wasn’t particularly long and while his height was AMAZING, it took him several years to reach that status. Surprisingly clutch for a power forward.

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