Why Tim Duncan was one of the best ever | Greatest Peaks Ep. 12

In 2003 Tim Duncan won his second consecutive MVP and Finals MVP while leading the Spurs to a title. Just how good was he then? Did his low post scoring game match the all-time greats? What were his strengths and weaknesses as a playmaker? And did his massive defensive impact make him one of the best two-way centers ever?

This is the 12th episode in a series on the greatest peaks in NBA history (focusing on 1977-2020), featuring detailed scouting reports and film breakdown on the best players in NBA history at their best, along with analysis of their impact using historical data & stats to size up the highest peaking players ever.

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Twitter: @elgee35

Ben Taylor is the author of Thinking Basketball, a Nylon Calculus contributor, creator of the Backpicks Top 40 series & host of the Thinking Basketball podcast.

Stats courtesy:

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Footage in this video is owned by the NBA and its partners. It is intended for critique and education.

**SERIES MUSIC**
Bames Jond by Mikey Geiger
csus (instrumental)
Hair (fairlight)
Our Imperfect Place by Strength to Last
Lost by Alter Ego
Restless Knight by Greg Collins
Empire Season by Dan Henig
Confronting the Void by Cody Martin
Bloom by Bryant Lowry
Nemesis

#ThinkingBasketball #GreatestPeaks #NBAGoat

[siphillis]

To say nothing of how valuable he was off-the-court. Pop hit the jackpot landing a generational talent that had essentially no ego, instilling a culture of discipline, collectivism, and composure that made them an unstoppable unit every season.

[doctorx]

One thing a lot of casual fans don't realize Duncan was a very physical player on the offensive end. He was the second strongest player in the post during his era in backing guys down in the paint and scoring. The only guy who was stronger was Shaq. This gets overshadowed a lot when people discuss Duncan's career. Thinking Basketball did a great job in pointing this out.

[crablord]

Walton is officially this channel's mascot

[petricaleksa]

i think i saw a stat that says Duncan had more seasons played than goaltends... insane

[frankenviews]

From watching this series, so far what I learned is that
1) 2 way players tend to win more than unstoppable scoring machines.
2) Unstoppable scoring machines, the most efficient ones, tend also be above average passers, which contributes in no small part to making them unstoppable.

[GCWen]

It’s crazy how Duncan wasn’t a good shooter. My perception of him before this video was that he was money at the midrange.

[carusohighlightreel]

Even though that 2003 playoff run had a decent luck factor involved, Duncan floor raising that team to a championship was super impressive! That near quad dub in game 6 will always be one of my favourite finals performances of all time.

[steph]

Tim Duncan was the modern day bill Russell, totally unselfish and absolutely lethal on defense

[maxmiller]

Tim’s defensive game all come down to being able to block shots without leaving the floor. That’s why his prowess lasted for so long. When you combine his read ability with his hand dexterity (not to mention his incredible physical gifts), you get something that outlasts the gradual loss of athleticism, putting him in that other worldly tier.

[chungusbudungus]

This video can make a Spurs fan cry. Someone did Timmy some justice

[JeewanthaBandara]

The best PF I ever saw. The best leader I ever saw. The best franchise cornerstone I ever saw.
I miss him everyday and I grow even more grateful to him when I see how difficult it is for other small market teams to win a championship let alone build a dynasty.

[ebrown]

i was in high school during these years, and sadly spent more time resenting tim duncan bc i'm a nets fan, than actually watching and enjoying how freaking good he was. what a special guy. i used to root for any team but the spurs to come out of the west lol. now that i'm looking back on those years, i'm seeing how amazing the players from the 80s, 90s, and 00s really were. there are gems in every generation os players, some shine brighter over time. tim duncan has my eternal respect and appreciation. i wish i had been smart enough to celebrate his career along with him in the moment, instead of letting my hurt feelings get in the way.

on a similar note, i've been hate ignoring lebron for most of his career, and i am starting to see that even though he's just not my flavor, he really is an unbelievable joy to watch. nowhere near as fun to watch as steph, but that a conversation for a different day. i'm just tryna say that i can't wait for the lebron episode of greatest peaks... i'm hoping to fall in love more with lebron by appreciating what i'm guessing will be the miami years +/-- but i guess we'll see next week. thanks as always, brother ben. your voice is supple like kd's touch from that one spot from deep. . . you know where his only options are just varying degrees of swish or swoosh, but he never in the recorded history of the game of basketball has ever missed a shot from there, or even grazed a hint of iron from there. . . yes, your voice is that supple, that automatic, and i don't want you to become the tim duncan of nba youtubers, so i want to send you these roses while you can still smell them. thank you for being your wonderful self, bc Thinking Basketball has brought me joy, and brought me closer to the game when i was in danger of falling out of love with it. . . so all your effort into these projects has been great and i thank you so very much.

also can lucious harris get some love for how many times he ended up punked by tim duncan on national tv during the nba finals? oh man. it was like when duncan was about to do something dirty, kenyon martin would magically disappear and somehow lucious harris would be there getting stepped on or big brothered by timmy. he's still having flashbacks.

[TheDarkChemicalBond]

I can't upvote this enough. Timmy has always been my favorite player ever. To me, he's top 5 all time. And damn, what a class act on and off the court.

[NillAguilas]

I can't stress enough how underrated this channel still is.

[strutter]

As a Suns fan, even though he broke my teenager heart during Nash era many times, i have anything but respect for this man. His prime was scary good.

[odompiano]

Trae Young also does that little hop every time he throws a lob to a big, but I've never noticed it with Duncan. These are the type of gems that push this channel from strong MVP to all time great.

[elitheeconomist]

monday’s are like a basketball Holiday

[Zagman]

Duncan's prime was 98-07, but his peak was definitely 02-03. That was where his athletic prowess met his maturity as a player. In 2004 Duncan had an injury that he never 100% recovered from, although he was probably about 95% of what he was. Spurs fan remember it well. Before that injury the Spurs and Duncan looked utterly unstoppable that year.

[conlanchastain]

Timmy’s mid range and turnaround bank shots may have come from Walton, but Walton got it from Wilt. The turnaround fall-away was lethal from Wilt and he wasn’t shy about kissing it off the glass either. It’s such an underrated part of his game and it hardly gets talked about

[Peter-hxim]

I've been waiting for this video, Duncan is my favorite player ever. I'm convinced that the analytics underrate how dominant Duncan could be on offense. I don't know if it is a rational belief, but I believe that Duncan got better offensively the deeper a series went (the opposite of the James Harden pattern, who gets worse on offense as a defense gets better at not fouling him).