According to most basketball fans, Tim Duncan is undoubtedly the best Power Forward in the history of the NBA. The Big Fundamental was the cornerstone of the San Antonio Spurs, a team that won 5 NBA championships in 15 years. The Spurs were an incredible organization at that time, led by Duncan and Head Coach Gregg Popovich, finding the sort of consistency that almost no other NBA team has managed.
As Popovich has addressed in the past, the dynasty was built around the cornerstone that was Tim Duncan. A beast on both ends of the floor, Duncan’s game was so effective that it gave the best of the best fits. Kevin Garnett has spoken about not being able to faze Duncan when playing against him, revealing how Duncan would ignore everyone else and just play his game. Even former Laker Metta Sandiford-Artest had great praise for TD.
This meant that TD did not necessarily get the attention that he deserved. His basic style of play and his quiet personality off the court ensured success but hardly invited celebrity status. And while it’s impossible to imagine him being any different, the question of what he would be like on a big-market team remains. If Duncan had spent his career with the Lakers, for example, how would his legacy have changed? NBA fans took to Reddit to debate the question, coming up with some interesting answers
“Kobe, Shaq, and Duncan in the same team would break the league and end up with a 10-peat.”
“Hes already the best PF ever what are y’all talking bout. Lol.”
“I think he would just be more of a mainstream all time great. I feel like sometimes people forget about Duncan when naming the top 10 NBA players.”
“If he was on the Lakers, he’d probably be on the same popularity scale as Kobe, but, as it stands, only more serious basketball fans know how good Duncan was since he was on the Spurs.”
“He’d be the best ever, obviously.”
“I think he’d be a better teammate with Kobe than Shaq, might have been a better fit.”
“Fr. 5 rings easy. 7 rings max.”
“As a non Lakers fan, I’m glad that didn’t happen. No one else would have won a ring.”
“Kids would be practicing their pivots and bank shots instead of iso and 30 footers.”
“He’ll probably be known as the 2nd coming of KAJ.”
“He’d be hated more universally and people would argue that he is either in their top 5 or outside their top 10.”
“If he was on the Lakers, he and Kobe would have won 8 rings minimum.”
It’s always hard to tell how a player’s career might have gone without the circumstances that they ended up playing in, but if anyone could have flourished just about anywhere, it’s Tim Duncan. A partnership with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal would have made it simply unfair to the rest of the league. Suffice it to say that Duncan, as a Laker, would probably be talked about a lot more than he is today.
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