Comments on Ed The Sports Fan: The ETSF NBA Player of the Decade - Tim Duncan

I give it to Kobe by a large margin. If the Lakers...

2009-12-04T05:54:14.671-05:00

I give it to Kobe by a large margin. If the Lakers win this season there is no question as to who the best was. I dont think the championship in 99-00 should count. so in that sense we are yet to see who the player of the decade was

I cant stand Timmy but cant argue with the numbers...

2009-11-03T19:42:16.695-05:00

I cant stand Timmy but cant argue with the numbers. true indeed

Timmy D., sounds about right to me.

2009-11-03T15:12:26.815-05:00

Timmy D., sounds about right to me.

Good read, SoulOnIce. I didn't know you wrote ...

2009-11-03T14:51:11.892-05:00

Good read, SoulOnIce. I didn't know you wrote sports articles. Me too. Well, I did until I started writing novels and shorts.

I've debated a similar line of thought in sports forums - Tim Duncan is the best PF ever. Bar none. All he does is perform, make his teammates better, and win, then come back the next season fully prepared to repeat the same routine.

KG is the truth, but Duncan has the proof. LOL @ my rhyme.

The greatness that is Tim Duncan can only be recog...

2009-11-03T12:36:45.011-05:00

The greatness that is Tim Duncan can only be recognized by the truest of basketball fans. I will completely concede that Tim Duncan is the best basketball player of the past decade despite my deep rooted allegiance with everything Lakers related. I don't even think Kobe could be mad taking second to Duncan as the greatest of the decade.

I can't really find any fault with this argume...

2009-11-03T12:11:14.167-05:00

I can't really find any fault with this argument. To me the most important argument for Tim as player of the decade is Ed's first point: dude has been consistent from the start of his career. Staying those four years in college definitely helped him.

I have a hard time not voting for Timmy #1 for a c...

2009-11-03T11:44:01.688-05:00

I have a hard time not voting for Timmy #1 for a couple of reasons...

#1. Tim has been literally been 20 & 10 his whole career. Supremely consistent since his rookie year, not any real sense of decline. His game has longetivity, not built on sheer athleticism.

#2. He's always been the best player on his team when he won the titles. Kobe was the #2 on 3 of those 'ships.

#3. He made Parker and Ginobili all-stars much in the fashion that Jordan made Pippen an all-star. I'm not sure how "great" those two would be by themselves. Kobe hasn't had that effect. KG really hasn't either. Definitely not DWade or LeBron.

#4. I feel Duncan's #1 because if I had to start a team with any player (in their prime) from this decade. I'd choose Duncan over LeBron, DWade, or Kobe. You can't find 5-tool big man these days. Haven't seen one since Olajuwon.

Thus i cosign the choice for TD21.

-Ed.

@ Stank - O : I feel ya, mane. The more I thought ...

2009-11-03T11:18:49.507-05:00

@ Stank - O : I feel ya, mane. The more I thought about making a case for others (KG or Kobe), my conscience wouldn't allow it.

@ King Phil - Kobe has the four rings this decade, but they all came with a dominant big man, and three came with The Big Aristotle. Gotta take that into account, homie. Got to.

I'm gonna have to disagree with you on this on...

2009-11-03T11:06:03.104-05:00

I'm gonna have to disagree with you on this one Kenny, and I'm probably being bias, I'll admit that. I think the NBA Player of the Decade has to be Kobe Bryant.

Kobe has posted 27.9 PPG over the past 10 years, 4 Titles, a Finals MVP, a Regular Season MVP, All-Star all 10 years, 3 All-Star MVPs, 2 scoring titles, 7x All-NBA 1st team, 2x All-NBA 2nd team, 7x All-Defensive 1st team, and 2x All-Defensive 2nd team.

Not taking anything away from Duncan because he has a ton of accolades as well, but Kobe is the man. Despite the praise Kobe gets, I personally think he deserves more. He continues to get better every season, even when it appears that he can't get any better.

- Phil

I was scanning the brain matter to argue for someo...

2009-11-03T11:03:39.377-05:00

I was scanning the brain matter to argue for someone else...but I really can't. He might have been the most complete player of the decade.

The close out game against the Nets secured Duncan's place in the Pantheon of greatness.