There really isn’t a great highlight video on Youtube of Tim
Duncan. There’s no slam dunk contest victories or busted ankles from crossovers
or jump back 3-pointers. Even his nickname is boring, “The Big Fundamentals.”
The closest thing Duncan had to a signature move was the faceup bank shot and that thing where if a defender had his hand in Duncan’s chest he would bring his arms up to shoot and draw the foul
The closest thing Duncan had to a signature move was the faceup bank shot and that thing where if a defender had his hand in Duncan’s chest he would bring his arms up to shoot and draw the foul
No. Instead of power or flash, Duncan just beat you down
with footwork and basketball knowledge, and it led to 19 years of relentless
winning basketball.
Tim Duncan’s Spurs won 72 percent of the regular season
games he played in over his career and 62 percent of his games in 18 trips to
the postseason. He played in six NBA Finals, first with players such as David
Robinson and Sean Elliott and then later with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. He
was all-NBA 15 times, spanning multiple eras. In 1997-1998, he was all-NBA with
Michael Jordan and Karl Malone. In 2006-2007, he was all-NBA with Kobe Bryant
and Dirk Nowitzki. In 2012-2013, he was all-NBA with LeBron James and Kevin
Durant. He got MVP votes in 16 seasons. Duncan won 1,158 games in the regular
season and the playoffs. Charles Barkley played in 1,196.
Duncan was blessed with a coach who protected his long-term
health. In 2001-2002, Duncan averaged 40.6 minutes per game at the age of 25.
By the age of 30, he was averaging 34.1 minutes per game. By 35, it was down to
28.2. That hurt his career per-game averages. Duncan never led the league in
any traditional stat – points, rebounds, blocks, assists per game. His value becomes
more apparent in the advanced stats. He had a PER over 21.0 in 18 of his 19
seasons, and that included four seasons above 25.0. He had 12 seasons above
10.0 win shares, including leading the league twice. He led the league in VORP
and Box +/- once each. He is sixth all-time in career VORP.
Then there’s the playoffs where Duncan was one of the rare
players who consistently upped his play against the best competition.
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Tim Duncan regular season vs. playoffs
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PER
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Box +/-
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Year
|
Season
|
Playoffs
|
Season
|
Playoffs
|
|
1997-1998
|
22.6
|
20.4
|
5.5
|
3.9
|
|
1998-1999
|
23.2
|
25.1
|
4.9
|
7.5
|
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2000-2001
|
23.8
|
25.4
|
5.4
|
7.6
|
|
2001-2002
|
27.0
|
31.8
|
7.6
|
10.4
|
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2002-2003
|
26.9
|
28.4
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7.4
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11.6
|
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2003-2004
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27.1
|
24.1
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7.3
|
5.7
|
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2004-2005
|
27.0
|
24.9
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6.4
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4.1
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2005-2006
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23.1
|
30.4
|
4.6
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7.5
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2006-2007
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26.1
|
27.4
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7.1
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7.2
|
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2007-2008
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24.4
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21.9
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4.7
|
3.7
|
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2008-2009
|
24.4
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27.3
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4.6
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4.7
|
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2009-2010
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24.7
|
19.7
|
5.6
|
1.9
|
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2010-2011
|
21.9
|
15.5
|
3.8
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0.8
|
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2011-2012
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22.5
|
22.9
|
2.4
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4.5
|
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2012-2013
|
24.4
|
21.3
|
4.1
|
2.1
|
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2013-2014
|
21.3
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21.1
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3.2
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4.4
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2014-2015
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22.6
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24.2
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5.5
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7.7
|
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2015-2016
|
16.9
|
11.6
|
4.1
|
1.0
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Duncan led the NBA in playoff PER twice, win shares twice, Box +/- twice and VORP twice. He was NBA Finals MVP three times.
For anyone who wants to argue that he was more of a compiler
than a dominator, look at his 2002-2003 season. He was third in the NBA in PER
behind Tracy McGrady and Shaquille O’Neal. He led the league in win shares over
Dirk Nowitzki and McGrady. He was third in Box +/- behind McGrady and Garnett
and third behind those two in VORP. In the playoffs, he was second in PER to O’Neal,
and first in win shares, Box +/- and VORP. His Spurs went 60-21 with him in the
lineup in the regular season and 16-8 in the playoffs. Along the way, San
Antonio ousted Shaq and Kobe’s Lakers, Nowitzki’s Mavericks and Jason Kidd’s Nets.
That’s a pretty good peak.
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Tim Duncan
bio info
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Career
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1997-2016
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Games
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1,392
|
|
Points
|
19.0
|
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Rebounds
|
10.8
|
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Assists
|
3.0
|
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FG Pct.
|
50.6%
|
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All-Star games
|
15
|
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NBA MVPs
|
2
|
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NBA titles
|
5
|
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Playoff seasons
|
18
|
|
Playoff games
|
251
|
|
Points
|
20.6
|
|
Rebounds
|
11.4
|
|
Assists
|
3.0
|
|
FG Pct.
|
50.1%
|
|
Hall of Fame
|
|
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Top 100
rankings
|
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Points
|
Top 100 ranking
|
|
1-year
|
445.70
|
11th
|
|
5-year
|
1,997.30
|
8th
|
|
10-year
|
3,589.50
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9th
|
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Career
|
5,763.95
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2nd
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Tim Duncan
at his peak
|
|||
|
2002-2003
|
Duncan
|
Top 5
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Points
|
|
PER
|
26.9
|
27.85
|
|
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Win Shares
|
16.5
|
15.84
|
|
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Box +/-
|
7.4
|
7.86
|
|
|
VORP
|
7.6
|
7.83
|
|
|
Total Advanced Stats
|
58.4
|
59.38
|
98.36
|
|
Playoff PER
|
28.4
|
26.93
|
|
|
Win Shares
|
5.9
|
3.33
|
|
|
Box +/-
|
11.6
|
8.70
|
|
|
VORP
|
3.5
|
1.87
|
|
|
Total Advanced Stats
|
49.4
|
40.83
|
120.98
|
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Reg. Season Win %
|
74.07
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74.07
|
|
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Playoff Win %
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66.67
|
66.67
|
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MVP Voting (75 points)
|
962/1,180
|
60.63
|
|
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Playoff MVP (25 points)
|
25.0
|
25.00
|
|
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Total Score
|
|
|
445.70
|
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Duncan’s 10 greatest seasons
|
|
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2002-2003
|
445.70
|
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1998-1999
|
418.36
|
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2001-2002
|
403.01
|
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2006-2007
|
365.65
|
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2003-2004
|
364.58
|
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2004-2005
|
359.62
|
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2000-2001
|
350.79
|
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2005-2006
|
306.06
|
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2011-2012
|
290.17
|
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2012-2013
|
280.66
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Career
winning percentage
|
|||
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W
|
L
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Pct.
|
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Regular Season
|
1,001
|
391
|
71.91%
|
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Playoffs
|
157
|
98
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61.57%
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