I'll define the post-Jordan era as the time since he retired from the Bulls.




I'll have to go with Duncan. The rings don't lie, and he has often had less talent around him than some of the other contenders. Other guys may have been impressive on particular years, but noone has had the consistent production he has had. What really sells it for me is that every year the best player/MVP talk starts with comparing them to Duncan.

5/19/2007 7:48:02 AM

vlade divac

5/19/2007 7:54:46 AM

this thread...

5/19/2007 9:16:39 AM

1. Kobe Bryant
2. Lebron James
3. Tim Duncan

5/19/2007 9:16:46 AM

Overall I'll agree, he has been great for the past decade. He's also probably my favorite player.

I think Kobe is a better player right now, but he hasn't been this good as long as Duncan has.

5/19/2007 10:19:43 AM

Yeah, I would personally say Kobe, but I can't really formulate any argument against Tim Duncan. Dude has been consistently dominant since day one, and after watching him absolutely execute the Suns last night, I don't think he's lost a single step.

5/19/2007 10:31:14 AM

Kwame Brown

5/19/2007 11:16:09 AM

should make this into the intelligent sports arguements thread or whatever its called

i dont know nba that much but we should see stats to support

5/19/2007 12:31:47 PM

I was a big Duncan fan when he was at Wake, and I knew him staying his senior year would make him that much better, but I wouldn't have imagined at that time that he would be as good as he is.

I can't disagree with this thread at all. I will say that Lebron potentially can pass him, especially if they manage to win it this year with as little as they have around Lebron.

Hard to compare Kobe and Duncan though, play completely different styles and positions. But Kobe hasn't proven he can do it with less talent like Duncan has, so Duncan gets the edge.

5/19/2007 1:04:53 PM

Less talent like Duncan has?

He's always had more talent than Kobe has right now. He has one of the most talented teams in the NBA around him right now.

The spurs are also probably the least American team in the league.

[Edited on May 19, 2007 at 1:15 PM. Reason : clarification]

5/19/2007 1:14:32 PM

And to think, if it weren't for Hurricane Hugo we'd never have known him

5/19/2007 1:52:05 PM

someone should have told him well before that to use his height and ethnicity toward a higher paying future. it shouldn't have taken a fucking hurricane to do that.

5/19/2007 1:59:53 PM

Quote :

"Less talent like Duncan has? He's always had more talent than Kobe has right now. He has one of the most talented teams in the NBA around him right now."

hahah, good joke. more talented than the suns? more talented than the pistons?

kobe won with shaq, duncan won with nobody even close to shaq's level.

5/19/2007 2:47:02 PM

SHAQ!

5/19/2007 2:55:32 PM

Quote :

"1. Kobe Bryant 2. Lebron James 3. Tim Duncan"

lebron has no business being on that list yet. he has the potential, but he hasnt proven anything yet.

5/19/2007 2:57:04 PM

until lebron stops doing that stupid clap with the hand chalk in his palms before games, i refuse to acknowledge him as a unique and dominant player. i realize its stupid, and i dont care.

5/19/2007 3:04:32 PM

^It's not stupid at all. He stole that from Kevin Garnett.

5/19/2007 3:55:02 PM

Quote :

"kobe won with shaq, duncan won with nobody even close to shaq's level."

i'd take tony parker and manu ginobilli combined over Shaq anyday

5/19/2007 4:03:10 PM

well than you sir, are an idiot.

5/19/2007 4:14:57 PM

^^in shaq's hayday, no one else would

5/19/2007 5:56:07 PM

Quote :

"hahah, good joke. more talented than the suns? more talented than the pistons?"

Possibly more talented than those.

You don't think Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli are at least as talented as Nash, Amare, and Marion?

Quote :

"kobe won with shaq, duncan won with nobody even close to shaq's level."

I realize this, However, all of his championship teams have been much better than Kobe's current team.

[Edited on May 19, 2007 at 6:24 PM. Reason : ]

5/19/2007 6:23:43 PM

i dont understand your point then...

so kobe made the playoffs and lost in the first round w/ only one other all-star level player, i guess he is god now.


and yes, amare and marion are def better than parker and ginobli

5/19/2007 6:29:30 PM

wait, who else is an all star caliber player?

Also, whether you think the suns and pistons are more talented than the spurs (I think it's very close), you also might want to look at my post where I said "He has one of the most talented teams in the NBA around him right now."

BTW, my point, if you still don't understand it, is that right at this instant, Kobe is the best player in the NBA. But the greatest player in the post Jordan era I agree is Duncan.

[Edited on May 19, 2007 at 6:34 PM. Reason : ]

5/19/2007 6:32:13 PM

Julius Hodge

5/19/2007 6:32:18 PM

Quote :

"kobe won with shaq, duncan won with nobody even close to shaq's level."

There was this David Robinson guy who was pretty good.

There was/is a man named Robert Horry who does nothing but win championships.

Not to mention the fact that a combination of Ginobli and Parker in their prime are better than a young Kobe Bryant.

5/19/2007 7:17:13 PM

Duncan is the best power forward of all time.

5/19/2007 7:50:31 PM

It's apple and oranges in some respect. How can you compare a player like Nash to a player like Duncan.? Can Nash pass/handle better than Duncan can rebound/block shots?

That being said, I'd say Kobe has more impact than any other player since Jordan.

5/19/2007 7:57:28 PM

I would say the opposite. Kobe is a better player but a big man's presence has much more impact on the success of his team. Hence Duncan winning 3 rings (probably 4).

It is tough to compare bigs to small, but we are essentially measuring the impact on the team and league. Timmy has been as successful as anybody. His numbers are very good and very consistent. Tim does things for his team that do not show up in the box score CHanging shots is just one example. I actually think DUncan should have been defensive player of the year this year.

5/19/2007 8:17:37 PM

bill simmons is a better writer and has more nba brains than me:

Quote :

"Assuming the Spurs win the 2007 title and Duncan captures his fourth Finals MVP award (both decent bets), his first professional decade will have concluded with four rings, two regular-season MVP awards and nine first-team All-NBA nods. His best teammates have been David Robinson (who turned 33 in Duncan's rookie year), Manu Ginobili (never a top-15 player) and Tony Parker (ditto). In fact, Duncan has never played for a dominant team; the Spurs have never had quite enough talent to roll through the league. Trapped at the top of the standings, they've been forced to rely on others' failed lottery picks, foreign rookies, journeymen and head cases with baggage. Zoom through San Antonio's past 10 rosters on basketball-reference.com some time. You'll be shocked. Tim Duncan has never played on a great basketball team. Not once."

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070509&sportCat=nba

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/page2/blog/entry?id=2870228&searchName=simmons&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fpage2%2fblog%2fentry%3fid%3d2870228%26searchName%3dsimmons

5/19/2007 8:27:41 PM

Quote :

"^It's not stupid at all. He stole that from Kevin Garnett."

exactly, thats what makes it stupid. the golden child has to steal gimmicks from other people?

5/19/2007 8:32:52 PM

Quote :

"There was/is a man named Robert Horry who does nothing but win championships."

i think this is more a case of an incredible string of "right place(s), right time(s)"

[Edited on May 19, 2007 at 8:35 PM. Reason : i forgot i'd just posted in this thread. woopsie for the double post]

5/19/2007 8:34:58 PM

At Jordan's position: Kobe Bryant
period: Tim Duncan.

5/19/2007 11:52:43 PM

Quote :

"exactly, thats what makes it stupid. the golden child has to steal gimmicks from other people?"

What I said came out akward. I was trying to say it's not stupid to hate Lebron for doing that.

5/20/2007 12:44:19 AM

im sorry but its Kukoc hands down, he's got to have a record 6th man awards in nba history

even the twilight of his career, he was better than any player in the nba, jordan hogged the spotlight from him in his prime

5/20/2007 1:01:47 AM

lol ok i TRIED to read all this thread

got to this:

Quote :

"1. Kobe Bryant 2. Lebron James 3. Tim Duncan"

and i about shit a fucking brick...what in the shit is number 2 doing on that list, above the person thats number 3

5/20/2007 10:45:07 AM

someone tell me how duncan is that much better than garnett

5/20/2007 12:10:56 PM

Double team Garnett and it's over. That's been a knock on him for YEARS now.

5/20/2007 12:56:29 PM

yeah, because if you double garnett, he has nobody to kick it out to, however, duncan has ginobili and parker, along with horry, barry, and bowen as 3pt threats...

5/20/2007 2:35:19 PM

I said that to say Duncan is far more adept at fighting through double teams than Garnett is.

Even back when Jaren Jackson was the only semi-good 3pt shooter the Spurs had, TD would muscle through doubles. KG has never been able to do that with great consistency.

5/20/2007 3:00:51 PM

Quote :

"Fifty years from now, some stat geek will crunch numbers from Duncan's era and come to the conclusion that Kevin Garnett was just as good. And he'll be wrong. No NBA team that featured a healthy Duncan would have missed the playoffs for three straight years. It's an impossibility."

From this article from ESPN: The Magazine

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070509&sportCat=nba

5/20/2007 3:48:41 PM

Steve Nash

Fact.

5/20/2007 4:05:58 PM

you can make arguments that steve nash is the mvp in various seasons over the last 3 years but it is absurd to say he is the best player since jordan when he hasnt made a finals and Dallas improved significantly after chucking him.

5/20/2007 4:13:17 PM

I think he was making of Earl.

KG is soft.

5/20/2007 4:21:57 PM

1. Shaq
2. Duncan
3. Kobe



and i am a KOBE fan, Shaq has the most rings, and Shaq is the reason the Spurs dont have more titles.

That gap between Spurs titles 99- 03 is all SHAQ/KOBE

5/20/2007 4:56:12 PM

So who did Duncan have that is equivalent to Kobe? Duncan has been fortunate enough to have good role players around him that can usually make opponents pay for the double and triple teams (because he is such a good passer).

5/20/2007 6:51:30 PM

Quote :

"well than you sir, are an idiot."

5/20/2007 7:26:22 PM

The best player in the post jordan era is SHAQUILLE O'NEAL



Duncan and Kobe are the ONLY two others that should be discussed in this conversation



Shaq in his prime may be the most dominant player ever

5/20/2007 8:18:24 PM

michael olowokandi


[Edited on May 20, 2007 at 8:27 PM. Reason : (spelling)]

5/20/2007 8:26:33 PM

^???

5/20/2007 8:34:37 PM

set em up

5/20/2007 9:05:25 PM