The NBA’s 30 best go-to players (#5: Tim Duncan)
Who do you want your offense to run through with everything on the line? Counting down 30th to 1st (one per team), I’ve ranked the League’s go-to guys…
*** *** ***
#5: TIM DUNCAN, San Antonio Spurs
Figuring out where to slot Tim Duncan on this list wasn’t nearly as difficult as figuring out whether he really should be called the Spurs’ go-to guy.
Why not Tony Parker? Starting in the ‘07 Finals and culminating this past season (22 ppg, 6.9 apg), TP could be considered San Antonio’s best player and top offensive threat. Beating defenders off the dribble or sticking mid-range jumpers off the pick-and-roll, he is the best scoring point guard in the NBA.
Why not Manu Ginobili? When the clock is on its final seconds, Manu will often be the one for which Gregg Popovich draws up a play. And when it’s time to hit those rally-killing free throws, Manu (88.4% FTA) is the one the Spurs want catching the inbounds pass.
Why Duncan? As if I haven’t written enough praises of the man I’d consider the MVP of the 2000’s decade, the greatest power forward to ever play the game, and one of the sport’s all-time ice-cold crunch time assassins, all you have to do is look at his consistency. While TP has only recently come into his own as a potential go-to guy and Manu’s unpredictable ankles make him something of a hit-or-miss gamble, Duncan has been a walking 21-and-11 stat line for 12 straight years without fail.
Or if you want a more specific example, go back to April 15, 2009: Must-win last game of the regular season, five minutes of overtime, and Duncan simply owned the arena and every Hornet in it. He was clutch on both ends of the floor, whether it was scoring on the block or blocking shots, hitting jumpers or hitting cutters, dominating the glass or just imposing his will like he’s done so many times over the years. Allegedly old and creaky, it was the most recent reminder that TD still sits on the throne in San Antonio until further notice.
Duncan has a Hall of Fame career’s worth of clutch moments and justifications for why he deserves this spot. Just know this much: Even if you think Parker is the Spurs’ best player, and Ginobili is the guy you’d want taking the last shot from outside 15 feet, and Roger Mason Jr. is the guy you’d want taking the last shot outside 25 feet — Duncan is the axis on which the Spurs rotate. Just watch them work. In crunch time, the ball goes to Duncan first, and they build from there. And I’m not arguing with a template that has produced four championships and is working on a fifth in 2010.
*** *** ***
6. Dirk Nowitzki
7. Brandon Roy
8. Carmelo Anthony
9. Chris Paul
10. Deron Williams
11. Vince Carter
12. Joe Johnson
13. Danny Granger
14. Steve Nash
15. Kevin Durant
16. Gilbert Arenas
17. Derrick Rose
18. Chris Bosh
19. Andre Iguodala
20. Tracy McGrady
21. Baron Davis
22. Michael Redd
23. Devin Harris
24. Kevin Martin
25. Al Jefferson
26. O.J. Mayo
27. Stephen Jackson
28. Nate Robinson
29. Boris Diaw
30. Rip Hamilton
* Follow Austin Burton on Twitter: @AustinatDIMEmag
* Follow Dime on Twitter: @DIMEMag
* Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:02 am
karizmatic says:
Ehh…I think Shaq is the most valuable player from 2000-2010.
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:20 am
That's whats up says:
Shaq??? not too sure about that
Top 3 probably
Timmy can still get it done NOW - shaq I’m not so sure
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:22 am
IGP says:
Austin,
Great points. Go-to players aren’t necessarily the guys that have to score that last bucket, but they have to make things happen on offense and defense. If you are looking for something to happen, who on the Spurs would you want besides Duncan?
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:30 am
ToAn says:
yeah it’s duncan not shaq (top 3 is without question timmy, kobe and shaq in no particular order and we still have this year where it is highly possible that someone from this group is going to get ring number 5 )
shaq was more dominant in his prime but he’s got only 3 rings when he was THE MAN while duncan has 4 (the Finals MVP for Parker was just a popular vote, he was the best scorer in that series but not the MVP, but duncan already had 3 Finals MVP awards). all 3 dominated this decade, from 2000-2009 there was only 2 years where someone from this group didn’t win the title and ZERO Finals without one of them, that is pretty impressive to me. plus they have 4 mvps (should have been more) and 6 Finals MVP awards since 2000
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:30 am
rangerjohn says:
good stuff austin.
and @ #1 LMAO!!!!! thats all i got to say about that!
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:32 am
ToAn says:
sorry for the “in no particular order” when i said in the first sentence that it is duncan. right now it’s duncan, shaq, kobe but it could change after this year.
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:43 am
the_don_mega says:
Timmy D… is better than your awesome…
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:50 am
TJ says:
Any choice of best player over a period of time is going to only depend on the timeframe, so I think that whole argument is dumb.
Ok, is Duncan the best player from 98-08. I’ll agree Shaq hasn’t been as good towards the end of that time and Kobe wasn’t as good at the beginning of that time.
But if you pick 96-06, Shaq would win (two more dominant years and subtract two mediocre years) while Kobe would probably win if it was 2000-2010 (Shaq is DONE and Duncan is fading quickly).
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:55 am
the_don_mega says:
@TJ - who said there was even an argument?
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:05 am
Rizwan says:
Why is Paul Pierce gonna be ahead of TD?
Ridiculous!
If I didnt love Dime so much and the fact that I cant wait to read Kobe’s entry, I would boycott this site!
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:05 am
Ross says:
I agree with Duncan as the “MVP of the 2000’s decade”. Who could forget that 3-pointer he nailed at the buzzer against the Suns in the playoffs?
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:08 am
Ian says:
Tj
Kobe can’t win it from 00-10 its td now if its 06-10 only then that’s another thing.
Someone said the timeframe is stupid why? Don’t we do that all the time by decades the best of the 60s or 80s or whatever.
00-10
Td shaq kobe in that order
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:15 am
Ross says:
Then again, the Spurs had a mini 3-point contest before a preseason game a couple weeks ago, and guess who won:
http://www.poundingtherock.com/2009/10/5/1069690/tim-duncan-wins-3-point-contest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ohF16a1buE
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:29 am
Ian says:
Pierce over td?
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:30 am
control says:
“Duncan is the axis on which the Spurs rotate. Just watch them work. In crunch time, the ball goes to Duncan first, and they build from there”
That is exactly what I have been saying for like two years on this site, and people still don’t understand. Everything the Spurs do relies on Duncan being that pivot. Every open shot every flunky on the Spurs has hit has been because Duncan draws two or three guys and is a good enough passer to hit them while they are wide open (or hit the guy who can swing the ball).
I’m glad someone finally sees it as well and understand basketball enough to understand Timmy’s impact isn’t just what he does, but what he allows his teammates to do.
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:45 am
rangerjohn says:
whats up with “duncan is fading fast” from all these spurs haters? i mean really! duncan averaged the 2nd lowest minutes in his career (by .2 minutes) his rebounds have dropped .5 per game, his assists went up .7, his steals and blocks have dropped slightly and yet his fouls and turnovers have dropped as well. his points where exactly the same the last 2 yrs slightly down from 3 yrs ago and UP from 05-06. duncan was actually averaging his best numbers in about 3-4 yrs until his knee issues after the allstar break. that is the only reason his numbers ended up as low as they are. you cant really blame TD for the 1st round loss as much as you can blame manus ankle (never should have played olympics) and the lack of help from everyone else except tony.
all i can say is if duncan is fading fast, then other guys must have died on the court.
October 22nd, 2009 at 12:17 pm
rangerjohn says:
beating a dead horse here lmao.
comparing duncan and shaq, shaq is 4 yrs older then tim so going back 4 seasons (to match age)
td last season, 10.7 rb, 3.5 as, .5 s, 1.7 b, 2.2 to, 2.3 fouls, 19.3 ppg in 75 games and 33.6 minutes.
shaq 4 seasons ago (to match age) 9.2 rb, 1.9 a, .4 s, 1.8 b, 2.85 to, 3.9 f, 20 ppg in 59 games and 30.6 minutes.
now that was the season after shaq won a title with miami, nobody was talking “shaq has fallen fast” yet his numbers where actually MUCH lower then just 2 seasons before and quite a bit lower then the season before.
October 22nd, 2009 at 12:49 pm
BiG ShoT BoB says:
@rangerjohn….TD getting old and on his way out face it…
October 22nd, 2009 at 1:11 pm
That's whats up says:
…that means a lot coming from Robert horry.
Duncan is money until he’s 38.
He rarely jumps and he’s never been quick, he’s just really fuckin’ good
October 22nd, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Couch W says:
This list is CRAZY if Paul Pierce is not on it!!!!!!!
October 22nd, 2009 at 2:05 pm
SJ says:
Hard to believe Timmy is below Pierce. That makes no damn sense.
October 22nd, 2009 at 3:09 pm
kevin k says:
TD is one of the best players that ever played… BUT as a go to player?? I don’t understand why the other teams use hack-a-shaq strategy on TD. This foo can’t hit free throws.
He’s not even the go-to player for his own team… Manu is…
I still remember the Spurs - Detroit NBA finals where TD missed like 8 free throws in the 4th quarter only to be bailed out by Big Shot Rob scoring like 15 straight points… add insult to injury, TD won the Finals MVP when the award should have gone to Manu…
October 22nd, 2009 at 3:10 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
I’d say that the two who owned the 2000-2009 decade were Duncan and Kobe. Shaq was great up to 2006, since then not so much.
Duncan still is the man in SA, you can’t really count him out yet because he’s still such a threat in clutch situations he can get Manu and Parker some space just with his presence on the floor.
But after thinking about Kobe and Duncan owning the last decade, I gotta admit I feel old yet I’m smilling because I realize that the owrner of 1990-1999, Mike Jordan took 3 years off (’94,’95 and ‘99 when he officially retired) but still managed to get 6 rings. Of course Kobe’s great, but the argument about him and Jordan ends right there.
October 22nd, 2009 at 3:28 pm
kevin k says:
@ control
Yea TD is the foundation of the Spurs but when there is 20 sec left, and the spurs are down by 1, the ball does not go through TD. Either Manu or TP is the one with the ball not TD. For example : Shaq was the foundation for the Lakers. on crunch time, who had the ball?? Kobe. So is shaq still the go-to player?? NO. Every funky shot went through TD? your argument is beyond if you know basketball or not. it’s just stupidity
October 22nd, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Ian says:
kevin k
70% is not shaqs 50%
and good thing horry saved duncan because we all know what a choker and loser he is right?
October 22nd, 2009 at 3:50 pm
kevin k says:
ian
70%? how about in the low 60s when the spurs were winning chips.
when did i ever say TD was a choker or a loser you idiot. the reference i gave was just an example. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2005061908
First thing i said was that he is one of the best players that ever played. Either learn to read, or don’t put words on people’s mouth.
October 22nd, 2009 at 4:47 pm
rangerjohn says:
sorry kevin k but TD has only had 4 seasons shooting “low 60’s” or .33% of his 12 yr career. his average is about 69% which is pretty damn close to 70%. in comparison to shaq, who has only ever had 1 season ABOVE 60% i say that near 70% is pretty damn good. hell shaq has had 7 seasons averaging BELOW 50% and only ave 52% on his career. those numbers alone blow shaq out of the water on mvp. remember shaq is expected to catch wilt for the all time most MISSED free throws towards the end of this year or next.
@ mr horry (aka big shot bob)
yes i realize he is getting older, but 33-34 is not exactly old just yet. back side of his prime sure, fallen from grace not exactly. would you say billups is falling off or old? he was drafted the same year, tracy mcgrady? ok never mind on that one. hell kobe was taken the year before duncan (and yes i know kobe and tracy where right out of HS) or how about vince carter, dirk, paul pierce, rashard lewis? all those guys where drafted the following season.
the only people talking about duncan “falling off” or “getting old” are those who do not like the spurs for what ever reason. anyone with an inkling of basket knowledge AND no prejudice realizes that while duncan has slowed SOME, he is no where near “falling fast” or “getting old” he still has a few better then good years ahead of him and his numbers are something ANY team would love to have.
October 22nd, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Ian says:
kevin k
please stop the im tuff online act you are a bit retarded what did u imply with the horry comment?? so please gtfoh. i need to learn to read? but you are so damn slow that cant even write down what you really mean.
best part of your post is when u said u remember and apparently you just read that crap. good to see td only went for 26 and 19 and needed to be bailed out.
only one of the championship runs he shot in the low 60s imagine that im the one that needs to learn how to read. one more thing fool u didnt say it was during the champ runs u meant always at least that is what u wrote and im the idiot.
October 22nd, 2009 at 8:27 pm
jr says:
What about A.I. is he not on the list……….
October 23rd, 2009 at 11:17 am
That's whats up says:
A.I. is on The NBA’s Best 30 Go-To-A-New-Team List
That’s coming out next week
October 25th, 2009 at 6:37 am
chief youngblood says:
Tim Duncan Number one go to guy for boring the shit out of me