GOAT Conversations: Why Is Tim Duncan Constantly Overlooked?

GOAT Conversations is a series of articles on all-time greats who, for one reason or another, are not mentioned frequently enough in debates about the greatest NBA player of all time.

Tim Duncan might as well be known as the Big Irony. Blessed with a 6-foot-11 frame and a towering impact on the game of basketball, Duncan is constantly overlooked in the never-ending GOAT debate.

The San Antonio Spurs legend won the same number of NBA titles as the late Kobe Bryant, but barbershop discussions frequently bring up Black Mamba and leave out the big fellow. Duncan has more than doubled the appearances of LeBron James on the All-Defensive Team, yet GOAT arguments are almost always whittled down to King James and Michael Jordan.

Perhaps it was the demeanor. There are many stories out there of Duncan being one of the steadiest and most soft-spoken players in the Spurs locker room over the years. The former Wake Forest standout entered the NBA way before the proliferation of social media, but even as the Friendsters and Multiplys gave way to the Twitters of the world, Duncan was not one to flaunt his personality or his wealth on the internet.

He let his game do the talking, and it made a very, very compelling case for greatness. In a sport predicated on both offense and defense, Duncan was the Spurs’ all-around anchor, controlling the pace of games with his rim protection, rebounding, and methodical scoring. To this day, content creators find plenty of material to break down in Spurs clips, which show Duncan proficiently executing inside-out offense and pick-and-roll domination.

For decades, centers and power forwards enjoyed the limelight in the NBA. Duncan, it can be argued, represents the last peak era of big men in the league. As fellow Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal declined in the late 2000s, Duncan continued to find himself in title contention as the Spurs battled the Miami Heat super team in the 2013 and 2014 Finals.

In a way, Duncan’s fifth and final championship victory in 2014 marks the end of an era. How so? Just a year later, Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors started their own dynasty and loudly proclaimed the arrival of a pace-and-space, small-ball phase of the NBA.

It has been nearly a decade since Duncan hung up his sneakers, but his résumé is still a golden standard for today’s young aspirants. Aside from his five NBA rings and 15 All-Defensive Team selections, Duncan was also a two-time NBA MVP, a three-time Finals MVP, and a 15-time All-Star. In 2021, he was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

Tim Duncan has never been fond of drawing attention to himself (unless, of course, he’s trying to draw multiple defenders to free up Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili). Despite this, NBA fans owe it to themselves to study his legacy. Perhaps that would keep Duncan from getting overlooked.