Some players are the equivalent of Mount Everest, a victory against them being a real feat of arms. A legend in particular put misery on all the competition for years… Only the Shaq and Michael Jordan were able to dominate him, and only by a little.
In 19 seasons pacing the floors of the NBA, Tim Duncan has managed to accumulate an impressive number of trophies. Faithful to the Spurs to the end, the strong winger has, for example, no less than five champion rings to his credit. We can also mention his two consecutive MVP titles, in 2002 and 2003, as well as three Finals MVPs. In addition, he is still to this day the best blocker in the history of the playoffs as well as the best position 4 all-time.
Rarely injured, the Big Fundamental played a total of 1,392 regular season games, plus 251 playoff games. However, as his accomplishments suggest, this also implies that he won a lot, especially between October and April. With 1,001 successes in the regular campaign, he is also the third most successful player of all time, second only to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar et Robert Parish.
Tim Duncan almost invincible against NBA stars
Unsurprisingly, the fact that he has won so much also means that he has been able to beat a plethora of big players, between 1997 and 2016. In fact, when we look more closely at the numbers, we realize that facing San Antonio during this period was regularly a defeat for any superstar. Out of a total of 25 legends who played at the same time as TD, only two ended up with a positive record against him:
Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki: all suffered the law of the No. 21 of the Spurs, in particular the German of the Mavs as well as Steve Nash, who lost more than 50 times each against him, regular season and playoffs combined. In the end, his only “pet peeves” were Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal. Note however that the sample against His Airness is very small, with only 5 matches between them. MJ being on the decline when Timmy was starting his career, the balance sheet could perhaps have tipped in his favor with more opportunities.
On the other hand, there were no less than 62 clashes between the former Wake Forest and the Big Diesel, which especially blocked his way in the playoffs on several occasions. This was particularly the case between 2000 and 2002, during which the Shaqtus achieved a three-peat with the Lakers. It will be necessary to wait until 2003 so that SA conjures the fate, which will coincide besides with the second title in career of the Texan, in company of Tony Parker.
Tim Duncan was an almost insurmountable obstacle during his incredible career, surrounded by an excellent team at Spurs. It’s hardly surprising that he hurt so many stars of the orange ball!
