Michael Jordan was the NBA’s ambassador after Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
Who was MJ’s heir apparent? Some say Kobe Bryant and others say Shaquille O’Neal.
But what about Tim Duncan? A 15-time NBA All Star, Duncan stuck with one team and had one head coach during his time in the league.
Arguably the best power forward to played in the NBA, Duncan won five NBA championships, was NBA Finals MVP three times and voted the NBA’s regular season MVP awards twice. The 7-footer was also was an All-NBA First Team selection ten times.
“Yeah when you start doing all time players and start picking your top five, your top ten or your top fifteen whatever Tim Duncan needs to show up in that conversation,” NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving told me on Scoop B Radio.
Tim Duncan gripped the baton after MJ’s second and third retirements. Yet, his talent is often overlooked because of his quiet demeanor in an era that had larger than life personalities like Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Karl Malone and more.
Speaking of personalities, recently on the Scoop B Radio Podcast, retired NBA player and NBA champion Speedy Claxton, Duncan’s former Spurs teammate maveled at his talent in comparison to another former teammate, Allen Iverson.
“Iverson was so talented that he didn’t really trust in his teammates as much as Tim Duncan did,” Speedy Claxton told me on Scoop B Radio.
“Tim knew that he was going to need teammates in order to win at a high level. Whereas A.I. [would say] if these dudes aren’t hitting shots, I’m going to take more shots, because I believe in myself more than these guys.”
