Larry O’Brien Legends, Part 15: Stoicism Silences Critics
Much has been said about Tim Duncan since his retirement, ironically more than the man himself has ever said about anything. I have great admiration for Timmy and one thing I can’t stand is the take that Duncan was never dominant. That is BS and you’re about to learn why.
Tim Duncan was drafted first overall in 1997, 2 years later, he was named Finals MVP after the Spurs went 15-2 in the playoffs on their way to their first ever championship. While we think of that ring as the beginning of the Spurs’ empire today, at the time, it was ridiculed. If you think calling championships “fake” is a new thing, don’t be fooled. Even Phil Jackson himself was saying that the Spurs didn’t win a real championship because of the shortened season. The proceeding years after that ring didn’t help.
In 2000, Duncan got hurt and missed the playoffs, causing San Antonio to flame out to the Phoenix Suns in round 1. In 2001, the Spurs made it back to the conference finals, only to get swept by the Shaq-Kobe Lakers. Then, in 2002, Tim Duncan won MVP while leading a very weak roster (their 2nd best player was Bruce Bowen) to 58 wins, just to lose in the 2nd round, in 5 games, to the Lakers once again.
As you can imagine, getting crushed by the Lakers made it easy to brush off the 1999 ring. They already didn’t benefit from media interpretation because everyone thought they were boring, especially Duncan. Jackson kept firing shots at the Spurs. Many believed Duncan shouldn’t have won the 2002 MVP. There was an easy way to prove all these critics wrong.
In the 2002-03 season, Duncan won his 2nd MVP while leading the Spurs to 60 wins, the best record in the NBA, tied with the Mavericks. In round 1, the Spurs met the Phoenix Suns. Different from the 2000 squad, but still scrappy. They managed to steal game 1, only for Duncan and the Spurs to restore order and win in 6. Duncan averaged 19 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks. Good start.
In round 2, they faced their most intimidating foe, the Shaq-Kobe Lakers. LA literally hadn’t lost a playoff series in the 21st century up to this point. It was fitting that they stood in the Spurs’ way. San Antonio won game 1 behind Duncan’s 28, 8 rebounds and 7 assists along with 15 points off the bench from a rookie named Manu Ginobili. Duncan only had 12 points in game 2, but part of that is because Duncan didn’t play in the 4th. The Spurs won by 19.
The Lakers managed to win games 3 and 4 despite Duncan’s 28 and 36 points respectively, reminding everyone why they’ve been so hard to beat. Duncan stepped up to the challenge in game 5, propelling the Spurs to a dominant first half to give them an 18-point lead, then helping them hang on for the win, barely. Don’t worry, Duncan scored 37 in game 6, helped the Spurs win by 28 and finally slay their biggest playoff demon.
After getting over that mountain, the Mavericks in the conference finals seemed like just a hill. Nevertheless, the Mavericks won game 1 despite Duncan’s 40-point game. Then the Mavs lost the next 3 as Duncan averaged 29 points, 20 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks (holy shit). The Spurs eventually won in 6, sending them back to the Finals.
There they faced the New Jersey Nets led by Jason Kidd. The Spurs were the clear-cut favourite and proved it by winning game 1 behind Duncan’s 32. The Nets managed to win game 2 thanks to, no joke, 5 free throws in the last 20 seconds from Jason Kidd. The Spurs got back to their winning ways in game 3, just for New Jersey to scrap out a game 4 victory. They did something that no team should do, they made Timmy mad. Duncan put up 29 in a game 5 win and put up his greatest masterpiece in game 6.
21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and 8 blocks, a near-quadruple double. Some believe the scorekeeper took 2 blocks away from TD, robbing him of an even more historic performance. Though, I doubt Duncan cared, San Antonio were back on top and proved all their doubters wrong.
2003 Tim Duncan grabbed the most rebounds in a single playoff run ever with 369. 14 more than 2000 Shaq in 2nd place and nobody has grabbed 300 since Dwight Howard in 2009. His 79 blocks are the 2nd most ever, only behind Hakeem’s insane 1994. Duncan’s 593 points ranked 11th all-time at the time and 31st today. That may not sound impressive, but that number is actually ahead of some recent all-time runs, including Jimmy Butler in 2023 and Dirk in 2011. It also remains the best ever for a Spur. Most points, most rebounds, most blocks and 4th most assists. Don’t tell me that this man wasn’t dominant.
If you somehow still don’t believe me, I have a stat for you that sounds fake. From 1997 to 2007, Tim Duncan averaged more points in the playoffs than Kobe Bryant (23.8 vs. 23.3).
There was a time when Duncan was called too boring to be truly dominant. That belief has survived in niche corners of the internet, don’t let them fool you. Duncan became a Larry O’Brien Legend in 1999 and solidified his legacy in marble in 2003.
