Oct 21, 2005, 04:04
The Real “Next Jordan”
By Rasheeb Shrestha
FullSportPress
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In its never-ending quest to anoint the next “Michael Jordan,” the NBA could not have scripted a better scenario for the 1998 All-Star Game. Here you had 19-year-old wonder-kid Kobe Bryant – he of the similar game, charisma, and mannerisms of #23 – ready to go head-to-head against his boyhood idol. It was Kobe’s first All-Star Game, it was supposed to be Jordan’s last, and it was to be played in Madison Square Garden in New York, the media capital of the world.
Their match-up actually lived up to all the hype that night. Kobe provided the spectacular plays, but Jordan got the win and the MVP trophy. The torch had been passed, and all was right in David Stern’s world. But what Stern and nobody else knew at the time was that they had been hyping the wrong guy all along.
Lost in all the hoopla that evening, a quiet 21-year-old rookie made his own All-Star debut, scoring a grand total of two points. But a little over a year later, on that same Madison Square Garden floor, he made sure he was overlooked no more, as he led his team to the first NBA Championship of the post-Jordan era. Since then, he has built a resume that rivals the best of the best. And now, fresh off his third NBA Title, it’s time to say what nobody else wants to say: Tim Duncan is the real “Next Michael Jordan.”
Let me make some things clear: I’m not talking about who rivals Jordan in the marketing game (LeBron James) or who resembles his style of play (Kobe, T-Mac, Vince Carter). I’m talking about one thing and one thing only -- who, if anyone, is worthy of following MJ into the Pantheon of all-time NBA greats?
The first thing we need to do is establish exactly who’s in this Pantheon, and these things are never easy. It’s obviously tough to compare statistics between different eras, and even awards can be somewhat misleading. For instance, after Duncan won the 2005 Finals MVP, many media outlets reported that Duncan joined only Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Jordan as 3-time winners. However, what those reports didn’t say was that the Finals MVP was not even created until 1969.
The Finals MVP is not a good measuring stick anyway because with only a maximum of seven games in a series, the sample size is too small. Was Cornbread Maxwell, who won the award after the 1981 Finals, more valuable to those ‘81 Celtics than Larry Bird? Obviously not.
As hard as it is to compare eras and players, there is one exclusive club that may in fact separate the best of the best -- players in League history with at least two NBA Titles and at least two regular season MVP awards. We’ll call it the “Deuce-Deuce Club,” and the names on this list read off like a chronology of NBA dynasties: Bill Russell (11 NBA Titles and five MVPs), Wilt Chamberlain (two and four), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six and six), Larry Bird (three and three), Magic Johnson (five and three), Michael Jordan (six and five), and … Tim Duncan (three and two).
That’s a total of only seven players, and the only other one who belongs on that list is the late George Mikan, but the NBA did not award regular season MVPs during his career. I believe it’s very safe to say Mikan would have won at least two MVPs to go along with his five Championships.
Of course, there are some great players not on that list, but that’s bound to happen when you’re separating the best of the best. Just missing the cut were Bob Pettit (one NBA title, two MVPs), Oscar Robertson (one and one), Willis Reed (two and one), Moses Malone (one and three), Hakeem Olajuwon (two and one), and last but certainly not least, Shaq (three and one).
O’Neal has a chance to add more rings and MVPs in the near future, thereby claiming his own place in the “Deuce-Deuce Club.” However, one thing about this club is that the members usually far exceed the two Title, two MVP requirements -- the combined average is five rings and four MVPs. Now, you tell me who has a better chance at approaching those figures, a 33-year-old Shaq or a 29-year-old Duncan?
But it’s more than just the rings and MVPs with Duncan. He has been named 1st Team All-NBA every year of his career at a time when the power forward position throughout the League has been stronger than ever. He has one of the highest winning percentages of any professional athlete in team sports history. His Spurs have been legitimate title contenders every single year of his NBA career, something only Russell and Magic can say.
And then there’s his defense. He may be one of the greatest team defenders in League history, as evidenced by his eight All-NBA Defensive 1st or 2nd Team selections, and by the fact that the Spurs’ D continues to set records.
Every single year since Duncan entered the League, the Spurs have been in the top five in the NBA in both Points Allowed and Defensive Field Goal Percentage, highlighted by setting the all-time record for the latter in 1998 and again in 1999.
David Robinson and Bruce Bowen are the two players whose names come to mind when you think of the Spurs’ defense throughout the years, but the fact is that Bowen wasn’t on the team for the first four years of Duncan’s career, and Robinson hasn’t been there for the last two. Yet somehow, the Spurs’ defense stays atop the NBA, and Duncan, along with coach Gregg Popovich, deserve most of the credit.
That’s exactly what makes Duncan so special. You can’t see his defensive dominance, but you know it’s there – night in and night out, year after year. That applies to the rest of his game as well, and, if he can ever straighten out his free-throw problems, he may eventually be remembered as the most well-rounded big man in history.
To top it all off, the best may still lay ahead for the Big Fundamental. He seems primed to add to his impeccable resume, as the Spurs have finally settled on a core to build around. The chances of more rings and MVPs in the future seem very, very promising.
So, as he enters his ninth NBA season still shy of his 30th birthday, it is clear that Tim Duncan has already followed Michael Jordan into the Pantheon of all-time greats. And, as he continues to add to his legacy in the coming years, only one question will remain – who will be the next Tim Duncan?
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