Monday, May 3, 2010

Best hooper in the world? I'll take...

When it comes to talking about who the best basketball player in the world is, the conversation usually includes names such as Kobe, Lebron, D-Wade, Carmelo, and now Kevin Durant(whom I think has the potential to average 35 a game annually). They're all great names, can score at will, D you up whenever they want, make big shots, etc....

When I get asked the question, "Who do you think is the best player in the world?," my first thought goes to the same name every time...Tim Duncan.

Here's my argument...

At age 34, Duncan is the model of consistency. His career averages of 21.1 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 3.2 apg, and 2.3 bpg are fantastic alone. Any given year you can expect him to be right in the range of these. His teams have never won less than 50 games in a season (other than the strike shortened season of 1998-'99, when they were 37-13). He's won 4 NBA Championships, of which 3 times he was the Finals MVP, 2 NBA MVP's, is a former NBA Rookie of the Year, 12 time All-Star, 9 time All-NBA first team member (3 time second team), 8 time all NBA Defensive first team member (4 time second team), and 2000 All-Star game MVP.

Wait...those are just the honors he's won.

He has never finished outside of the top 10 in NBA MVP voting, and has only finished outside the top 5 three times!!! Incredible!!!

He possesses the best offensive move in the game (his patented 10-15 foot bank shot) since Kareem's sky hook.

He's the best post defender of the past 30 years. Yes post defender, not shot blocker! There's a lot more that goes into defending the other team's bigs than just blocking a few shots, like positioning on the block, base strength, and help defense. Hell, Samuel Dalembert is a good shot blocker but I could get position on him any day.

The guy is just a winner! And because he is not flashy, doesn't have tons of endorsement deals and television adds, he still flies under the radar when it comes to these conversations. That's Duncan's personality though, soft spoken, unassuming, fundamental. He'd rather not be in the middle of the debates, and just keep picking up the hardware and hanging up banners.

I can tell you right now, if there is one team in the NBA no one wants to play in the 2010 NBA Playoffs, it's Tim Duncan and the Spurs. They dispatched of the Western Conferences #2 seed Dallas Mavericks last week with relative ease, led by Duncan's 18.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg.

They're experienced, healthy, and know how to get it done. Being led by the best player in the league doesn't hurt either. That's why the Spurs will win championship #5 in 2010, and Tim Duncan will further support his case as the best player, post Michael Jordan.

But don't bring him up in your conversation, he likes it that way!