How good was a post-prime Tim Duncan?

[iamgine]

Lets say a 35 years old Duncan in 2012...would you take him today over some of the top bigs today? Say...Sabonis? Sengun? Porzingis? AD?

[1987_Lakers]

2013 Duncan was still pretty damn good, I'm taking him over every center today besides Jokic, Embiid, & AD.

[Carbine]

I have a tough time making the argument 2013 Duncan is better than AD right now. I can't say defense, I can't say offense. I can't say rebounding.

[dankok8]

Duncan from 2012-2014 was quite good and a top 10/15 player still. Offensively he couldn't carry the load the way he used to in his prime but was still a beast defensively.

In today's league I'd say he'd be the 4th best C after Jokic, Embiid and AD.

[Im Still Ballin]

I have a tough time making the argument 2013 Duncan is better than AD right now. I can't say defense, I can't say offense. I can't say rebounding.

There's part of me that thinks it's closer than we'd want to admit. For all of AD's advantages in age and mobility, TD has those GOAT-level intangibles, leadership, and instincts. Not to mention, his wingspan and standing reach - especially the reach - were larger. And he made full use of his anthropometry.

Does anyone have access to historical EPM? I'd be surprised to see the one-number metrics comparing 2013 Duncan to 2024 Davis. Basketball Index's LEBRON metric has 2013 Timmy at +4.71 per 100 possessions and 2024 AD at +4.25 per 100 possessions. And most of TD's impact is coming from defense:

2013 Duncan LEBRON Metric: +0.7 offense; 4.02 defense
2024 Davis LEBRON Metric: +1.99 offense; +2.25 defense

It appears Duncan's defense is more impactful in the same way Rudy's more limited defense is as well. More limited, not as diverse, but better at pure rim protection. And most of this simply comes down to size and defensive IQ. Duncan's defensive numbers were great even in his last season when he was essentially playing the role of a defensive specialist.

[Xiao Yao You]

I have a tough time making the argument 2013 Duncan is better than AD right now. I can't say defense, I can't say offense. I can't say rebounding.

I could say winning. Hard to imagine Duncan on a play-in team with another so called all star

[WhiteKyrie]

Duncan was damn glorified extreme lower tier all star at best after the 2010 season when he was 33 year old. You guys are exaggerating.

14 ppg and 10 rpg averages from 2011 - 2016. He made 3 all stars in 6 of those seasons. He wasn’t close to a top 15 player by that point

That is why prime LeBron and Bosh with end of prime Wade struggling and then getting spanked by the corpses of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker was so pathetic.

AD is easily better than that

[RRR3]

D-duh-duhhh-uhh-uhhh

MJ had no left

[Carbine]

Duncan was first team all NBA in 2013 and dropped 25 first half points in a closeout game 6. He was not a glorified anything that year.

He was not great in 2011. Couldn't move well.

[WhiteKyrie]

Duncan was first team all NBA in 2013 and dropped 25 first half points in a closeout game 6. He was not a glorified anything that year.

He was not great in 2011. Couldn't move well.

The topic is post prime Duncan. And no he wasn’t top 15 for the duration or majority of that stretch and definitely wasn’t better than current Anthony Davis.

[Carbine]

Including 2016 is a joke. That's not post prime Duncan, that's washed Duncan.

From 2012-2015 he was 14, 7, 12 and 10 in MVP voting.

He made two finals, winning one. If that's not a top 15 player what is? You would be including guys that were on bottom feeding teams putting up better per game numbers, that's about all you could argue.

Still not better than current AD though. AD is playing a lot of games this year which has always been the one knock.

[90sgoat]

Duncan was elite until his knee injury in his final season, after that he was legit done, washed, it was sad, because he had been playing DPOY level defense right up until it.

As far as aging gracefully and staying relevant, Duncan is definitely up there. He was a force defensively and on the boards to the last and he could still hit bank shots to take the pressure off Kawhi/Parker.

[rmt]

Duncan was damn glorified extreme lower tier all star at best after the 2010 season when he was 33 year old. You guys are exaggerating.

14 ppg and 10 rpg averages from 2011 - 2016. He made 3 all stars in 6 of those seasons. He wasn’t close to a top 15 player by that point

That is why prime LeBron and Bosh with end of prime Wade struggling and then getting spanked by the corpses of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker was so pathetic.

AD is easily better than that

In 2013, Duncan was All NBA 1st team, All Defensive 2nd team and would have been FMVP (leading Spurs scorer and rebounder) if not for Ray's shot.

[ImKobe]

Lets say a 35 years old Duncan in 2012...would you take him today over some of the top bigs today? Say...Sabonis? Sengun? Porzingis? AD?

I'd take him over Sengun & KP but he wouldn't be ranked higher in today's NBA than he was at the time. Still made All-NBA teams but obviously the Center position wasn't quite as good at the time. I think he'd be less impactful in an era where teams play 5 out as well.

[90sgoat]

I'd take him over Sengun & KP but he wouldn't be ranked higher in today's NBA than he was at the time. Still made All-NBA teams but obviously the Center position wasn't quite as good at the time. I think he'd be less impactful in an era where teams play 5 out as well.

Same.

Sabonis is better now, but he's definitely more important than almost all of the centers.