Prime Ewing or Prime Duncan, who ya got?

[Reggie43]

I guess the 3peat Shaq/Kobe is chopped liver, and the West hasn't been brutal for the past 17 years. They should create some imaginary conference with stacked teams (less teams so therefore more stars/team) for Duncan to play against - not just whoever was in the league at the time.

Aside from the Lakers who else? This is the reason that context is everything in these comparisons. Not every championship has the same weight.

[T_L_P]

Aside from the Lakers who else? This is the reason that context is everything in these comparisons. Not every championship has the same weight.

Dirk lead Mavs (better than the Hakeem Rockets where he was the lone great player), Pistons, Suns, more recently the Heat (though Duncan wasn't in his prime).

These are all teams Duncan beat. Did Pat ever beat Isiah's Pistons?

[Reggie43]

I am only counting his games against rookie Duncan and the rest vs Robinson. Robinson was superior in their h2h and I consider Duncan to be better than Robinson.

They played one game and basically had the same stats, Duncan was much more efficient while Ewing had more points, rebounds and blocks. How is that "crushing" someone?

[Dragic4Life]

Prime Ewing >>>>>>>>> Prime Duncan on offense no contest.

Prime Ewing > Prime Duncan on defense, it's close.

Overall Duncan has literally no case over Ewing.

[T_L_P]

Prime Ewing >>>>>>>>> Prime Duncan on offense no contest.

Prime Ewing > Prime Duncan on defense, it's close.

Overall Duncan has literally no case over Ewing.

Qualify that he's better on offense.

Did he score more in the Playoffs? No
Did he score more efficiently? No
Did he pass better? No
Did he grab more offensive rebounds? No

And Duncan has a higher PER. I thought you Bran stans used it to make his case for top three GOAT? How could he be when he constantly loses to a team lead by someone no better than Serge Ibaka?

[Reggie43]

Dirk lead Mavs (better than the Hakeem Rockets where he was the lone great player), Pistons, Suns, more recently the Heat (though Duncan wasn't in his prime).

These are all teams Duncan beat. Did Pat ever beat Isiah's Pistons?

He did beat the Isiah Pistons upon research along with Zo, Hardaway Heat and Miller, Smits Pacers and even Birds Celtics with Bird, Mchale and Lewis putting up prime numbers in a losing effort.

[Dragic4Life]

Qualify that he's better on offense.

Did he score more in the Playoffs? YES
Did he score more efficiently? YES
Did he pass better? YES
Did he grab more offensive rebounds? YES

Fixed.

Ewing is far more valuable to his team in the playoffs than Duncan is to his.

Lol give Ewing coach Pop, prime Manu, prime Parker and Drob and they 5-peat easily.

[T_L_P]

Fixed.

Ewing is far more valuable to his team in the playoffs than Duncan is to his.

Lol give Ewing coach Pop, prime Manu, prime Parker and Drob and they 5-peat easily.

You do realise all those things, other than passing, are qualified by stats -- which are facts? And the facts show Duncan is better at all of them.

Ewing got outperformed by John Starks and Derek Harper in his only Finals appearance. Now he's 5-peating.

[Big#50]

Duncan did everything better. Duncan should only be compared to KAJ. He left Shaq, Hakeem and the rest behind two seasons ago.

[Stringer Bell]

Ewing's teams did have to compete with those Jordan-led Bulls teams, losing to them 5 times in 8 years. The Knicks did have HCA twice and was supposed to win in 89'.

Then again, Duncan's Spurs didn't exactly have easy opposition either. The West was deep. Of course you have the Lakers with Shaq (arguably the greatest center since Kareem) and Kobe (consensus choice as the 2nd best SG ever), along with other strong teams in the West. Duncan led a so-so supporting cast over the Lakers in 2003 in one of the best postseason runs ever.

Duncan is/was the better player and easily ranks higher all-time.

[Stringer Bell]

Interesting point...maybe Pat takes a back seat to LeBron here.

Both were very bad, but Lebron's 2011 was probably worse than Ewing's 1994 Finals.

Both were very winnable series though for the Knicks and Heat, with both Ewing and Lebron's poor performances being very crucial in the defeats.

The Knicks lost games 3 and 6 by very close margins, games in which Ewing shot horribly. The Heat lost games 2 and 4 by very close margins, with Lebron having one of the worst games of his career in game 4. Game 5 was close until the end too. Lebron again underperformed.

[ImKobe]

Duncan did everything better. Duncan should only be compared to KAJ. He left Shaq, Hakeem and the rest behind two seasons ago.

The only thing Duncan has on Shaq is longetivity. He has the luxury of playing 28-30 minutes a game in the regular season. The Spurs are built like an European team with every rotation player playing a vital role.

Peak Shaq shits all over Duncan.

[T_L_P]

The only thing Duncan has on Shaq is longetivity. He has the luxury of playing 28-30 minutes a game in the regular season. The Spurs are built like an European team with every rotation player playing a vital role.

Peak Shaq shits all over Duncan.

Duncan from ages 28-37: 31.8 MPG

Shaq from ages 28-37: 32.1 MPG

Those .3 minutes are a real afforded luxury.

Oh, and Duncan also happens to have defense -- 50% of the game -- and intangibles over Shaq, not to mention accolades and success.

Good job at getting everything wrong.

The whole Kobe/Shaq/Duncan argument never balances out. I'm sure you have both over Duncan, yet they needed each other -- plus the already established GOAT coach to win rings. Duncan won with aging vets and a couple of second string stars, with a coach who was almost fired and had done nothing as a coach before Duncan, though he grew into being the best in the world.

[SCdac]

Eh, Duncan beat Shaq a few times in championship runs, putting up amazing numbers and putting the Spurs on his back. They (Duncan and Shaq) were definitely worthy foes, with each of them getting the better of each other a few times. Would take Duncan over jump shooting Ewing in a heartbeat, and Duncan vs. Shaq is a better debate.

[HurricaneKid]

Any answer to this question gives credence to the question having any merit in any way. It doesn't.

Ewing, despite playing in NYC, was never even 1st team All-NBA. He was never the best C in the league. Meanwhile, TD was the best PLAYER in the league multiple seasons.