[Prime] Duncan vs [Prime] Kobe

[tpols]

Kobe. People act like Duncan hasn't been on great teams his whole career.. he's played on the equivalent of the 2004 Pistons his whole career with extremely effective players/defenders at every position and a GOAT coach to coordinate everything. His team won 60+ games while he was a role player for christs sake. And he still ended up winning less.. Plus Kobe shitted on Duncan and his team too many times for me to pick him.

[kennethgriffin]

Q was Prime vs. Prime... Duncan's prime was 1999-07 and Kobe's prime was 2001-10.



Also Kobe never had a playoff run like Duncan's 2003 run. Peak Duncan > Peak Kobe. Prime Duncan > Prime Kobe.

duncan had a short lived prime

he played at his absolute best from 2002 till 2005

his 1999 title he won but wasnt nearly the best player in the nba... and in 2007 he wasnt even the best player on his own team


kobe on the other hand has been elite boss status for over a decade now LOL

its not even close IMO

[hitmanyr2k]

Kobe. People act like Duncan hasn't been on great teams his whole career.. he's played on the equivalent of the 2004 Pistons his whole career with extremely effective players/defenders at every position and a GOAT coach to coordinate everything. His team won 60+ games while he was a role player for christs sake. And he still ended up winning less.. Plus Kobe shitted on Duncan and his team too many times for me to pick him.

Give Kobe that 2003 Spurs team and they're going home in the first round...probably don't even make the playoffs. Give them Tim Duncan...championship.

[kennethgriffin]

Give Kobe that 2003 Spurs team and they're going home in the first round...probably don't even make the playoffs. Give them Tim Duncan...championship.

well duh.. a team built around a center needs their center...


duncan couldnt do kobes job at SG either lol



but lets not forget about the fact that duncan hasnt been important in and around this league for nearly half a decade by now...


duncan and kobe both became allstars the same year... kobes had more surgerys and played 1 more season in the nba...

yet duncan fell off the planet 5 years ago... and kobe isnt showing any signs of stopping any time soon

duncan might be retired for another half a decade before kobe dips below 20ppg LOL

[tpols]

Give Kobe that 2003 Spurs team and they're going home in the first round...probably don't even make the playoffs. Give them Tim Duncan...championship.

Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are pretty much the big men equivalents to Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker respectively. Then you have a bunch of role players on both sides that can really go either way considering Bynum's absence in LA's 3 straight Finals run.. Those mid 2000 Spurs teams were just as good as the team's Kobe took deep through the playoffs year in and year out and led to two rings.. so your argument doesn't make much sense.

[hitmanyr2k]

Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are pretty much the big men equivalents to Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker respectively. Then you have a bunch of role players on both sides that can really go either way considering Bynum's absence in LA's 3 straight Finals run.. Those mid 2000 Spurs teams were just as good as the team's Kobe took deep through the playoffs year in and year out and led to two rings.. so your argument doesn't make much sense.

In 2003?!? Ginobili was a rookie. Tony Parker was still a green 2nd year player. Neither were anywhere near all-star level. There's a reason Duncan lead his team in practically every category (points, rebounds, assists, blocks, etc) during that title run.

[tpols]

In 2003?!? Ginobili was a rookie. Tony Parker was still a green 2nd year player. Neither were anywhere near all-star level. There's a reason Duncan lead his team in practically every category (points, rebounds, assists, blocks, etc) during that title run.

No.. I'm talking about for his 2005 and 2007 titles. 2003 was a great title run.. but you said in your previous posts that a Kobe led team w/o Shaq was a first round exit team, and thats total bullshit. When given decent talent like:

Pau Gasol
Vladimir Radmonovic/Trevor Ariza/Ron Artest
Derek Fisher
Lamar Odom
Scrubs

..which Duncan had comparable with him for nearly his whole career outside of 2003[although that wasn't a terrible team], Kobe will lead his team to be a contender year in and year out.. and he did. Again, Duncan's teams have never been about star power.. they've been built on defense, offensive execution, and great coaching. They were the most dominant team in the league all of last year with a myriad of different guys stepping up in huge spurts. Gary Neal, Blair, Manu, Parker.. etc. it's never just one guy but he always ends up having SOMEBODY step up.

[Timmy D for MVP]

I'll take Duncan everyday of the week.

In all honesty he could score at will in his prime. If he needed to he could just take over the game and put up as many points as he needed until either the team needs shifted or they brought doubles. I remember something that kind of shows whats up. In 2007 in the 4th quarter of the All-Star they doubled him on touch. The damn All-Star game!

But here's the thing he can pass of days too. In his prime he was offensively dominant.

And then we get to defense. Duncan is a far better, and way way waaaaaay more impactful defender. It's the nature of the position. His shot altering abilities forced teams to change their game plan the second he stepped on the court. Add in his ability to rebound, his leading qualities, and his coachability and I'd take prime Duncan 100/100 times.

Career wise they are far closer.

[9erEmpire]

I would still take Kobe because Duncan's prime was short....Kobe's never stopped.

You would be stupid to take Duncan because they are no longer contenders and he's no longer dominating.

You can say the opposite for Kobe...contending and playing beast mode.

[macpierce]

duncan hasnt been relevant since 2007, kobes prime would last longer...........give me kobe

no disrespect to tim duncan fans tho

[Timmy D for MVP]

I would still take Kobe because Duncan's prime was short....Kobe's never stopped.

You would be stupid to take Duncan because they are no longer contenders and he's no longer dominating.

You can say the opposite for Kobe...contending and playing beast mode.

Sure but it's easier to build around an elite big than an elite wing. Kobe would need more help, and in fact more help from bigs which are hard to find good ones. Tim I could pair with shooters, and smart players and we're good to go. What that means, and what we've seen, is that I can keep the window open more steadily. From 1999-2008 a healthy Spurs team would be considered a contender. From 2003-2008 the Spurs were incredibly close to winning or did win the title. Now you need a great front office, and that helped out a TON! But the point I think stand, it takes less money, time to develop, and effort to fill in perimeter players when you have a paint force like Timmy.

They have fewer miles, but there's a reason they are more in demand in general than perimeter players. I can't hate a pick for Kobe. I just think the wise choice is Tim. But that's my opinion, I value rebounding and defense more than anything because I think you can stay in games if you are great in those aspects.

[kennethgriffin]

funny thing is... kobes prime already has lasted 5 years longer... and he aint even close to being finished... duncan might verry well retire this year

kobe could play another 3-4 years at a 25ppg level

thats nearly a decade longer as a starting allstar

[rmt]

who would you rather have in your franchise and build your team upon?

1) In their primes
2) Career as a whole

1) 2003 Duncan > any Kobe
2) Elite big man > elite guard (unless his name is Michael Jordan)

[DMAVS41]

Kobe. People act like Duncan hasn't been on great teams his whole career.. he's played on the equivalent of the 2004 Pistons his whole career with extremely effective players/defenders at every position and a GOAT coach to coordinate everything. His team won 60+ games while he was a role player for christs sake. And he still ended up winning less.. Plus Kobe shitted on Duncan and his team too many times for me to pick him.

Comparing the two in amount of help is laughable.....

If Duncan was ever the 2nd best player on his team for 8 years in his prime....its 6 titles at minimum. at minimum.

[DMAVS41]

funny thing is... kobes prime already has lasted 5 years longer... and he aint even close to being finished... duncan might verry well retire this year

kobe could play another 3-4 years at a 25ppg level

thats nearly a decade longer as a starting allstar

this is not true. this is kobe's 13th quality year if you count 00. Duncan played 11 or 12 quality years.

and duncan was a better player in most of those prime years than kobe was.

lol at kobe's prime lasting 5 years longer.....