More Impressive Longevity: Duncan or Kobe?

[SilkkTheShocker]

Who ya got?

[riseagainst]

the one who's still playing.

[NumberSix]

Duncan. Was a franchise calibre player from day 1.

[moe94]

Duncan

[J Shuttlesworth]

Duncan

Still making the finals 2x in a row at this age

[MVBallin2K]

Kobe. Both have played a lot of mileage and Duncan is very impressive for his age but Kobe has also dealt with a lot of lingering injuries he's played through in the past through straight Finals appearances. Before he got that German surgery, he virtually played through three straight finals with a bum leg and the usual finger issues.

Obviously people are going to look to right now as the be all and end all but if you want to be truthful, with the entire offense ran through Kobe for his entire career whereas Duncan has help offensively, Kobe lasted a lot longer health wise than he really should have. Wade already is breaking down while Kobe was still going head on when he was that age.

Duncan had Pop to manage his minutes, I guarantee you if Duncan played for D'Antoni who didn't care to do that, he wouldn't be playing right now either.

[rhowen4]

for now, duncan since he's 38

we'll see where kobe ends up

[bigkingsfan]

One is still playing at a high level, one is a cripple, do the math.

[lakerspng]

both pretty amazing. Duncan has not suffered the same injuries as Kobe. Kobe's played at a higher (superstar) level for longer. Duncan's been more of a top tier role player than a superstar the last few seasons. Duncan has had a lot more stability and consistency around him for his career. 1 coach, 1 system. He's been the mainstay and rock for his team for 18 years, but he's had a very stable and enviable situation for that entire time as well as a slew of talented players to integrate into the system around him, some that have been around him for a decade (Gino, Parker). that doesn't happen very often.

[kennethgriffin]

check the guy with more all nba 1st teams and more all nba teams/ consecutive allstar appearances


duncan hasnt averaged over 20ppg since 2007

so its obvious his peak ended then since he averaged over 20ppg every year from 1998 till 2005

so duncan had a solid run of 8 years since he was a rookie being one of the top players in the nba


kobe on the other hand hit a near peak average of 30ppg in 2001 ( 28 regular season, 30ppg playoffs )

he bottomed out last year when he had his achilles injury

before that he averaged 27ppg all season.

so from 2001 till 2013 kobe was at peak level production


duncan peaked sooner and lasted 8 years

kobe peaked later and lasted 13 years


duncans 17th year = 15ppg, 9 rpg, 3apg ( no all nba team )

kobes 17th year = 27ppg, 6reb, 5apg ( 1st team all nba )

[kennethgriffin]

kobe basically retired a 1st team all nba player if he never recovers from the achilles.. at age 35... which is jordan like

[NumberSix]

Kobe. Both have played a lot of mileage and Duncan is very impressive for his age but Kobe has also dealt with a lot of lingering injuries he's played through in the past through straight Finals appearances. Before he got that German surgery, he virtually played through three straight finals with a bum leg and the usual finger issues.

Obviously people are going to look to right now as the be all and end all but if you want to be truthful, with the entire offense ran through Kobe for his entire career whereas Duncan has help offensively, Kobe lasted a lot longer health wise than he really should have. Wade already is breaking down while Kobe was still going head on when he was that age.

Duncan had Pop to manage his minutes, I guarantee you if Duncan played for D'Antoni who didn't care to do that, he wouldn't be playing right now either.

Injuries = lack of longevity.


It's easily Duncan. Duncan won a FMVP in 1999. In 2014 he's still making B2B finals. Kobe didn't really become a good player until 2001. By 2013 he was burnt out.

[K Xerxes]

Kobe. Both have played a lot of mileage and Duncan is very impressive for his age but Kobe has also dealt with a lot of lingering injuries he's played through in the past through straight Finals appearances. Before he got that German surgery, he virtually played through three straight finals with a bum leg and the usual finger issues.

Obviously people are going to look to right now as the be all and end all but if you want to be truthful, with the entire offense ran through Kobe for his entire career whereas Duncan has help offensively, Kobe lasted a lot longer health wise than he really should have. Wade already is breaking down while Kobe was still going head on when he was that age.

Duncan had Pop to manage his minutes, I guarantee you if Duncan played for D'Antoni who didn't care to do that, he wouldn't be playing right now either.

And? The defense is anchored around Duncan. Kobe stopped playing defense a couple of years ago. Also note that even with Pop managing Duncan's minutes, Duncan is older than Kobe and had 4 years of playing college. It all takes its toll.

Wade is breaking down because he has been more of a slasher throughout his career, and his meniscus was removed early on in his career.

I will give Kobe this: I've not seen anyone able to consistently perform well through a multitude of injuries in their career. His pain tolerance is ridiculous.

[kennethgriffin]

Injuries = lack of longevity.


It's easily Duncan. Duncan won a FMVP in 1999. In 2014 he's still making B2B finals. Kobe didn't really become a good player until 2001. By 2013 he was burnt out.

13 peak seasons > 8 peak seasons

[NumberSix]

13 peak seasons > 8 peak seasons

Kobe's peak was from about 2003-2009