David Robinson on Tim Duncan being similar to Michael Jordan: “Tim is every bit the assassin that Michael was”
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Most NBA fans would agree that Michael Jordan is the best player to build a team around. He was the foundation for a Chicago Bulls franchise that played in the NBA Finals six times in the 1990s and won all of them.
San Antonio Spurs legend David Robinson is not one of those people because he believes his teammate and protege Tim Duncan would have been a better building block for a team that wants a championship. It is a surprising opinion, but David makes a good case for his longtime friend.
"Jordan was spectacular and exciting; Tim is everyday workman-like. Tim is every bit the assassin that Michael was," Robinson said on the Dan Patrick Show in 2014. "I'd go, Tim. Big guys are so much harder to find. I think they anchor your team so much better. Obviously, Michael is a phenomenal individual player. He's a force of nature, but when I'm starting my team, I'm going Tim."
Big men are usually the building blocks of a team
Basketball has always been the game of the Giants. Most eras of the NBA have had a big man dominate the game, with names like Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, and Tim Duncan coming to mind.
For Robinson, Duncan is one of the best choices for building a team because he already proved that he can lead a team far into the playoffs while being the best player. The Spurs were a bottom-dwelling team the year before Duncan got drafted, and when he arrived, San Antonio did not miss the Playoffs for his entire career that stretched out from 1997 until 2016.
That proved Tim is a fantastic building block for a team looking to win championships. In his second year, Duncan was already an NBA champion with a Finals MVP in his cabinet. He might not have been the most exciting player like Jordan, but he was effective in his game.
Fellow Spurs legend George Gervin summed it up well, discussing what made Duncan a superstar player for his 19-year career.
"He brought five championships here in San Antonio, made this franchise nothing but a winning franchise. [It's] one of the rarities in pro sports to have five championships, and it's all because of him. He knows how to make guys around him better," Gervin said in a radio interview with KSAT 12.
Duncan has the track record to support Robinson's argument
While Jordan had a stellar history of six championships built on two three-peats, Duncan had sustained success throughout his entire career. The Big Fundamental won a title in 1999 and three more championships in the following decade. He then followed that up with a fifth and final one in 2014.
Succeeding across three decades shows Duncan is a worthy adversary for someone like Jordan. It might sound bold at first, but The Admiral made a fantastic point of pitting Timmy D against MJ in terms of building blocks for the team's long-term future. He might have looked crazy at first, but a deeper look into his point shows he is worthy of that praise.