I hate to say it BUT... 2017 Leonard > 2013 Duncan

[UNT Eagles 2016]

<OOPS> Meant 2003 Duncan

Points, efficiency, and they're similarly elite on defense. Duncan of course had more rebounds and blocks being a 6'11" PF/C (PF only when David or Kevin Willis was out there with him, center otherwise) but Kawhi's impact is just as magnanimous. Kawhi's more of an impact player than Duncan ever was on offense and just as good on defense (but different).

As for the MVP race, Kawhi is the best overall lone wolf superstar in the NBA, forget Westbrick's fake triple doubles he puts above winning, forget Harden's matador show on defense. Obviously Lebron, Curry, Durant, Irving are out due to same-team cannibalization.

Kawhi is the MVP of the NBA.

[dabom]

OP is a smart guy. I'm not even sure where I stand on this one. :wow

[dabom]

That 2003 team is better than the one Kawhi has now. He would have to have one of the greatest playoff runs ever if Kawhi wins a Championship.

[Robz4000]

2003 Tim was a Top 5 ever player...

[TheGreatYacht]

2003 Tim was a Top 5 ever player...
2017 Kiwi is arguably a Top 7 regular season player this season

[apalisoc_9]

Still Tim.

Tim carried that weak ass team to a championship ( competition was weak though)

Best Spurs season ( Modern era.)

03 - Tim
02 - Tim
95 - Robinson
17 - Leonard
05 - Tim
05 - Ginobili
12 - Tony
94 - Robinson

No one else really matters. Certainly not a 70s player.

[313]

That 2003 team is better than the one Kawhi has now. :lmao

[313]

Still Tim.

Tim carried that weak ass team to a championship ( competition was weak though)

Best Spurs season ( Modern era.)

03 - Tim
02 - Tim
95 - Robinson
17 - Leonard
05 - Tim
05 - Ginobili
12 - Tony
94 - Robinson

No one else really matters. Certainly not a 70s player.
how can you rank his season when the season isn't even over yet lol could easily be another 1st or 2nd rd exit incoming

[Cry Havoc]

No.

[bic50]

��

[Spur|n|Austin]

2016 UNT > 2017 UNT

One year he had a job the next year he didn't.

[Ice009]

I was actually looking at some stats yesterday as I thought Kawhi isn't shooting to well on the road. Anyway, I saw that his FG% is about the same at home and on the road, which is good IMO, but his 3P% on the road takes a pretty big hit. He shoots 33% on the road Vs 47% at home. He takes more threes on the road too. I think he should look at cutting down some on his 3 point shooting away from home. Either that, or he needs to get his consistency up closer to his home 3 point shooting percentage.

btw, don't give a crap about what the OP is on about. TD was legendary in 2003. Kawhi was probably watching Tim destroy his Lakers back then as a kid. The OP also seems to put Tim down a lot and try and diminish him in any way that he can. I think he's a troll that takes subtle jabs at Tim any chance that he gets.

[ElNono]

Love Kawhi, but 2003 Tim was an absolute monster, and not only that, we ran almost every play exclusively through him (4-down).

In hindsight, that was a very good team, but Manu was a rook, we started the season with Steve Smith, Tony wasn't necessarily stellar yet, and we had bad-back DRob.

Kawhi would certainly approach that level of greatness if he had a signature series in the playoffs like Tim vs the defending three-peat champs Lakers that year.

[bic50]

I think some are reading the title of the thread wrong. And the usual Kawhi haters being their bitch selves :rolleyes.

[J_Paco]

Leonard is already the greatest SF in Spurs history, but Tim Duncan had easily the greatest season in team history in 2003.

That team was piss-poor after Timmy, but he managed to carry a bunch of inexperienced (Tony, Manu & Jackson) and over the hill players (Smith, Kerr, Robinson & Willis) to the promise land.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Switch that Duncan with this Kawhi and the Spurs don't ring in 2003, but I absolutely think the Spurs would be better than they are now if 2003 Duncan replaced 2017 Kawhi.

Kawhi has been wonderful this year, but Duncan nearly single handedly carried that team to a title.

[spurraider21]

That 2003 team is better than the one Kawhi has now.
:lmao

[Arcadian]

A better comparison would be '02 Duncan with '17 Kawhi. Both at age 25. Statistically they are quite similar, except Kawhi is having a 50-40-90 shooting season. :wow

Duncan was a more dominant player, though. I was a massive Duncan fan, but I've also become a huge Kawhi fan in recent years. I don't think I'll ever like an athlete as much as Tim, but Kawhi has come as close as possible.

[100%duncan]

Switch that Duncan with this Kawhi and the Spurs don't ring in 2003, but I absolutely think the Spurs would be better than they are now if 2003 Duncan replaced 2017 Kawhi.

Kawhi has been wonderful this year, but Duncan nearly single handedly carried that team to a title.

No they wont because this team has Gasol and Lma 40 mullion down the drain with 2 tosbs in manu and parker with no creators in the backcourt.

2003 tim is GOAT stuff so lets just put it at that.

[eric365]

Kawhi has been the man the last 2 years with stellar numbers last year too and with great a great team/coach around:
- Twice he doesn't get past the second round
- Twice he shrink when It counts in the last games of the playoff
- He has great numbers in a year where the likes of Harden and Westbrook are putting all time great number.

He is nowhere near peak Duncan. Not even close.

[Yuixafun]

Wrong .

[midnightpulp]

Not even close.

You can even cite era differences and won't be able to have a argument, since Duncan in 2014 was actually still the Spurs best player in the post-season. Now imagine a prime '03 Duncan on that 2014 team or even last season's team when he went out with a 19 point game at 40 years old on no knees. He was also the best player in the 2015 Clippers series when Kawhi kind of folded down the stretch in that series as Duncan was making Blake and DeMonkey his bitches.

Now if Kawhi goes Hakeem on the league and runs the Harden, Durant, Lebron perimeter player gauntlet, outplaying each of them, enroute to a title, yeah, I'll crown his season as the greatest ever by a Spur.

[midnightpulp]

^That said, since GS is so stupidly stacked, Kawhi probably won't even get the chance to challenge '03 Duncan. Kawhi could average 40 in the series and it probably won't be enough.

[Chinook]

I think some are reading the title of the thread wrong. And the usual Kawhi haters being their bitch selves :rolleyes.

The title is wrong, as the OP said.

[Chinook]

Tim hasn't been gone a year, and people are already forgetting how good he was.

[spursistan]

Stop the silliness...Kawhi hasn't yet even had a one dominant, "I-am-here" series in the playoffs as the lead dog*, let alone an entire epic run like TD's 2003 title..

I'll say this as Kawhi fan, he needs one, preferably a redemption series against the Clips where he has no business not being the best player in the series looking at who is matched-up against.

* The Thunder series was great, but his "poor" Game 2 ended up being costly for us in the big picture..

[daledondale]

OP smokes too much crack.

[TheDoctor]

Tim hasn't been gone a year, and people are already forgetting how good he was.

[NameLess Scrub]

^That said, since GS is so stupidly stacked, Kawhi probably won't even get the chance to challenge '03 Duncan. Kawhi could average 40 in the series and it probably won't be enough.

Today's NBA, shortly explained.

[Seventyniner]

Kawhi is a great defender but Tim was at least as good, and if you're going to have an elite defender it's better if he's a big.

[Ice009]

Tim hasn't been gone a year, and people are already forgetting how good he was.

The OP is a Tim Duncan hater, possibly a troll. He takes subtle digs any time he can.

[mookie2001]

Op knows bc he was 8

[Amuseddaysleeper]

No they wont because this team has Gasol and Lma 40 mullion down the drain with 2 tosbs in manu and parker with no creators in the backcourt.

2003 tim is GOAT stuff so lets just put it at that.


If this team had 2003 Duncan instead of 2017 Kawhi, they'd be better, no question for me.

[Joseph Kony]

lolwat...OP is retarded. Kawhi is a stud and arguably a top 2-3 player in the league, but in 2003 Duncan was on another level by himself in a league featuring Shaq/Kobe/KG/Dirk. his impact on offense and defense was otherworldly. I love Kawhi but to make the claim that he is better than peak Duncan who had one of the greatest individual seasons and arguably the greatest playoff run/Finals series of any player in league history, is laughable

[spursistan]

Still though, Kawhi's ceiling is literally the only thing that keeps me hopeful that this team might get a shot at another, probably last, ring to firmly establish the Spurs as the third greatest franchise in NBA history after LA/Boston..

Let's hope PATFO figure this out; they have 3 or 4 more seasons after this one to put the right pieces around him..Between the decline/breakup of the Warriors in one of those years and the emergence of the next league powerhouse the Spurs could potentially sneak one more title..

[HarlemHeat37]

Duncan is still easily better until Kawhi strings some elite playoff series' together(at the very least), but to be fair, it'll be much more difficult for Leonard to establish himself with teams like the Warriors and Cavs in the league, tbh..the 2003 Spurs played in the dark ages of the NBA, where the Nets made the Finals, and their only real challenge was a Lakers team that was burnt out from 3 consecutive runs to the Finals..

[skulls138]

Duncan is still easily better until Kawhi strings some elite playoff series' together(at the very least), but to be fair, it'll be much more difficult for Leonard to establish himself with teams like the Warriors and Cavs in the league, tbh..the 2003 Spurs played in the dark ages of the NBA, where the Nets made the Finals, and their only real challenge was a Lakers team that was burnt out from 3 consecutive runs to the Finals..The East has Lebron so in that sense they are better than '03 but the West still was tough with Phoenix and Dallas and as you said the Lakers, which beating them I didnt think could ever happen. After that, they were NOT going to lose to the Nets.

Also this thread is downright silly. Everyone knows Duncan is who he is because of what he does in the postseason. Kawhi is my favorite player in the NBA by far but....yeah, this thread is silly.

[diego]

Duncan is still easily better until Kawhi strings some elite playoff series' together(at the very least), but to be fair, it'll be much more difficult for Leonard to establish himself with teams like the Warriors and Cavs in the league, tbh..the 2003 Spurs played in the dark ages of the NBA, where the Nets made the Finals, and their only real challenge was a Lakers team that was burnt out from 3 consecutive runs to the Finals..

The current Cavs are miles better than anyone in the eastern conference 2000-2003, but the western conference in that period was also significantly better than it is now. And if the Lakers get the burned out excuse then, the same will be true for the Cavs and dubs now

[HarlemHeat37]

The current Cavs are miles better than anyone in the eastern conference 2000-2003, but the western conference in that period was also significantly better than it is now. And if the Lakers get the burned out excuse then, the same will be true for the Cavs and dubs now

:lol no, I completely disagree, tbh..I don't even think it's arguable..

The Mavs didn't have Dirk for half the series vs. the Spurs and Chris Webber didn't even play in the playoffs..

The other teams were the Wolves with Wally Sczerbiak as their 2nd best player, a 47-win Jazz team with 40 and 39 year olds Malone and Stockton, and the Suns with Stephon Marbury as their best player..

That Nets team was one of the worst Finals' teams in the history of the league, too..

2003 was one of the weaker title runs of that generation IMO..the 2005 Spurs had one of the toughest runs, but both the 2003 and 2007 teams had easy competition outside of 2 series'..

[diego]

I was talking about the period 2000-03 period in general, but if you want to parallel specifically 2003 with last year, injury depleted Memphis + OKC aren't better than 03 suns and mavs and that's without even mentioning shaqs lakers

[spurraider21]

Duncan is still easily better until Kawhi strings some elite playoff series' together(at the very least), but to be fair, it'll be much more difficult for Leonard to establish himself with teams like the Warriors and Cavs in the league, tbh..the 2003 Spurs played in the dark ages of the NBA, where the Nets made the Finals, and their only real challenge was a Lakers team that was burnt out from 3 consecutive runs to the Finals..
The nba was overall weaker but they had to unseat Shaq/Kobe to win it... You can call them burnt out but that didn't stop them from beating the spurs and getting back to the finals in 04 despite kobe missing first quarters of games to go to rape hearings :lol

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Switch that Duncan with this Kawhi and the Spurs don't ring in 2003, but I absolutely think the Spurs would be better than they are now if 2003 Duncan replaced 2017 Kawhi.

Kawhi has been wonderful this year, but Duncan nearly single handedly carried that team to a title.


Green part: Correct, because the Spurs had Bruce Bowen and Kawhi would render Bowen fairly useless as he would make him a backup while leaving a giant hole at the PF position, leaving Malik Rose the starter and Danny Ferry the backup... YIKES!

Red part: Incorrect, because the current Spurs would have no decent small forward on the team and would have both Duncan and Aldridge playing essentially the same position which would be good at times but very redundant and negating at other times.

[HarlemHeat37]

The nba was overall weaker but they had to unseat Shaq/Kobe to win it... You can call them burnt out but that didn't stop them from beating the spurs and getting back to the finals in 04 despite kobe missing first quarters of games to go to rape hearings :lol

They replaced role players with Karl Malone(who played some of the best defense I've ever seen vs. Tim during the 2004 series) and Gary Payton, who were still All-Stars, at that time:lol

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Not even close.

You can even cite era differences and won't be able to have a argument, since Duncan in 2014 was actually still the Spurs best player in the post-season. Now imagine a prime '03 Duncan on that 2014 team or even last season's team when he went out with a 19 point game at 40 years old on no knees. He was also the best player in the 2015 Clippers series when Kawhi kind of folded down the stretch in that series as Duncan was making Blake and DeMonkey his bitches.

Now if Kawhi goes Hakeem on the league and runs the Harden, Durant, Lebron perimeter player gauntlet, outplaying each of them, enroute to a title, yeah, I'll crown his season as the greatest ever by a Spur.

Duncan was NOT the best player in the 2014 post season. He's around #3 or #4 between himself and Manu. Leonard and Parker were the clear #1 and #2.

[siraulo23]

Tim hasn't been gone a year, and people are already forgetting how good he was.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Love Kawhi, but 2003 Tim was an absolute monster, and not only that, we ran almost every play exclusively through him (4-down).

In hindsight, that was a very good team, but Manu was a rook, we started the season with Steve Smith, Tony wasn't necessarily stellar yet, and we had bad-back DRob.

Kawhi would certainly approach that level of greatness if he had a signature series in the playoffs like Tim vs the defending three-peat champs Lakers that year.
The 2003 team is arguably my favorite team of all time, for their perseverance and what they overcame that year, between David announcing his last year the previous summer, the crappy 19-13 start, the Suns having our number that year and the Lakers hurdle... BUT, but they weren't the most talented team nor a particularly high-scoring or efficient offense, and part of that was calling too many 4-downs for Duncan instead of motions and screens and Parker/Manu dribble drives. Manu was a rookie, of course, and Parker committed too many turnovers back then, but 4-down is an inefficient way to get offense...

[HarlemHeat37]

Manu and Kawhi were probably the best players during the 2014 run, but it's tough to rank the players, since everybody was fairly inconsistent from series to series(deepest team of all-time negated the lack of stars)..

I don't know how to rank Duncan(was more of a super role player, at that point) and Parker(put up usage numbers, but had by far the worst on/off metrics on the team, they were better whenever he left the floor)..

[UNT Eagles 2016]

2016 UNT > 2017 UNT

One year he had a job the next year he didn't.
I just closed on a house in Ohio.. I'm gonna get $50k in profit (I just coughed up $25.7k + 45k & ~5k in hard money cost) after I sell it for $160k in April

[SASdynasty!]

Maybe 2003 McGrady tbh.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Maybe 2003 McGrady tbh.
Chucker. And trading away prime Mike Miller for Drew Gooden halfway thru the season was fucking retarded.

[urunobili]

Let Kawhi get a quadruple double to clinch a Larry O'Brien and then bump the thread...

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Op knows bc he was 8

9 for the homestretch of the season and playoff/championship run. March '94

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Let Kawhi get a quadruple double to clinch a Larry O'Brien and then bump the thread...

Again, raw stats. Kawhi isn't the type of guy to even go after a triple double, particularly the assists. Lebron is the only SF I've ever seen who gets a lot of assists and so many of those are inorganic.

Westbrick is the kind of guy who's more likely to stumble on a 40 point night on 13/35 FG, 4/11 3FG, 10/12 FT with 10 rebounds, 11 assists, and 10 steals... but still lose the game.

[dabom]

Manu and Kawhi were probably the best players during the 2014 run, but it's tough to rank the players, since everybody was fairly inconsistent from series to series(deepest team of all-time negated the lack of stars)..

I don't know how to rank Duncan(was more of a super role player, at that point) and Parker(put up usage numbers, but had by far the worst on/off metrics on the team, they were better whenever he left the floor)..

Tim, kawhi, manu/tiago in that order.

[HarlemHeat37]

Tim, kawhi, manu/tiago in that order.

That team is tough to rank, tbh..if you look into the advanced metrics, there's no team in league history that even approaches them in terms of depth:lol

They had SEVEN rotation players with a WS/48 above .146(Splitter, Duncan, Kawhi, Manu, Green, Mills, Diaw), which is ridiculous..any advanced metric, actually, shows that they were unrivaled in depth throughout the history of the league, those 7 players played at an extremely high level, and that isn't even including Parker, who had stretches of really good basketball, too..pretty much only Belinelli didn't show up:lol

[UNT Eagles 2016]

That team is tough to rank, tbh..if you look into the advanced metrics, there's no team in league history that even approaches them in terms of depth:lol

They had SEVEN rotation players with a WS/48 above .146(Splitter, Duncan, Kawhi, Manu, Green, Mills, Diaw), which is ridiculous..any advanced metric, actually, shows that they were unrivaled in depth throughout the history of the league, those 7 players played at an extremely high level, and that isn't even including Parker, who had stretches of really good basketball, too..pretty much only Belinelli didn't show up:lol
Parker scored the most ppg in 3 of the 4 series. He sucks now, sure, but that was his last good year and he was actually pretty darn good most of the time.

[dabom]

That team is tough to rank, tbh..if you look into the advanced metrics, there's no team in league history that even approaches them in terms of depth:lol

They had SEVEN rotation players with a WS/48 above .146(Splitter, Duncan, Kawhi, Manu, Green, Mills, Diaw), which is ridiculous..any advanced metric, actually, shows that they were unrivaled in depth throughout the history of the league, those 7 players played at an extremely high level, and that isn't even including Parker, who had stretches of really good basketball, too..pretty much only Belinelli didn't show up:lol

"But he hit that big shot even...though we lost the big lead cause of him"... :lol

[HarlemHeat37]

Parker scored the most ppg in 3 of the 4 series. He sucks now, sure, but that was his last good year and he was actually pretty darn good most of the time.

I don't think he was bad or anything, but it's a pretty unique case..he led the team in scoring, but he was also the only player in playoffs history to lead a Finals team in scoring, yet have negative on/off numbers..weird case..

[UNT Eagles 2016]

"But he hit that big shot even...though we lost the big lead cause of him"... :lol

We didn't lose the lead because of him. I blame Gary Neal's stupid chucking and all the unforced turnovers and defensive breakdowns leaving guys wide open, even if they're missing a shoe you can't let a white guy who's a career >40% 3 point shooter shoot a practice shot from 3. Parker was actually pretty damn good in the second half while Duncan and Manu laid eggs.

[dabom]

We didn't lose the lead because of him. I blame Gary Neal's stupid chucking and all the unforced turnovers and defensive breakdowns leaving guys wide open, even if they're missing a shoe you can't let a white guy who's a career >40% 3 point shooter shoot a practice shot from 3. Parker was actually pretty damn good in the second half while Duncan and Manu laid eggs.

You'RE getting your finals mixed up. :lol

[tonight...you]

You'RE getting your finals mixed up. :lol
sic 'em, big dog...

[dabom]

I also meant to say lead decreased. Not that we had lost it entirely.

[r0drig0lac]

Fucking hell

[TD 21]

The initial topic isn't worthy of a response, but Duncan was the best player in '14. Ginobili was non existent in the Trail Blazers series and as usual, played significantly less minutes and far more of the ones he did against bench players. While is was an ensemble cast, Duncan would still have stretches (including the penultimate one of the run) where they played through him in the post, unlike Leonard, who had virtually no creative responsibilities.

When healthy, Duncan never really stopped being at least the co best player until around the beginning of '15 and even then, he was once more the best player in the playoffs.

[dabom]

The initial topic isn't worthy of a response, but Duncan was the best player in '14. Ginobili was non existent in the Trail Blazers series and as usual, played significantly less minutes and far more of the ones he did against bench players. While is was an ensemble cast, Duncan would still have stretches (including the penultimate one of the run) where they played through him in the post, unlike Leonard, who had virtually no creative responsibilities.

When healthy, Duncan never really stopped being at least the co best player until around the beginning of '15 and even then, he was once more the best player in the playoffs.

I think you are undermining Kawhi a little too much. We don't sniff anything without Kawhi in 2013 or 2014. And Although Tim was the best player in the 2014 Playoffs, it was Kawhi only that could get us that 'chip.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

I think you are undermining Kawhi a little too much. We don't sniff anything without Kawhi in 2013 or 2014. And Although Tim was the best player in the 2014 Playoffs, it was Kawhi only that could get us that 'chip.

Parker was better than Duncan, though it was both Duncan and Manu who were magical in the biggest game of all (OKC game 6).

[dabom]

Parker was better than Duncan, though it was both Duncan and Manu who were magical in the biggest game of all (OKC game 6).

Parker better than Duncan? :lol

Come on dude. :lol

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Parker better than Duncan? :lol

Come on dude. :lol
2007-2014, with a few minor exceptions, yes

[dabom]

2007-2014, with a few minor exceptions, yes

We're talking about the 2014 Playoffs dude. :lol

[UNT Eagles 2016]

We're talking about the 2014 Playoffs dude. :lol

Parker was outstanding in the Dallas series, decent in the Portland series, bad in the OKC series, and pretty good in the Miami series.

[dabom]

Parker was outstanding in the Dallas series, decent in the Portland series, bad in the OKC series, and pretty good in the Miami series.

Kid I saw all the series. Porker was trash, and he wasn't better than Duncan. That's not even a vanilla mainstream fan take. :lol

[Hoops Czar]

Tim hasn't been gone a year, and people are already forgetting how good he was.

Ginobili and Parker are still playing and people have already forgotten how good they were.

[r0drig0lac]

Ginobili and Parker are still playing and people have already forgotten how good they were.

[daledondale]

Ginobili and Parker are still playing and people have already forgotten how good they were.
Yep, this.

[Hoops Czar]

Duncan is still easily better until Kawhi strings some elite playoff series' together(at the very least), but to be fair, it'll be much more difficult for Leonard to establish himself with teams like the Warriors and Cavs in the league, tbh..the 2003 Spurs played in the dark ages of the NBA, where the Nets made the Finals, and their only real challenge was a Lakers team that was burnt out from 3 consecutive runs to the Finals..

That's kind of like saying the Spurs beat a Heat team that was burnt out from winning two straight championships after three straight finals appearances in 2014, a Portland team that was severely challenged on the defensive end, had no depth and couldn't cope with prosperity after making it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in 14 years and the first time in Aldridge's career (thanks to Liliard) and an OKC team that didn't have Ibaka (Spurs killer) for the first two games of the series followed by a 30% Ibaka for the rest of the series. KD and RW were run into the ground early in that series because of OKC's lack of bench depth. One could say the 49 win eighth seeded Dallas Mavericks were the Spurs only real challenge in 2014.

See how that two-sided coin works? :lol

[UNT Eagles 2016]

That's kind of like saying the Spurs beat a Heat team that was burnt out from winning two straight championships after three straight finals appearances in 2014, a Portland team that was severely challenged on the defensive end, had no depth and couldn't cope with prosperity after making it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in 14 years and the first time in Aldridge's career (thanks to Liliard) and an OKC team that didn't have Ibaka (Spurs killer) for the first two games of the series followed by a 30% Ibaka for the rest of the series. KD and RW were run into the ground early in that series because of OKC's lack of bench depth. One could say the 49 win eighth seeded Dallas Mavericks were the Spurs only real challenge in 2014.

See how that two-sided coin works? :lol

The two sided coin works, but the Mavs were just as good as the Spurs in 2003 (60-22 tie) but the Spurs peaked at the end of the season whereas the Mavs had peaked early. The East was way down no doubt, but the West was stacked back then. The Suns were a fucking nightmare for us and had been all season despite being only 45-37 (and the 8 seed) they had Spurkiller Starbury who had made Parker his personal sex slave all year until game 5 of that series. Not to mention the Lakers were 50-32 after starting out 19-23 and riding into the playoffs on fire that year, the "burnout" had easily worn off by February 2003.

But on the flip side it wouldn't be fair to take anything away from 2014 OKC, they were every bit the very definition of elite and a true contender that year, the Spurs just... eked it out and won.

[Ice009]

Parker better than Duncan? :lol

Come on dude. :lol

As I keep saying, this guy is a troll. He'll always take shots at Tim Duncan.

[bigfan]

I wouldn't trade Leonard for any player in the NBA right now.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Duncan is still easily better until Kawhi strings some elite playoff series' together(at the very least), but to be fair, it'll be much more difficult for Leonard to establish himself with teams like the Warriors and Cavs in the league, tbh..the 2003 Spurs played in the dark ages of the NBA, where the Nets made the Finals, and their only real challenge was a Lakers team that was burnt out from 3 consecutive runs to the Finals..

I think we are in the dark age as well now. More shitty teams than ever, whereas the 2000's had the greatest western conference of all time.

The NBA is in a shitty place right now for me, it's pretty much the Warriors and everyone else.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

I think we are in the dark age as well now. More shitty teams than ever, whereas the 2000's had the greatest western conference of all time.

The NBA is in a shitty place right now for me, it's pretty much the Warriors and everyone else.

because back in the 2000s there were never more than 2 superstars on the same team. Blame the '08 Celtics for starting the trend because that was really the first time ever even if they were each a little over the hill.

[Chinook]

I wouldn't trade Leonard for any player in the NBA right now.

Not even Kawhi Leonard?

[HarlemHeat37]

I think we are in the dark age as well now. More shitty teams than ever, whereas the 2000's had the greatest western conference of all time.

The NBA is in a shitty place right now for me, it's pretty much the Warriors and everyone else.

Depends what you mean..if you're referring to parity, then yes, but that's because the Warriors have 4 stars, including 2 of the top 3 players in the league:lol it would be almost the equivalent of adding Ray Allen and Shawn Marion to the 2003 Lakers..

I was referring to the state of the league, though..2003 to 2007 were the dark days for the NBA(worst since the 70s) in terms of popularity and watch-ability..it had its worst ratings since the 70s and that era of basketball(following LA's 3-peat until the big 3 Celtics) has been forgotten by the media and fans, it's an afterthought, which is part of the reason Duncan's peak has been overshadowed..

[TD 21]

I think you are undermining Kawhi a little too much. We don't sniff anything without Kawhi in 2013 or 2014. And Although Tim was the best player in the 2014 Playoffs, it was Kawhi only that could get us that 'chip.

I think you mean underestimating, but I'm not doing either. Since it was an ensemble cast, virtually every rotation player was a key one (with the possible exception of Belinelli, they couldn't have done without any) and he was something like co second best, but because mid way through the following season he broke out and emerged as one of the ten best players in the league, there was almost instantaneous revisionist history when it came to his role.

[dabom]

I think you mean underestimating, but I'm not doing either. Since it was an ensemble cast, virtually every rotation player was a key one and he was something like co second best, but because mid way through the following season he broke out and emerged as one of the ten best players in the league, there was almost instantaneous revisionist history when it came to his role.

Except I don't. I remember debating it right after we won. This isn't revisionist history. I have an excellent mind for these things.

[Spurtacular]

OP is a smart guy. I'm not even sure where I stand on this one. :wow

With your hands holding your ankles and your ass up awaiting a schlonging from Kawhi.