Smart old Spurs fans...How was Duncan's case for MVP in 99?

[apalisoc_9]

.....

[barbacoataco]

I think he was just a little too new. After the playoffs it was obvious he could have been MVP. Maybe the presence of DRob and the twin towers thing made some voters question if he was benefitting from that. That was a weird season anyway because of the lockout and the shortened schedule.

I sometimes wonder how great Duncan would have been from 1999- on if he hadn't injured his Knee in 2000 and had the surgery. It took him till 2002 to get back to his 1999 form, and he never fully regained his athleticism.

[Chinook]

Duncan got MVP votes as a rookie in 1997-1998. So yeah, he was on the map already.

[Drom John]

Three man race:

Karl Malone won (44 1st place votes).
Jazz tied Spurs for best record.
Malone had best WS.
Robinson was better than Stockton.
Malone was the best choice.

Alonzo Mourning came in second (36 first place votes)
Heat tied for best record in the East.
Hardaway a distant second best player.
Rational Defensive Player of the Year, best wow stats.
6th in WS.
Wasn't a 2nd year player.
I'd prefer Duncan.

Duncan came in third (30 first place votes)
Spurs tied for best record.
Robinson was a great #2
3rd in WS.
1st in Defensive WS (but Robinson was 1st in DRating). WS and DRating weren't around then.

Shaquille O'Neal was sixth (1 first place vote)
Lakers merely very good.
While O'Neal was to Bryant as Mourning was to Hardaway, Kobe was considered the Lakers best player.
2nd in WS.

Iverson (4th, 5 firsts) and Kidd (5th, 2 firsts) were worthy of 4th and 5th, particularly if you discount Robinson for being second best on his team.

[BatManu20]

Duncan finishing 2nd in 2001 was more compelling imo, especially since the Spurs finished with a better record than the Sixers that year. And AI only shot 42% that season too, the worst % ever for an MVP winner. But he still had a great season and , more importantly, had a pretty poor supporting cast, and still led his team to 56 wins, which heavily factored into the decision. He was also such a fan favorite across the league that there was no way he wasn't going to win it tbh, although Timmy had a legitimate case for it imo.

[Seventyniner]

Duncan also made first team All-NBA as a rookie.

[BatManu20]

I vividly remember though, during the '99 Finals during either Game 1 or 2, Doug Collins saying that he thought Tim Duncan was the best player in the league when asked by Bob Costas. It was the first year post-MJ and the le for best player was up for grabs, and even though Malone won MVP that season, many believed Duncan was already the best player in the league, especially since he was so much better defensively than Malone. Doug Collins was pretty adamant about it.

[Brazil]

Duncan had a strong case tbh... but as mentionned he was playing with Robinson who had a pretty solid season and was still very young.
I don't remember exactly how things turned out but Shaq sould have won. They gave it to Malone because I suppose Jazz had a better RS than Lakers

[Brazil]

Forgot about Mourning tbh... Lakers had a very pedestrian RS

[BillMc]

This sort of begs the question; Who was the best NBA rookie of all time? Tim had to be up there. My hunch is Wilt who won MVP his rookie year. He averaged 37.6 and 27 both records at the time and in fact broke the season scoring record after a mere 56 games into the season.

You can make a case for Magic who brought home the le as a rookie pg playing center in the deciding game, but Bird won ROY that year. Russell also won a le as a rookie.

[TXstbobcat]

This sort of begs the question; Who was the best NBA rookie of all time? Tim had to be up there. My hunch is Wilt who won MVP his rookie year. He averaged 37.6 and 27 both records at the time and in fact broke the season scoring record after a mere 56 games into the season.

You can make a case for Magic who brought home the le as a rookie pg playing center in the deciding game, but Bird won ROY that year. Russell also won a le as a rookie.

(These three were before my time so I never got to see them play)
Oscar Robertson was close to averaging a triple double his 1st year.
Wilt had incredible stats his 1st year.
Elvin Hayes won MVP his rookie year.

Shaq, magic, Timmy, the Admiral, and Jordan all had really great rookie seasons.

[Jdspur20]

The MVP voting was already in Malone's favor in 99. But yes Tim had the better year. The press just favored Malone more at the time

[Brazil]

oh and the Jazz, Malone and the white PG

[Thomas82]

The MVP voting was already in Malone's favor in 99. But yes Tim had the better year. The press just favored Malone more at the time

I remember the voters turning their ballots in early that year, only for TD to outplay Malone twice after that.

[Jdspur20]

I remember the voters turning their ballots in early that year, only for TD to outplay Malone twice after that.

Exactly.

[baseline bum]

The case was airtight but because of the lockout a bunch of heads in the media sent their MVP vote in before the season was over. Literally like a day or two before Duncan sonned Malone on NBC to take the tiebreaker from Utah for the #1 seed. The media anointed Malone MVP from the start of the season though just like they did with Iverson over Shaq in 2001.

[wildbill2u]

Coulda/Shoulda doesn't matter. Tim had a great season but perhaps voters were more into honoring vets back then. Like Kwahi, he was a great two way player in his heyday.

[daslicer]

I was in hschool at the time and remember vividly why Tim didn't get it. The media felt that Tim despite being better then Malone was too young to get the award and that he had to pay his dues before he could get it. It was a bunch of bs. Factor in that years later Derrick Rose would win the MVP at the age of 22 while Duncan was 23 at that time.

[BillMc]

I was in hschool at the time and remember vividly why Tim didn't get it. The media felt that Tim despite being better then Malone was too young to get the award and that he had to pay his dues before he could get it. It was a bunch of bs. Factor in that years later Derrick Rose would win the MVP at the age of 22 while Duncan was 23 at that time.

Rose will the only MVP nor make the HOF. Sadly, his best year WAS 22 FOR obvious reasons.

[Play Boban]

There are no smart Spurs fans.

[GSH]

Three man race:

Nice.
I didn't know if anyone was going to remember that Tim wasn't even second that year. Mourning had a good year, and he had a load of blocks, which is almost the sole measure of defense for most people.

Duncan suffered from being young/new, and the fact that he was playing beside Robinson. It gave people who wanted to vote for Mourning an excuse, by giving some credit for Tim's numbers to being on a team with a Top 50 all time player. Tim wasn't as good at passing out of the double team. He was good, but not as good as he became.

Malone had win the MVP in '97. He finished second to Jordan in '98. So he was much more than "on the map". He's another Top 50 all time player, and those three years were his absolute peak. While Tim might have been deserving, you can't argue with the idea that Malone was deserving. Mourning? If he had been in the Western Conference he would have been very good - but he wouldn't have piled up those numbers.

[Thomas82]

Rose will the only MVP nor make the HOF. Sadly, his best year WAS 22 FOR obvious reasons.

+1

[Thomas82]

Duncan finishing 2nd in 2001 was more compelling imo, especially since the Spurs finished with a better record than the Sixers that year. And AI only shot 42% that season too, the worst % ever for an MVP winner. But he still had a great season and , more importantly, had a pretty poor supporting cast, and still led his team to 56 wins, which heavily factored into the decision. He was also such a fan favorite across the league that there was no way he wasn't going to win it tbh, although Timmy had a legitimate case for it imo.

Also that year, TD got off to a slow start because he was still recovering from knee surgery in the offseason. He was late in having the surgery because of his visit with Orlando.

[Prose]

I think he was just a little too new. After the playoffs it was obvious he could have been MVP. Maybe the presence of DRob and the twin towers thing made some voters question if he was benefitting from that. That was a weird season anyway because of the lockout and the shortened schedule.

I sometimes wonder how great Duncan would have been from 1999- on if he hadn't injured his Knee in 2000 and had the surgery. It took him till 2002 to get back to his 1999 form, and he never fully regained his athleticism.

great post buddy

[YGWHI]

A nice thread and better posts. Thanks!