Even if Duncan is likely a better player than Robinson, I'm not sure that he is the better Spur.
Duncan nearly left SA in 2000, that is to say only 3 years after coming in NBA.
He stayed because Spurs won in 99 and because DRob came back from Hawaii to talk with him.
I still will wait a little before voting to hear people arguments but I think I will vote for Robinson.
For me it was Robinson or Duncan.
Whottt made a great post about 50 that made me think more but since I'm a Spurs fan since 94 I didn't see the beggining of Robinson. I read all the great stuff he did early in his carrer but didn't follow it.
I chose TD because I saw his entire carrer and for me he's fantastic. The best PF ever and the main guy for our championships
I know we have a lot of fans who came aboard during this Duncan/Pop dynasty - and what a run it has been. I just wish more fans took the time to study and learn more about the history of this proud franchise. The all-star caliber players that came through here from both the ABA and early NBA days.
From the backcourt brilliance of James Silas, the prolific scoring prowess and feathery touch of Hall-of-Famer, George Gervin, the rebounding and gazelle-like, fast-breaking grace of Larry Kenon, the power and force in the paint, that was Artis Gilmore, the shotblocking tenacity of George Johnson, the guile and grit of the original 6th man, George Karl (yes - that George Karl), and the intense, on-the-ball, defensive tenacity of Alvin Robertson (the Bruce Bowen of his day). Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to the Bruise Brothers (Mark Olberding, Paul Griffin, Dave Corzine, Reggie Johnson, Kevin Restani). http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblog...ory_the_1.html
There have been a stream of fantastic players that came through here. Some went on to formidable careers, others were simply role players who made their mark during a brief tenure. It should be known that the Spurs were perennial playoff contenders during the latter seasons of their ABA days. Following the ABA/NBA merger, this success carried over into their early NBA days of the late '70s, when they very nearly, and should have, advanced to the NBA Finals in '79.
If ever watch NBATV, you know that we all get bombarded by constant offseason coverage on the history of franchises like the Celtics, Fakers, Pistons, and Bulls. As if those have been the only successful franchises in NBA history. Don't believe the hype. This franchise has had a very unique and storied history, in it's own right. One that I would rank just behind Celtics and Fakers. There were many, many disappointments along the way, but there was a lot of excitement, as well. Now we there are multiple les to add to that history.
Everyone should absolutely enjoy and appreciate this era of Spurs basketball. It's been the best and most successful, by far. However, do know that the Spurs history just didn't start with the Duncan/Pop era. Every true Spurs fan would be better served knowing more about it.
If interested, find out more about our franchise history by way of the following:
http://www.nba.com/spurs/history/spurs_history.html
http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba...nio/spurs.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_Spurs
After all, it's still another 2 1/2 months before the season begins.
Duncan, if it weren't for him, no championships
While Duncan is the best, there is no question Robinson is the most influential. He is the one who turned the Spurs from an offensive team into a much more defensive oriented team.
He also kept the Spurs in San Antonio, and kept the team afloat during the 90s.
Another thing is, even though we will never be sure whether Duncan will leave or not in '00, but the fact is that Robinson came back from a vacation at Hawaii to talk to the guy and convince him to stay.
Voted D-Rob
DRob baby....but I will not be upset if Timmy gets #1.
I am a bit upset that Manu has 2 votes and Ice has 0.
Our top 3 players in franchise history are Robinson, Duncan, and Ice.......hands down, no ifs, ands, or buts. These are the only 3 Spurs that deserve any votes for the top spot.....Pop doesnt even deserve a vote. the fact that this poll has more than those 3 is a farce.
Instead of wasting our time and opening this debate up for trolls to go crazy....you should have made the poll with three names....Gervin, Robinson, Duncan.
Then when we vote for number two.....it would be the two players who didnt win the #1 spot......this would eventually get us our top 3 based on fan votes......
After this, we can start including all the other names for 4-50.
I voted for David because if it were not for his hard work, character, and dedication early on and throughout his whole career we would not be the team we are today.
Also, since David was the one to mentor Timmy, I gave David the number one slot over Timmy.
That was the tie breaker for me.
I agree that TD is #1 but I put my vote in for Angelo Drossos. I know TD will win and that is fine but mine is more a sentimental gesture. As an old school Spurs fan, I owe it to Mr. Drossos for spearheading the effort to bring the Spurs here.
Robinson.
He still is the heart and soul of the Spurs. Without Robinson there is no Duncan. The man deserves this honor.
Is he? I think it's difficult to conclude that. A few key stats regarding DRob's place in NBA history:
-Won the scoring le, rebounding le, and blocked shots le during his career. The only other player in NBA history to do that is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
-Only player in NBA history to be named to the All-NBA team and All-Defensive team each of his first seven seasons.
-One of the 50 Greatest Players of all-time.
We know about the many awards David won (MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, etc.). We are aware that he is the US Olympic Team's all-time leader in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots. Most of us know that he won the IBM Award five times. Those things are all outstanding and should not be ignored. But what sets him apart in my mind is that he often did more with less.
Many people will vote for Duncan because of the four championships, or perhaps because they are young and became Spurs fans only after Duncan became a Spur. But anyone who watched our team during the 1990's knows that we were among the NBA's best teams despite having less talent than most of the other contenders. Think about it:
-Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, and a nice cast of role players to help him look good.
-Hakeem Olajuwon had Clyde Drexler, Otis Thorpe, Sam Cassell, Robert Horry, etc.
-Karl Malone had John Stockton, Byron Russell, etc.
-Charles Barkley had Kevin Johnson, Cedric Ceballos, etc.
-David Robinson had Sean Elliott - as well as Vinny Del Negro, Negele Knight, Charles Smith, and a volatile Dennis Rodman.
See the disconnect there? Not only that, but DRob was the victim of some horrible coaches like Jerry Tarkanian and Bob Hill. John Lucas was okay but hardly considered a good coach. An argument could be made that all three of those coaches were unprepared to be NBA coaches.
Contrast this with Tim Duncan's situation. He had David Robinson, one of the best big men to ever play the game. Give David someone like that, and we would've won multiple les in the 1990's. But Tim has also had Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and some outstanding role players - not to mention Gregg Popovich as his coach. I'm not taking anything away from Tim because he is an outstanding player. But there is no arguing that Tim has had a much better situation than DRob ever had. It's not even close.
The real question is, would Tim have done what David did - which is amazing by any standard - if his supporting cast and coaching staff were as subpar as David's usually were? I don't think he would've. And that is the main reason why I voted for David.
Oh yeah, and as a bonus he also did a thing or two for the city of San Antonio and was a decent representative for our team.
Agreed...and while I believe Tim Duncan is the best player the Spurs have ever had, David Robinson is the top Spur, the embodiment of what the franchise stands for.
The standard that exists, the "culture" and way the organization conducts itself in all facets in my opinion is a reflection of David Robinson. As a team leader, the face of the franchise, you just couldn't have a better representative...First class citizen, outstanding professional on and off the floor...this organization would not be what it is today if it were not for Drob.
Honestly, it's an easy pick.
What does it mean being a spur?
I mean really?
Is it about who made the franchise?
Who kept it alive?
Who made them (organization) famous?
Who was the organization?
All said, I think the guy who really brought Spurs into a real deal contender was Tim. When Dave was here they were contenders but I don't think the other teams were so afraid of them knowing Dave can be broke down psychologically.
The only team with Dave that had real chance of making history achieving first LOBTrophywas 1996 and we know what happened.
Tims play not only was great but he made spurs the most winningest franchise in history of pro sports. He made the spurs the team which is respectable right now. It was not that way during Dave era.
It is tough to decide but I had to go with Big Dave.
First of all, it is not out of line to say that if not for Dave the Spurs might have moved to some other city during the early 90's.
Second, Dave has won just about every indivisual award a player could attain in his career.
Led the league in Scoring!!
League MVP!!
Defensive Player of the Year!!!
Rookie of the Year!!!
3 time Olympic Medalist!!!
On the 50 Greatest Players of all time!!!he man scored 71 pts in a game!!!!
He had a quadruple double!!!
Finally my main reason for going with D. Rob is that as much as we love the Spurs; look at the players that surrounded Dave before the Duncan era compared to the team that surrounds Timmy.
Dave's teams averaged 50+ wins a season mainly because of him alone.
If Dave had a Tony, a Manu, a Bowen and the like around him we would not have had to wait til T.D. showed up to win it all.
There were and are Great players on the Spurs team but if i have to single down to one guy then that man is the Admiral.
ok all this love in the comments for the admiral but he is trailing big time on the poll
I'm voting for Tim..
I feel like David Robinson is probably the most underrated superstar in NBA history..a top 15 player of all-time that gets taken for granted..he's also one of the top defenders in NBA history, one of the few guys that I would rank AHEAD of Tim..but I rank Duncan ahead of him because of the post-season..I feel like Duncan is a more reliable player in the playoffs and is much less likely to choke in the playoffs..while I think The Admiral's playoff "chokes" are very exaggerated, he still had a number of them..Tim hasn't had many to talk about, and usually elevates his game to a much higher level in the playoffs..
One more vote for David Robinson
Ok, now history is history but imagine Tim being before Admiral in San Antonio, wouldnt he set the tone for the franchise?
Well how far his charisma is from giving the franchise what Dave gave?
We would talk about Tim, how great example he was for the rest especially for Dave who then lead the team to next sucesses.
Tim Duncan is number 1.
DROB is number 2.
Thanks to all who are taking the time to educate the board on the history of our team. It's great stuff and your efforts are appreciated.
(Special thanks to timvp for asking us to post why we made our choices. The result is wonderful.)
polandprzem in number 3
Is it choking when DRob was the option and all opponents had to do was double, triple, and even quatruple team him to slow him down and render the Spurs ineffective? Is it David's fault that he put up his, but his teammates disappeared in the postseason?
Put David on this current Spurs team, instead of Duncan, and I firmly believe the Spurs are still as dominant, if not more.
But if we go by sheer accolades and success, Duncan would have to be 1, David 2, and Gervin 3. And although, I would list David as my number 1......for the overall unbiased list....I think the Duncan, Robinson, Gervin listing fits perfectly. Quite frankly, I am just ecstatic that we, as Spurs fans, have gotten the honor to enjoy the careers of all 3 great players.
GO SPURS GO
Gervin and Robinson may have ensured that the San Antonio Spurs stayed in the League, but Duncan brought them to greatness. It was like the switch turned on as soon as we dropped that lottery ball. Without Duncan, Robinson may never get any ring, and we may not even have A le, and therefore wouldn't even have much fuel for a Top 50 debate.
Not to mention that as a player, Duncan's professionalism, pride, and humility are unsurpassed. He has made countless contributions and sacrifices for this team, and is still well in the middle of carving out his legacy. You can't ask much more from a player than Tim Duncan gives each and every day.
Give Robinson-Gervin the 2-3 spot, but Duncan stands alone at #1.
Ok Ok Ok.....i have sifted through all of these arguments.....and I have made my top 20.....I was ignoring non players before, but now I have included them, along with activities beyond the court.
1. Drossos
2. Robinson
3. Pop
4. Duncan
5. Gervin
7. McCombs
8. Manu
9. Bass
10. Elliott
11. Robertson
12. Parker
13. Silas
14. Kenon
15. Bowen
16. mings
17. Gilmore
18. Mitc
19. Avery
20. Willie Anderson
Bold = Nonplayers
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