Defensively, is Drob > TD?

[Spurodamus]

Yes.

[Brutalis]

Tim is realy very very good defender but Dave is one of the greatest.
Most people saying that Hakeem was better I'm not so sure.

ps. dave defended Shaq?
no one could (maybe some discussion?)

In the 90s DRob won more battles than he lost vrs Shaq.

[Horry For 3!]

David is for sure the better defensive player than Tim.

[timvp]

Robinson was the better defender and the better scorer, but Duncan will go down as the better player.

[DieMrBond]

David was obviously a superior defender... no question.

I wonder though, if when TD came into the league, and he had deferred to Robinson instead of the other way around, would we be having this argument of who was better still?

(I know that it was better for the team, but what if Robinson wasnt who he was, was stubborn and hadnt deferred?)

[TDfan2007]

DROB was by far the better defender.

Tim is better offensively than DROB was though and is the better player overall.

[Nikos]

your kidding right.

drob avg. 4.5 bpg on year...who the can do that anymore?

Hakeem Olajuwon was basically the only player in recent NBA history who could do it.

[DieMrBond]

Tim is better offensively than DROB was though and is the better player overall.

I dunno about better offensively... he has more moves thats for sure... but you cant discount the scoring prowess of one Mr Robinson - who just happened to score a career high 71 points, remember? Tims is 'only' 53...

[DieMrBond]

I wasnt saying that Robinson was better than Tim offensively, i was just saying he wasnt a slouch himself! I (for the record) think DRob did the right think in letting Tim 'be the man' - he is the better player.

[MI21]

Also, David had to defend players such as Shaq, Olajuwon, Ewing, Mourning etc. The 2nd/3rd tier Centers back when Dave was playing, would be 1st tier bigmen now.

[SenorSpur]

This is so true, but sadly nobody will remember or bring it up. Everybody will just say Hakeem owned Drob, but if Hill would've doubled like they were doubling Dave it would've been a different story and of course if Rodman would of gone out and guarded Horry, or if Elliot would've hit his freethrows...all of this doesn't matter, because the Spurs would've won the series.

Not a tough call at all, DROB hands down. I've mentioned it a couple of times, you put a prime Drob on this team and nobody scores on them.

Drob was the superior defensive player. His athleticism and shot blocking skills were unmatched at the position since the days of Bill Russell. Of course, he could beat any player up and down the court. While his offensive game and was not as fundamental as Duncan nor could he dictate the flow of a game as well as TD, however he made up for it with sheer athletic brillance.

Remember DRob's resume includes:
- Defensive Player of the Year
- League MVP
- NBA Scoring Champion
- One of only two players in league history to ever record a quadruple-double (Alvin Robertson being the other)
- 2-time NBA champion

Having said that, Tim will go down in history as the better overall player.

I also believe the Spurs waisted much of DRob's early days, by not surrounding him and Sean with comparable talent and role players - specifically a talented power forward. Both Terry mings and Rodman were a nice fit, but bad from a chemistry standpoint.

One particular move that comes to mind is how how they traded away Rod Strickland for Vinny Del Negro - thinking he would be a comparable PG.

[DieMrBond]

Actually, its 4 quadruple doubles... not 2.

In NBA history, there have been only four recorded quadruple-double performances. (There have been no quintuple-double performances.) They are:

* Nate Thurmond, October 18, 1974, Chicago vs. Atlanta; 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists, 12 blocks
* Alvin Robertson, February 18, 1986, San Antonio vs. Phoenix; 20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals
* Hakeem Olajuwon, March 29, 1990, Houston vs. Milwaukee; 18 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, 11 blocks
* David Robinson, February 17, 1994, San Antonio vs. Detroit; 35 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 blocks