Reply With Quote
People either just tend to forget things over time or they simply are too young to have experienced them. It's that simple, especially with Spurs fans. We are a spoiled, spoiled bunch thanks to the likes of David and Tim.
Fortunately I've been able to follow the Spurs since right before David arrived, during the 2 year military service between draft day in '87 and his first game. What a time to be a Spurs fan. The buzz in San Antonio was amazing. The anticipation of Big Dave's arrival had the city excited. It's just too bad the ownership/management of the Spurs were, quite frankly, idiots at the time. They basically trashed David's prime years. It's also too bad, from the perspective of a "selfish" Spurs fan, that David spent those two years between college and the NBA finishing up his military commitment. Just look at Anthony Davis right now. He's the closest thing I've seen to David Robinson since those early 90's years. A combination of prime Amare Stoudemire and prime Dwight Howard....only more athletic. What could David have done with two more years in the NBA following college, when he was 22, 23 and 24 years old? It stands to reason that he would have been a more polished player offensively at age 24. We would have seen two more years of him with youth, athleticism and probably health. We'll never know.....
This is a fascinating thought experiment, though. How would they have done if you switched them without changing the teammates? Tim would have most definitely fit in quite nicely during the NBA's golden era of big men. The 90's were stacked with great centers and power forwards. He would have been right at the top of the list with Ewing, Orlando Magic Shaq, Hakeem, Alonzo, Karl Malone, Barkley, Mutombo and the rest of the great big men from that era. No doubt. David would have THRIVED in the NBA of the 2000's, post rule change as well. It's been an athlete's league ever since, and with the lack of quality centers? I can't imagine how crazy his career would have been. His jumper was not "serviceable", as one poster put it earlier. What a slight. David had an excellent jump shot. It was soft and had lots of arc. It was much more text book than Tim's. Another slight was his apparent lack of ability to lead an offense. While no Duncan (obviously), he LED THE LEAGUE IN SCORING one year!!! He was in the top ten in scoring almost every year during his prime. Duncan is an all time great offensive big man, but don't discount the Admiral's ability to be a first option. He was a freak of nature.
When you compare the actual Spurs teams that surrounded the two over their careers you really can't help but laugh. David's supporting cast was a joke. Plain and simple. As good as Sean ever was, he was no prime Ginobili, Parker or Kawhi. Good offensive player that had the three ball and could slash and defend, but he never had that kind of impact. The other role players on Tim's teams were a perfect fit for what they did. Horry was great, as was Kerr. Brent Barry, Michael Finley, Danny Green, Patty Mills, Stephen Jackson....the Duncan led Spurs have been pretty well built. If you subs ute big Dave into those teams, the dynamic definitely changes, but not all that much. David was a very good passer out of the post. If he had more slashers and shooters, the double and triple teams of the playoffs don't come as often. Big Dave's one on one ability was off the charts. , in '92 when the USA Basketball selection committee was making their pics....it went like this:
Michael Jordan
Magic Johnson
Larry Bird
........then David Robinson.
They picked him before Barkley. Before Malone. Before Ewing, Drexler, Pippen....all of them.
Yes, he was THAT good. Duncan will be remembered for his freakish longevity, his basketball a en and his amazing offensive set. His career is easily better than David's. This is a team game, though, and Duncan has almost always been blessed with a good to great group of teammates. Coaching? Please. We definitely don't need to go there. Take away Dave's military commitment and give him Duncan's supporting cast/coaching staff, and we'd all have a much different opinion of the Admiral.
He wins multiple championships if he was in Duncan's place all these years. Easily.
Hakeem without shooters around him?
