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This was never posted before
https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...icle-1.2712196
Tim Duncan is a noted recluse who hilariously didn't show up to his own retirement press conference a couple days ago, who rarely opened up any aspects of personal life to the media.
Apparently that wasn't always the case.
The greatest power forward of all-time conducted a rather entertaining interview with Dan Patrick after Duncan's rookie season in 1998, which revealed how the Big Fundamental (who preferred to be called Merlin) found Michael Jordan to be both unlikable and unimpressive, and Stephon Marbury to be "the bomb." It's good stuff. Here are the highlights of the Q&A lifted from Patrick's book published in 2000 called "Outtakes":
Dan Patrick: What's your nickname?
Tim Duncan: The only nickname I've ever had is Merlin, like the magician. I don't know why.
Patrick: You don't know why you're called Merlin?
Duncan: I kinda know. I was a big Magic Johnson fan. And I guess people who knew that gave a name that. …
Patrick: Respect?
Duncan: In that vein. I tried to play like him.
Patrick: What opponent taught you the most last year?
Duncan: Karl Malone used a lot of veteran stuff that I thought was cool. Charles Barkley taught me a lot when I played against him. How he would use his body or use his dribble to get people in there and all that stuff. Veteran moves.
Patrick: Did you ever feel helpless at all last year?
Duncan: The first time I played against Seattle was the only time I felt destroyed. Vin Baker just manhandled me. The whole thing, their double teams, their movement, everything. I must've had eight turnovers. Which isn't a big deal for me because I turn the ball over a lot.
Patrick: How did you start your knife collection?
Duncan: I have always liked knives. Then somebody gave me one. Then somebody gave me another one. Then I liked having them and started buying them. I started finding ones I liked, ones with funky blades.
Patrick: Free association, favorite show?
Duncan: Seinfeld
Patrick: Favorite singers?
Duncan: Don't have one. I like R&B. I listen to music, not singers.
Patrick: Favorite celebrity.
Duncan: You all (at ESPN). After David Robinson, it's you all.
Patrick: That's it. You met Jordan?
Duncan: But Jordan's Jordan. I've always respected him but I've never been a fan of his.
Patrick: Why aren't you a fan of Jordan's?
Duncan: Because everybody else is.
Patrick: Oh, so you don't like Michael Jordan because everybody else does.
Duncan: No, I don't like Michael Jordan because I don't like Michael Jordan. You got me wrong there. I respect Michael Jordan.
Patrick: You respect him. You just don't like him?
Duncan: I'm just somebody that isn't that impressed by him. There really isn't anybody in the world I'm impressed with.
Patrick: Give me three young guys you love watching play?
Duncan: Abdur-Rahim and Stephon Marbury.
Patrick: I love Stephon Marbury.
Duncan: Stephon Marbury is the bomb. He is going to be so good. And let's see. I think Kevin Garnett is going to be really good at some point. But I think the whole. …KG and Kobe are going to be the guys.
Patrick: Do you have to win a le to validate how good you are?
Duncan: Me, I would feel incomplete without it.
Last edited by JohnnyMax; 05-26-2021 at 03:07 PM.
This was never posted before
I'm benching Tim on my All Time team
Tim seems like the kind of guy who would have a knife collection.
Marbury
That's not even a diss though he said he didn't like jordan but he respected him.
And he has said it on camera as well in his rookie year. Which was a pretty bold thing to say as big as MJ was at the time. Not disrespectful, just bold.
It totally makes sense though. If you idolized Magic Johnson for his style of play and demeanor on the court, Jordan was pretty much the an hesis of that.
Duncan is more in the Magic vein - calm/cool, unselfish, loved by his teammates, does whatever the team needs to win (not just scoring).
They even had similar career stats of 19/11 (points/rebounds for Tim, points/assists for Magic)
Last edited by Arcadian; 05-26-2021 at 08:17 PM.
Yeah Timmy tried to emulate Magic in college tooIt totally makes sense though. If you idolized Magic Johnson for his style of play and demeanor on the court, Jordan was pretty much the an hesis of that.
Duncan is more in the Magic vein - calm/cool, unselfish, loved by his teammates, does whatever the team needs to win (not just scoring).
They even had similar career stats of 19/11 (points/rebounds for Tim, points/assists for Magic)
https://media.tenor.com/images/2a791...0368/tenor.gif
Magic is also a big fan of Timmy
When Disney was working on a joint Finals/Spiderman pre-game promo with Magic, Tom Holland and Jon Favreau. Earvin asked them to add Timmy, which they did
Gays like other gays, tbhYeah Timmy tried to emulate Magic in college too
https://media.tenor.com/images/2a791...0368/tenor.gif
Magic is also a big fan of Timmy
When Disney was working on a joint Finals/Spiderman pre-game promo with Magic, Tom Holland and Jon Favreau. Earvin asked them to add Timmy, which they did
Remember this is in 1998. 1 season removed from battling the Tar Heels for 4 seasons.
Duncan finished 5-6 against UNC, with 3 going into OT
Last edited by FrostKing; 05-27-2021 at 02:02 AM.
Tim is not gay
He’s just a cuck
Just watch Tim's reaction to Jordan's HOF speech to see how he feels about Jordan's "me me me" style. In Jordan's day, Jordan was just a player. A damn good one, but not the god he's become since. Now it seems you cannot find a single flaw in him from people who weren't even alive then.
I never liked jordan. Even as a kid when my mom would watch UNC games. (I was and still is a Georgetown fan). I just never got the obsession with him by people. Mfers camping out for his overpriced shoes, calling him the goat acting like his teammates were trash(though they only lost 2 more games in his first retirement), and the constant dikriding by ESPN and sports media. is disgusting.
and you got people who weren't even ing born when he was playing will argue with you about they've "heard" against things you've witnessed live..Just watch Tim's reaction to Jordan's HOF speech to see how he feels about Jordan's "me me me" style. In Jordan's day, Jordan was just a player. A damn good one, but not the god he's become since. Now it seems you cannot find a single flaw in him from people who weren't even alive then.
Jordan is the epitome of me me me, me too (referencing Agent Smith in Matrix 2 lol)
From his style of play, his vindicative personality, his HOF speech to his cherry picked moments in the Last Dance........
Look, the guy was talented, athletic , and he was compe ive and worked hard on his game, but let's face it his style of play didn't have a major positive impact on his team; yes I know those early Bulls teams weren't very talented but you put Lebron, Magic or Bird and they automatically improve that team. I'm not saying they win a le in Chicago with tle likes of Quintin Dailey, Sidney Green, Dave Corzine or Kyle Macy, but they would have won more games that's for sure
Then Krause, the man who passed away and who was belittled by Jordan in TLD, built the ideal team around Jordan and got him the perfect ego manager in Phil and then Stern decided ti protect Jordan at all costs and the NBA got diluted because of expansion and you have the ideal situation for Jordan.
Add all the marketing around him and the weak ass SG's he was facing , left on an island because there was no Zone D at the time, and you have a picture of the perfect GOAT, but this picture is really flawed
That pisses me off
Sure you will find old heads who watched him play and are still convinced he'S the GOAT and the 90s were the best era and stuff........... and that's OK....they are wrong but nostalgia is a human feeling
After all, DR J doesn't have Magic, Bird and Jordan in his all time starting 5, because that 5 includes players he grew up watching and idolizing and he admitted there was an emotional component to his choice
Conversely you will occasionally find old heads who witnessed that era and will think the game is better today and say Jordan wasn't all that
But yeah those younger fans who act like they saw MJ play and called badass GOAT super tough etc piss me off, they must be really brainwashed
Last edited by lefty; 05-27-2021 at 03:39 PM.
Agreed
TBH , the only time the Bulls were fun to watch was in 93-94 season without MJ, more ball sharing, underdog status (status that was not justified because that team was good but as you said they gave Jordan God like status), better defense - yes better defense without so called DPOY Jordan.
That season was also the best 90s season to watch overall, no MJ riding by NBC and ESPN so other great players got talked about more
I don't think him being GOAT is debatable. Him being perfect is just bull though. I was never a Chicago Bulls fan, liked the Cubs but never the Bulls. I was a Magic Johnson fan (hated the boring ass Celtics and those lanky, weird looking MFers like Chief and McHale who would just stand under the basket for layups).Jordan is the epitome of me me me, me too (referencing Agent Smith in Matrix 2 lol)
From his style of play, his vindicative personality, his HOF speech to his cherry picked moments in the Last Dance........
Look, the guy was talented, athletic , and he was compe ive and worked hard on his game, but let's face it his style of play didn't have a major positive impact on his team; yes I know those early Bulls teams weren't very talented but you put Lebron, Magic or Bird and they automatically improve that team. I'm not saying they win a le in Chicago with tle likes of Quintin Dailey, Sidney Green, Dave Corzine or Kyle Macy, but they would have won more games that's for sure
Then Krause, the man who passed away and who was belittled by Jordan in TLD, built the ideal team around Jordan and got him the perfect ego manager in Phil and then Stern decided ti protect Jordan at all costs and the NBA got diluted because of expansion and you have the ideal situation for Jordan.
Add all the marketing around him and the weak ass SG's he was facing , left on an island because there was no Zone D at the time, and you have a picture of the perfect GOAT, but this picture is really flawed
That pisses me off
Sure you will find old heads who watched him play and are still convinced he'S the GOAT and the 90s were the best era and stuff........... and that's OK....they are wrong but nostalgia is a human feeling
After all, DR J doesn't have Magic, Bird and Jordan in his all time starting 5, because that 5 includes players he grew up watching and idolizing and he admitted there was an emotional component to his choice
Conversely you will occasionally find old heads who witnessed that era and will think the game is better today and say Jordan wasn't all that
But yeah those younger fans who act like they saw MJ play and called badass GOAT super tough etc piss me off, they must be really brainwashed
Honestly MJ being the GOAT is debatable tbh
As for the Celtics bigs, Chief was standing there but not McHale, he had great footwork and pump fakes and had to work for his baskets (except when Bird did all the work to find him lol)
It's not debatable. Lebron is great, but Jordan never had a team full of 1st overall picks. He didn't team up with Bird and Magic to win a 3peat. He didn't quit the Bulls and go to the Lakers and recruit Hakeem.
Jordan was trying to recruit players before Jerry Krause arrived
Scottie Pippen turned out to be one of the top 50 players of all times and one of the best SF and defenders ever, he was also the Bulls best individual and team defenders and their playmaker and 2nd scorer. That’s huge.
Kukoc was at the time the best European player and the best 6th man in the NBA, he was also versatile, a left handed matchup nightmare and one of the most clutch shooters in the league.
Rodman was the beat rebounder and one of the best defenders in the league
James carried a sorry ass Cavs team to the Finals in 2007 , Jordan would have been swept in the 1st round with that roster
Despite that, their FO did nothing to improve the team, did you really expect Lebron to stick around and not win a ring?
Especially with the Celtics forming a big 3 (but Lebron did it first lol) he was never going to win the East with that Cavs team
I don’t know what universe you live in
Jordan would have teamed up if he could have before Krause saved his bald ass, it wasn’t easy to move like that back then with the CBA and contract structures. Jordan constantly and publicly threw the FO under the bus before Krause came along
Also, Lebron’s finals opponents >>>>>> MJ’s Finals opponents
Lebron is clearly the better basketball player, fast, bigger, stronger, better passer, can score with the best of them, can guard multiple positions, better 3 pt shooter, he would have destroyed Jordan if he played in the 90s
Gay and a cuck then, amy wouldn't leave him for just the latter
Dirk stayed until he got one. Even took paycuts so the front office to get better players. Duncan probably would have done the same in a similar situation. Lebron is just wired differently.Jordan was trying to recruit players before Jerry Krause arrived
Scottie Pippen turned out to be one of the top 50 players of all times and one of the best SF and defenders ever, he was also the Bulls best individual and team defenders and their playmaker and 2nd scorer. That’s huge.
Kukoc was at the time the best European player and the best 6th man in the NBA, he was also versatile, a left handed matchup nightmare and one of the most clutch shooters in the league.
Rodman was the beat rebounder and one of the best defenders in the league
James carried a sorry ass Cavs team to the Finals in 2007 , Jordan would have been swept in the 1st round with that roster
Despite that, their FO did nothing to improve the team, did you really expect Lebron to stick around and not win a ring?
Especially with the Celtics forming a big 3 (but Lebron did it first lol) he was never going to win the East with that Cavs team
I don’t know what universe you live in
Jordan would have teamed up if he could have before Krause saved his bald ass, it wasn’t easy to move like that back then with the CBA and contract structures. Jordan constantly and publicly threw the FO under the bus before Krause came along
Also, Lebron’s finals opponents >>>>>> MJ’s Finals opponents
Lebron is clearly the better basketball player, fast, bigger, stronger, better passer, can score with the best of them, can guard multiple positions, better 3 pt shooter, he would have destroyed Jordan if he played in the 90s
Is there anyone with better footwork than Mchale? Hakeem, maybe. He's on a short list.
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