“A 37-year-old Tim Duncan was a world champion, LeBron James is languishing at the 9th seed”: The Big Fundamental was supremely underrated when it came to longevity 

Tim Duncan was one of the best players ever – Maybe even more so than Kobe Bryant too.

When people talk about longevity, LeBron James‘ name pops up at the top. While they aren’t exactly wrong, they tend to overlook another Hall of Famer. Tim Duncan, a man who made the paparazzi yawn, is one of the players to ever do it, yet very few people talk about him.

Arguably the best power forward to ever play the game, The Big Fundamental seldom gets the recognition he deserves. Not just for his exploits on the court, but for how long he did it for. The man played 4 years of college, was on track to become an Olympic swimmer and he still managed 19 years in the league.

He retired when he was 40, and he retired on a relative high. He did not vanish into obscurity like Paul Pierce, he still did get to play solid minutes. He also won his 5th championship at the age of 37, while becoming the oldest to record a 20-20 stat line. LeBron on the other hand is scoring 30 a night, but he is most likely to not even make the first round of the playoffs. To be fair, Duncan did not have to play with Russell Westbrook.

Also Read: “Gregg Popovich brought Tim Duncan carrot cake for 20 years!”: When the Spurs coach told a wholesome story about his routine during away games with The Big Fundamental

Tim Duncan deserves to be higher up people’s list – their memories need to be rejigged

The league likes flash and pizzazz – Flash sells. Duncan was the exact opposite. He would do a rim grazer on an open fast break and wouldn’t care. He would quietly give you hell while looking like he was ready to go home and drink tea. That whole Spurs dynasty was something of a calm outfit – they played Basketball the way James Naismith intended it to be played.

Kawhi Leonard sure had a good mentor at the start of his career, and a phenomenal coach too. Not everyone is made for the bright lights of New York or the sunny beaches of California. Maybe the woods of San Antonio aren’t bad either, and with a player like Tim at the helm, it becomes a better choice.

5 championships, top 15 points scored, top 5 in blocks should put the man in conversations involving Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Hopefully, when young kids look for who the best fundamentally sound basketball player is, Tim’s name pops up. That’s a joke, kids these days are going to search for “How to shoot like Steph Curry” aren’t they?

Also Read: “LeBron James only lost one game in his High School career!”: The tale of the underdogs who handed LeBron James his only loss in St. Vincent-St. Mary High School