The league has had several players dominate in different decades. Just like Magic Johnson in the 80s, and Michael Jordan in the 90s, the 2010s are considered to be the era of the late, great Kobe Bryant. However, Norris Cole recently gave his hot take on the Kobe era, making a tall claim that Tim Duncan was at his absolute best at that time.
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During his recent appearance on ‘Tidal League‘, Cole talked about why Duncan should be respected as one of the GOATs. He said that the Spurs legend successfully led his career when the Lakers legend was ruling the league. Cole faced Duncan in the NBA Finals, twice in 2013 and 2014, so, he knows what it was like going against the five-time NBA champion. He said,
“This was past his prime and he still averaged like 19 and 11 that series. He could have won the Finals MVP just as much as Kawhi.”
Cole said that the 47-year-old went toe to toe against Kobe and Shaquille O’Neal, repeatedly, and managed to win several games. For him, these aspects of Duncan’s career make him a contender for the GOAT conversation. He said,
“Tim Duncan is one of the GOATs. I know people love the Kobe era, but Tim Duncan had a lot to say in that era.”
Although Cole’s claim seems to be valid, what he failed to note was that Duncan had more support by his side than Kobe did. One of the reasons why Kobe’s legacy is respected so much is because he didn’t need a super trio like Duncan-Ginóbili-Parker to win championships. Regardless, it is a valid claim that Duncan should be mentioned in the GOAT conversations.
Kobe Bryant vs Tim Duncan
The two veterans started and ended their respective careers around the same time. So, in their decades-long tenure, they had a lot of battles on the court. The Mamba faced Duncan 30 times in the playoffs throughout his career, in that time he averaged 28.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.3 blocks, per game.
He also shot 47.3% from the field and 73.3% from the free throw line. Duncan, on the other hand, averaged 25.2 points, 13.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.3 blocks, and 0.9 steals, per game. He also shot 47.3% from the field and 70.7% from the free throw line.
Kobe also managed a winning record against Duncan in the playoffs in the 30 games that they played with 18-12. So, there’s a lot to unpack in their respective Hall of Fame careers but trying to beat one down to get the other one up is not the right way to go about it.
