“Tim Duncan is playing against Alonzo Mourning, he’s 16, he’s dominating this guy”: When Duncan went toe-to-toe with Hornets All-Star as a teenager and got the better of him

Tim Duncan probably doesn’t get the credit he deserves when you measure up players all-time and rank them on the ‘GOAT’ scale, but he should.

Duncan led a Spurs team that won 5 championships and finished with  the highest win percentages of any NBA player in his career at 71% (across 19 years). Duncan’s accolades and stats land him in the conversation for one of the best NBA players ever, and he definitely has a case for the greatest power forward of all time (if he isn’t already considered to be that).

He finished his career with 29,29,496 points, ranking 15th all-time, was named to the NBA All-Defensive team 15 times, tied for the most with Kobe and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and led the Spurs to 50 win seasons in 18 of his 19 years. ‘The Big Fundamental’ never disappointed, and he was the face of the Spurs franchise throughout his career.

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Recalling when Tim Duncan bodied Alonzo Mourning as a 16 year old

During Chris King’s rookie year with the Sacramento Kings, his agent Bob Kingsley led a campaign to raise awareness for the turbulent situation in the Virgin Islands. With Mourning, the campaign had a notable star to lead the efforts. Chris King remembered that there was word going around about a 6’9″ center who had a sweet touch with the ball. That kid was Tim Duncan.

“Here comes this long, lanky kid,” King said. “He looked so young.” Duncan matched up with Mourning, and he played incredibly well against him according to King.

“You could see he was a little raw, but you could see he had the touch,” King remembers. “When I saw him doing that on the low block, it was like, ‘Wow.’ Jump hook. Fade. This one play, I’ll never forget. Alonzo tried to go up. Tim blocked the shot, and he ran the floor like a deer. Someone threw it to him, and he dunked all over Alonzo.

“He’s playing against Alonzo Mourning. He’s 16. He’s dominating this guy. He’s running the floor. He has these great hands. I was like, ‘Oh my god, this kid can play!’ ”

For Duncan to dominate against an All-Star in Mourning at just 16 years old is insane to think about. However, it also shows that Duncan was on the path to greatness right from the get-go.

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