“Tim Duncan you can get anything else but your Bank shot”: When Kenyon Martin faced ‘The Big Fundamental’ whom he kept over Kobe Bryant in his toughest to guard list

There are several stories of how tough it was to play and defend against Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O’Neal but very rarely do we hear that about Tim Duncan. One of the best defenders in the league at the time told his side.

New Jersey Nets’ number 1 overall pick at the turn of the new century, Kenyon Martin, was a very impactful player who could guard all five positions.

The 6’9 forward looked like a little bigger Scottie Pippen minus the creativity part of the Bulls legend. The then 23-year-old made an immediate impact in his rookie season and averaged 12.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.7 blocks, and 1.1 steals per game.

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Although it didn’t help much in his team’s performance that season, the next two seasons were big. The best for the Nets franchise history as well as the future.

Behind Jason Kidd’s brilliance at the point guard position and Martin’s solid defense, stern demeanor, and consistent 15-point games, the New Jersey team made it two straight NBA Finals. Those would be the franchise’s first-ever the last Finals appearance in its 55 years of existence under different names.

But those two losses had more to do with teams who won. And those Lakers and Spurs teams had players who troubled K-Mart the most in his 15-year NBA career.

Kenyon Martin found it tougher to defend Tim Duncan than Kobe Bryant

The Los Angeles Lakers completed their 3-peat in 2002, led by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. And the ever so complacent San Antonio Spurs, led by Tim Duncan, winning it in 2003 stopped Martin and Kidd from getting the title in two straight years.

Kenyon mentioned all three of them as the toughest players he faced in his career while sitting with Gilbert Arenas on his podcast No Chill on the fubo Sports Network.

After Kobe, Martin picked Duncan as the toughest person to play against as his usual tactics against big men would never work on ‘the big fundamental’.

However, Martin was proud, not allowing Timmy to make his trademark bank shot. “The one shot I wouldn’t give to him is the bank shot. I’m like – ‘you’re not doing that to me’”

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Martin was also a starter for the Denver Nuggets teams led by Carmelo Anthony for 7-years after his 4 with the Nets. He would never be able to replicate the form and consistency with which he played in his first 5-6 years, but was still great at defense until he retired in 2015.