Is Gilbert Arenas Right in Stating That Tim Duncan Is the Greatest Power Forward of All Time?

Former NBA players may have retired from professional basketball, but many of them still continue to keep tabs on the latest happenings around the league. Many of them, including Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal and 76ers star Charles Barkley, have taken it upon themselves to analyze the players of today’s generation and provide their opinions on their respective performances. Another former athlete who fits well into this category of analysts is Washington Wizards legend Gilbert Arenas.

Arenas bid adieu to the league over a decade ago. Since then, he has been spending his time analysing the NBA generation of today and stating his opinion with his mass followers. While some of them have been quite on point, others have gotten the former star into some trouble. His latest discussion of putting Tim Duncan onto a high pedestal has recently caught the people’s attention and generated a buzz amongst the NBA world.

Gilbert Arenas believes that Tim Duncan’s individual accomplishments reign supreme

It all started back a few days ago, when Arenas released another episode of his ‘Gil’s Arena’ show. Joining him for the episode were his co-hosts Josiah Johnson, Kenyon Martin and Rashad McCants. While having a discussion on various subjects, the topic of discussion was soon shifted to where does Tim Duncan stand in terms of his presence as a top player.

In order to clarify the point he was going to make, Arenas took the example of when he didn’t choose to place Manu Ginobili into a ‘Top 6’ category. Over his 16-year career with the NBA, Ginobili secured four championship wins to his and the Spurs’ names. According to Arenas, however, championship wins are not something that should determine the worth of a player.

“Stand on your own stats, which means scoring titles, defensive stuff, rebounding stuff,” said Arenas during the discussion. “Stand on it”. Arenas reportedly observed that Ginobili’s and the team’s average started to fall after Tim Duncan left the team. This is the reason why he chose to side with Duncan’s prowess.

Kenyon Martin built up his own viewpoint on Arenas’. He stated that while Karl Malone had more points and Kevin Garnett had more rebounds, Tim Duncan is someone who is “in the conversation for both of those”, along with his separate blocking talent.

In the end, both Gilbert Arenas and Kenyon Martin held a similar opinion.If the game and championship wins are removed from consideration, then Tim Duncan rises higher than any other power forward.

Tim Duncan established his dominance through his Accolades

Gilbert Arenas chose to place emphasis on separate accolades earned by the players. When taking the same into consideration, the author will have to agree that Tim Duncan should be placed over the other listed players.

Over his 19-year career with the San Antonio Spurs, the player bathed in his team’s success as they won over 5 NBA championships. At the same time, however, Duncan was named the Finals MVP for 3 of those championships. This proved that the wins would not have been possible without a significant contribution from the NBA star. Joined by his teammate David Robinson, the iconic ‘Twin Towers’ duo made waves through their talent to carve out a clear path for their team during each NBA season.

Duncan’s first MVP award came as a result of the eye catching 31 points and 9 rebounds he scored during Game 5 of the Finals. Duncan has also claimed the NBA regular season MVP award twice (2002 and 2003). This helps to place him ahead of Garnett, who won the MVP once in 2004. Malone and Ginóbili failed in securing this particular accolade anytime during their careers.

Along with the MVP awards, Tim Duncan has been named to the NBA-All Star Team a whopping 15 times. This puts him on the same footing as Garnett and Malone, who also have been named to the team 15 and 14 times respectively. At the same time, it puts him at a much higher footing than Manu Ginóbili, who has only been named to the team twice. His defensive skills have earned him a spot on the All Defensive First Team 8 times.

‘The Big Fundamental’ had some mind-boggling stats

Arenas believed that Duncan’s stats were on a better standing than any of the other three players brought up during the conversation. Looking at everything that the former Spurs player has achieved, the author will have to agree with this viewpoint as well.

A comparison between who was the greater player could be determined just by looking at the general stats. During his 19-year career, Tim Duncan averaged 19 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3 assists. Karl Malone surpassed him on the points part with a whopping average of 26. Duncan, however, still managed to best the former Utah Jazz player on the basis of rebounds. Furthermore, as Arenas emphasized, Duncan was the only player on the list who could claim superiority over his blocking average as a power forward. The only other player who could have gone head to head with Duncan’s established stats was Lakers legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

One also couldn’t help but marvel at the longevity of Duncan’s career. The player began his career as the Jordan era was coming to an end and continued his streak through the Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal age. He was even present during the majority of the LeBron James era. Even with the presence of so many legends during his time, Duncan succeeded in establishing himself as a prominent player and not just another name from the crowd. Duncan didn’t choose to sacrifice consistency over longevity. He chose to progress steadily and carefully, especially during the later stage of his career.

The Final Verdict

Many people may hold varying opinions on who actually deserves to be called the greatest power forward of all time. Given the vast field of remarkable players that the NBA has produced over it’s 77-year history, the choice is not an easy one to make. When narrowing the field however, it is true to state that Tim Duncan holds a prominent position on that pedestal.

The choice becomes easier to make when one removes accomplishments like championship wins from the list. When looking at his individual accomplishments, stats and career longevity, Tim Duncan’s legacy as a great power forward becomes firmly established. The former NBA player may not be getting his due respect in some of the recent rankings, but nothing speaks louder than the prominence he created in the minds of thousands of NBA fans and analysts, including Arenas. While some of his opinions may not resonate with the author’s mindset, he can voice his support for this particular one.

Editorial Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of EssentiallySports.