MVPs: 2. Finals MVPs: 3. All-NBA 1st Team: 10. 2nd Team: 3. 3rd Team: 2. All Star: 15. MVP: 1.
Defensive POY: 0. All-Defense 1st Team: 8. 2nd Team: 7.
Career Averages: 19 PPG/ 11 RPG/ 3 APG/ .7 SPG/ 2.2 BPG/ .507 eFG%/ .696 FT%.
Best Season: 25/ 13/ 4/ .7/ 2.5/ .508/ .799 (2001-02).
Postseason Averages: 21 PPG/ 11 RPG/ 3 APG/ .7 SPG/ 2.3 BPG/ .502 eFG%/ .689 FT%.
Best Postseason: 25/ 15/ 5/ .6/ 3.3/ .529/ .677 (2003).
Championships: 5 (#1 player on 4, #2 player on 1). Runner-ups: 1 (#2 player).
Why he's below Wilt Chamberlain: It took me awhile to come up with an answer besides gut feeling that Wilt was better. The answer is that Wilt faced tougher competition in the Finals. Otherwise, Duncan's 5-1 Finals record (best player on 4 teams) looks good compared to Wilt's 2-4 record (best player on 4 teams). Duncan is only #8 because his prime was during one of the low points in NBA history. The best team he faced in the Finals in his prime was the ’05 Pistons who didn’t have a real superstar. And though he was good for a lot longer than Wilt was, his peak wasn't quite as high as Wilt's three consecutive MVPs.
Why he's above the rest: Does everyone, including me, underrate Duncan? Number 8 is pretty high, but he’s last among the players with at least 5 combined MVPs and Finals MVPs. His regular season resume matches up well compared to Bird’s or Magic’s, and his postseason resume is better than Wilt’s. Duncan outdueled Shaq in the postseason more than once and delivered one of the most dominant Finals performances in history: 32 points, 20 rebounds, 6 assists, 7 blocks and 3 steals that all but ended the ’03 series in game 1.
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