Duncan and it’s not close.
Personally, I think KG is vastly over rated when it comes to the greatest Power Fowards of all time conversations. Duncan, Malone, Nowitzki, and Barkley are all much better, imo.
This is the complete opposite of what my take is. KG is the most underrated player of the last 25 years, and is every bit as good as Duncan & Malone, and significantly better than Dirk or Chuck.
This is an interesting take. Care to elaborate?
In terms of being underrated, I think there's a whole essay that could be written (and has by people like Thinking Basketball). I think he was as good a defender as any player in the modern era, that I think gets a bit overlooked because his defensive counting stats weren't as crazy as some other defensive stalwarts like Hakeem, Dikembe or Ben Wallace. However, I think his impact on that end was just as significant as any player since Bill Russell. He had the size to protect the interior as well as the agility to defend the perimeter, all whilst using his IQ to cover every aspect of that half of the floor. Even as broken down old man in his final season, when he was on the floor Minny had the =2nd best defence in the competition vs the 28th when he was off it. His awareness, ball tracking, and ability to act upon that freakish awareness with his physical tools made him one of the most impactful defensive forces ever.
I think his offence is often overlooked too because of how much help he did not have. He is the ultimate example of an offensive arsenal that lifts those around him. Elite passing, super active, and wanted to get others going. However, he gets criticised for that because the others he was lifting up were Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell (who was an All-Star alongside KG) in the twilights of their careers.
I think if he had been put in the position of Duncan or Malone (good to elite supporting casts, good to elite coaching, stability, lack of corruption, etc.) I think he would have won multiple MVPs and multiple championships (definitely in San Antonio). Even if he'd been drafted to Dallas and been given the support Dirk did, his career would have been completely different. I think his prime gets overlooked because people forget how much of a complete and utter basket-case Minny was during KG's time there.
There's more to be said, but I am sadly lacking for time and eloquence at the moment