Tim Duncan is now top five all time.

[KG Living Legend]

 IMHO you can argue all day about who deserves to be with him But he's now a top five in the history of the game.

[pearljammer10]

 IMHO you can argue all day about who deserves to be with him But he's now a top five in the history of the game.

I've always been a huge Duncan guy. My love for him was solidified by Bill Simmons blurb on him in the Book of Basketball and I am happy that he will be getting top five all time credentials from more folks after this finals.

Way to go Spurs.

[knuckleballer]

Tier 1: Russell, Wilt, Jordan
Tier 2: Kareem, Magic, Bird
Tier 3: Duncan, Shaq, O Robinson, Kobe, Olajuwan

I have him out of the top six.  Not sure how I would order my third tier.

[Fafnir]

I don't think so.

Russell, Kareem, Jordan, Bird, Magic

He's not higher than any of those, so he's not in the top 5. And you can add others too.

[Kane3387]

He overtakes Kobe as the best player of his generation. The Jordan era was followed by the Duncan era.

Not sure about top five though. I'm not saying no however.

[BigAlTheFuture]

I would honestly give Duncan the nod over Bird. Look at the guy's pedigree. 5-time champ, 2-time MVP, 3 time Finals MVP, best PF to ever play the game, and does it with such grace and class... factor in his longevity. Top 5 easily. The guy won a championship in 3 different decades for God's sake.

MJ, Russell, Abdul-Jabaar, Magic, Duncan.

[Future Celtics Owner]

I would honestly give Duncan the nod over Bird. Look at the guy's pedigree. 5-time champ, 2-time MVP, 3 time Finals MVP, best PF to ever play the game, and does it with such grace and class... factor in his longevity. Top 5 easily. The guy won a championship in 3 different decades for God's sake.

MJ, Russell, Abdul-Jabaar, Magic, Duncan.

I agree , it hurts that he should have been a Celtic. Whats even worse is that in his heart Im sure he is a Celtic, playing with grace and class and playing team ball.

Now your top five is good, but Id add SHAQ.

[crimson_stallion]

I disagree - I would not rate Duncan top 5, or even top 10.

The only area where Duncan ranks so highly among history is in the number of championship rings, and you could argue that is just as much because of the environment (coach pop and the players he's had around him) as it is from his own play.

I still cannot put Duncan higher on the list than somebody like Karl Malone though - a guy who is ranked so high on the All-Time list in so many categories (including #2 all time in scoring) and who only lacks rings because he was left with the unfortunate task of having to take on Jordan's Bulls so many times, and because Malone's supporting cast was only ever mediocre at best.

As a team I would rank the Spurs of this generation up there with the greatest franchises in history, but as an individual (in terms of his pure skill and ability) I would rate Duncan behind Karl Malone and on par with guys like Charles Barkley and Kevin Garnett.  I actually consider KG a more skilled player than Duncan, but because they played such different styles I will give TD the benefit of the doubt and put them on the same level. 

[freshinthehouse]

I would honestly give Duncan the nod over Bird.

That's crazy talk!  Crazy, I say!

[kiwiceltic]

Yes he is top 10.... doesn't quite crack the top 5... i'd have him at 7 or 8 all time

[Celtics4ever]

Tier 1: Russell, Wilt, Jordan
Tier 2: Kareem, Magic, Bird
Tier 3: Duncan, Shaq, O Robinson, Kobe, Olajuwan

Tier 4 James - Can we safely say he doesn't have the heart of a champion now?   The crazy thing is  he has more talent than almost anyone on this list.   But in terms of willpower and heart he is lacking.

[BballTim]

I would honestly give Duncan the nod over Bird. Look at the guy's pedigree. 5-time champ, 2-time MVP, 3 time Finals MVP, best PF to ever play the game, and does it with such grace and class... factor in his longevity. Top 5 easily. The guy won a championship in 3 different decades for God's sake.

MJ, Russell, Abdul-Jabaar, Magic, Duncan.

  Worse player but longer career. Take your pick I suppose.

[moiso]

I disagree - I would not rate Duncan top 5, or even top 10.

The only area where Duncan ranks so highly among history is in the number of championship rings, and you could argue that is just as much because of the environment (coach pop and the players he's had around him) as it is from his own play.

I still cannot put Duncan higher on the list than somebody like Karl Malone though - a guy who is ranked so high on the All-Time list in so many categories (including #2 all time in scoring) and who only lacks rings because he was left with the unfortunate task of having to take on Jordan's Bulls so many times, and because Malone's supporting cast was only ever mediocre at best.

As a team I would rank the Spurs of this generation up there with the greatest franchises in history, but as an individual (in terms of his pure skill and ability) I would rate Duncan behind Karl Malone and on par with guys like Charles Barkley and Kevin Garnett.  I actually consider KG a more skilled player than Duncan, but because they played such different styles I will give TD the benefit of the doubt and put them on the same level.

Duncan was a much, much better defender than Malone and Barkley.

[Moranis]

Duncan is the best PF in history, but he is not top 5 all time.  Back half of the top ten is the absolute peak for him.

[Fafnir]

Duncan is the best PF in history, but he is not top 5 all time.  Back half of the top ten is the absolute peak for him.

He's a center, the majority of his HoF career has been at C. He needs to be compared to Wilt, Russell, Kareem, Moses.

Not the somewhat less impressive figures at PF.