YouTube Gold: What Opponents Thought Of Tim Duncan

Watching Tim Duncan in college was strange. You knew he was doing well, he was clearly the focus...but when the game was over, he’d had about 25 points and about 15 rebounds.

And he was a very good but hardly freakish athlete. He was 6-10, so he dunked of course, but mostly he played in the lane and just outworked and outsmarted everyone. They called him The Big Fundamental for a reason.

Toss in the fact that he was usually quiet and not demonstrative at all on the court and it was easy to misunderstand him.

Duncan was arguably the best power forward of all time. And while you might argue for, say, Kevin McHale or Karl Malone, here’s the key: Duncan, somewhat like Michael Jordan, was superb on both ends of the court.

He also stood the test of time, playing for 19 seasons in the NBA and at a very high level throughout.

Watch this video and listen to what his opponents thought of him. It’s a combination of deep respect and awe for his ability to make the game come to him. Everything was on Duncan’s terms.