The Great Debate: Who's the NBA's Best Big Man?

Who's the best big man in the NBA?

For the answer, I turned to some of Bleacher Report's most knowledgeable NBA writers—Erick Blasco, Dave Finocchio, Trey Bradley, Scott Serles, and Mike Woods.

One respondent asked that his identity remain a secret, so he's labeled below as "Anonymous Writer." 

Here are our thoughts...

 

Michael Whittenberg

I have to go with Tim Duncan.  We all know about the four championships, but what I like most about Duncan is that he's all work and no play.

You'll never see him on highlight reels for an amazing play, but the numbers speak for themselves.

He does everything, from scoring to rebounding to defending. 

He's also got great fundamentals, knows the game very well, is the master of boxing out, and is a silent killer.

A big man of Duncan's caliber comes along, if you're lucky, maybe once a decade. We've yet to see what Greg Oden can do, and David Robinson was drafted a decade before Duncan.  

Duncan's four championship rings are the only thing keeping me from saying Karl Malone is the league's all-time best Power Forward. 

But forget about PFs—Duncan is one of the league's greatest players, period. He may look bored sometimes out there on the court, but you have to respect him.  In fact, he might not be all that exciting to watch until playoff time.  That's when he really turns it on.

I could go on all day about TD, because he is indeed one of the league's classiest players. 

 

Erick Blasco

My pick for best big man in the NBA goes to Tim Duncan, for three reasons.

1) His genius-level basketball IQ
2) His sheer talent
3) His completeness as a player

Duncan will dominate weaker defenders in the post, will shoot over defenders who try to take away his post up or face up game, and will punish double teams by knowing exactly what the defense is trying to do and where his teammates are cutting or spotting up to.

And he makes the right decisions all the time.

Duncan is so good he simply can't be defended one-on-one. Even elite post defenders like Kurt Thomas are overmatched by Duncan's athleticism, length, and toughness.

And Duncan is a complete player. On offense, he can hit hooks with either hand, his banked jumpers are automatic, and he'll hit layups even while absorbing tremendous contact.

He can use either hand, has range out to 20 feet, and has perfect footwork to set up his offensive moves while getting his defender off balance. Plus, he's probably the best passing big man who's ever played.

Duncan's an excellent position defender, a perfect help defender, a tenacious rebounder, an earth-shaking screen-setter, a nonstop hustler, incredibly coachable, remarkably adaptive, and most importantly of all, incredibly clutch/

He'll always make winning plays in crunch time.

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