NBA's Tim Tebows: 10 Players with the Will to Win

Tim Tebow has made an impression on just about everyone who’s encountered his story. Some have been negative, mostly positive, but what entices us most is Tebow’s will to win.

Now, while Timmy gets a majority of the media coverage, he’s not the only person that exemplifies the same passion for the game and will to win—all sports included.

With the swing of the NBA hitting full gear, let’s take a look at 10 NBA ballers whose fires burn similar to Tebow’s and just find ways to help their team’s win. 

Manu Ginobili

Manu Ginobili’s path the NBA is a great story. He was drafted 57^th overall in 1999 but wasn’t ready to sign with the Spurs, so he returned to Italy and improved his game. He won Euroleague MVP and a championship.

Ever since Ginobili made his debut for the Spurs in 2002 he’s been a fan favorite and hard worker.

Where the Argentine draws a comparison to Tim Tebow is his hard work and unshakable passion for the game he plays.

Manu Ginobili has always played basketball with a win-or-die mentality, similar to Tim Tebow with his contagious will to win.

Joakim Noah

Anyone catch the obvious alumni connection here with the University of Florida?

When Joakim Noah left Florida there were a lot of questions about how well his game would translate to the NBA. Sound like someone familiar?

Joakim Noah was also thought to be drafted a bit higher than he was supposed to be and like Tebow has proved a lot of naysayers wrong.

You’d be hard-pressed to find someone in the NBA that plays the game with more emotion than Joakim Noah. 

Ben Wallace

“Big” Ben Wallace compares to Tim Tebow because of his obvious lack of skill in certain areas of his game but also for how he has been able to compensate in other areas.

Ben Wallace is one of the worst shooters in NBA history, not unlike to how we assess Tebow’s passing, but he’s always been a defensive dynamo and pure winner.

Wallace was a huge piece of the Pistons’ equation when they reached the Eastern Conference Finals in six consecutive seasons. 

JJ Barea

JJ Barea is one of the most polarizing players in the NBA because of his physical stature and skill level.

Many people didn’t believe that Barea had the skill set that would be worth anything in the NBA, yet he’s constantly proved people wrong with his feisty attitude and big-shot ability off the bench.

In the 2011 NBA playoffs, Barea showed everyone once and for all what he was made of with huge games in the Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals clinching games—netting 22 and 15 respectively. 

JJ Reddick

Like Tim Tebow, JJ Reddick produced one of the most celebrated college careers of all time and then went on to be drafted with a million concerns regarding how one-dimensional his game was.

Reddick has gone on to have a pretty good NBA career averaging just about eight points per game in about 19 minutes off the bench in his career.

Also Reddick has been known to have a strong passion for the game and provide strong energy on the court when he’s playing. Being a motivator is Tebow’s mantra; Reddick fits the same mold, just in a different capacity. 

Ricky Rubio

Ricky Rubio is ridiculous, let me just say that first. I often have trouble explaining how this 21-year-old Spanish kid with no shot is out in his rookie season recording double-doubles off the bench.

Like Tebow, Rubio and company may be the savior for a franchise that has been mulling over mediocrity since losing its star player.

Most notably, though, has to be the draft factor. Rubio was taken far too high at fifth overall in 2009 when most people questioned his ability to play on the NBA level.

It’s been a short career thus far but he’s proving haters wrong and will continue to silence critics as Minnesota wins more games. 

Derek Fisher

Derek Fisher and Tim Tebow are similar in a lot of ways except for the fact that one has a championships and one hasn’t quite had the opportunity.

But if you look at it purely statistical, there’s no better comparison. Derek Fisher has never put up great numbers in the NBA but he is one of the best floor leaders of the last decade and is a natural-born winner.

Fisher has never averaged over five assists per game in a season in his career, which is less than the amount of championship rings he has.

Isn’t that nuts. 

Shane Battier

Tim Tebow is the poster-child for a character player in the NFL, what a true role model should be off the field.

If you’re looking for the NBA version, then Shane Battier would be a darn-good choice.

Battier has never been the most skilled guy on the court, but he’s always been a tough role player who has great intangibles.

Like I said before, Battier and Tebow compare because they’re both high-character guys on and off the their respective stages. 

Rajon Rondo

Rajon Rondo is the more skilled version of what Tim Tebow is in the NFL.

Tebow is a good runner and a serviceable passer, while Rondo is a horrible shooter and a very good passer.

Rondo has always had limited skills as an NBA point guard, but he was put into the right system with Boston that made sure he didn’t have to shoot the ball all that often.

On top of that, he led his team to wins and eventually a championship with the Boston Celtics. 

Tyler Hansbrough

Possibly the most colorful college player of all time in the game of basketball was always too small and would be too limited to play his position in the NBA.

Simply put, Tyler Hansbrough digs deep and finds ways to use the skills he has to produce in ways that are unconventional to the norms of the game.

Now playing for the Pacers, he helped lead his team to the playoffs a season ago and will look to improve even more this season.

Very few athletes work as hard as Tim Tebow and Tyler Hansbrough.