Why Tim Duncan Is the Most Underappreciated Superstar in NBA History

Proclaiming that Tim Duncan's end is near has become something of a yearly tradition.

Ever since the Spurs' iconic big man began playing fewer minutes and a reduced role in Gregg Popovich's offense, the conventional wisdom of box-score trolling pundits has been that Duncan's time has finally come.

Never mind that the reduced playing time was a precautionary measure or that the shift in offensive strategy has more to do with utilizing team strengths than any decline in Timmy's game.

By the numbers, Duncan isn't the dominant force he was in his MVP seasons, but he still plays like an All-Star who's simply been handed a lighter workload. The defense and rebounding are still there, and the scoring ability remains just as impressive, albeit more sparingly used.

But it's not just that Duncan is passed up when compared to today's stars—he's also forgotten in far too many discussions of the all-time greats.

While purveyors of hype are all too eager to anoint Kobe Bryant or LeBron James as the heir to Michael Jordan's throne, few are so quick to compare Duncan with legendary bigs like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Bill Russell.

Duncan is more readily categorized among power forwards like Karl Malone and Charles Barkley, bruisers who were productive in their own rights but deprived of any championship success.

Regardless of what position you classify Duncan as, he remains one of the most successful and multifaceted players ever to occupy the paint.

He's averaged 20 or more points in nine seasons and 10 or more rebounds in 13 seasons. And the numbers don't even begin to tell the story of the timely passes and key defensive plays that have remained so integral to San Antonio's modern-day dynasty.

It's taken a lot more than double-doubles to win four championships, and Duncan was unquestionably the centerpiece of those championships. His three NBA Finals MVP awards puts him in an ultra-elite class of players to earn the honors three or more times—it includes only Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.

That's fitting company for San Antonio's legend.

Each repeatedly rose to the occasion for his team when it mattered the very most, singularly dominating the game on both ends of the floor and imposing his will on a series of games against the league's best.

You can put your regular-season stat lines away when contemplating athletes of this magnitude.

Duncan understands this as well as anyone—so well in fact that he hasn't bothered to fight for the big minutes and season-long production. He saves his best for when it's needed, which often isn't for more than 20 minutes at the rate the Spurs blow teams out.

He'll never be the most exciting superstar. Like the next generation of quiet leaders that includes Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose, Duncan let his play do the talking and otherwise shunned excessive media spotlight—not that there's ever been much of a spotlight in South Texas. 

The lower profile has surely suited the Big Fundamental just fine—even if it has made him one of the less-famed superstars in NBA history.