[EGarrett]

If Duncan wins a ring this year, he will move ahead of Magic and Bird in the "Who's The GOAT?" argument.

Discuss.

[The_Legend_23]

Of course not.
Does that mean that Robert Horry (7 rings) is better than Michael Jordan (6 rings)?

[Deke]

i would already put him ahead of bird.

[Dornado]

Originally Posted by The_Legend_23

Of course not.
Does that mean that Robert Horry (7 rings) is better than Michael Jordan (6 rings)?

So you're comparing to Robert Horry to Tim Duncan? Really? Really??

As per the OP I think there's a legitimate case to be made. The only problem with Bird and Magic is that they had to play against eachother, whereas Duncan didn't have a similarly dominant player that entered the league around the same time that he did... though Shaq was around, it wasn't quite the same nearly-identical career path that Bird and Magic had, as they (Diesel and the Fundamental) weren't both in their primes simultaneously.

[ehmunro]

Maybe I'm counting wrong, but didn't Magic play for five title winners? Duncan's already got more rings than Bird.

[Dre™]

The thing about that discussion is that he hasn't produced as many individually dominant seasons as the people he'd be lumped in with.

Jordan and Chamberlain not only won titles, they're at the top of a lot of lists.

[DuMa]

I'd put him in a Bill Russell category. last year, you can argue he wasnt the best player on the spurs. he was however the best defensive player. hence the bill russell comparison.

[Diable]

Bird wasn't able to play at an all time great level long enough to get into any real GOAT conversation...He basically played four or five really great years then his back went out on him.What works against Magic above all else is that he was always surrounded by a lot more talent than DUncan ever has been.Duncan has always been the best player on the SPurs and he's won with completely different casts around him.This just takes him into the top ten exactly like Magic IMO.You have to remember that Magic's career(save for the abortive comeback attempt) ended at the same age that Duncan is right now.So far as I'm concerned the major reason people rate him so highly in the GOAT argument is his infectious personality.


He was a top ten player all time,but that's about it.The Lakers were loaded the day he got to LA and they were loaded throughout his career.It would have been a huge disappointment if a team like that hadn't won multiple titles,particularly in light of the startling lack of parity in this era

[Idunkonyou]

Duncan is already over Bird. One more title and he will be mentioned with the likes of Magic, Jordan and Russell.

[s a b a s 11]

Duncan, as great as he is, will never be better than Bird. Just because he has more rings? Even if Duncan were to win two more championships, would you mention him above Magic Johnson? I think that's doubtful, the same can be said for Bird.

Bird is a top-five player all-time, Duncan is creeping up the ranks, but moving past any of the players currently above him requires much more than one individual accomplishment.

What I am saying is, it's much easier to move from the 70th best player in the history of the NBA to 47th, than it is to move from the 8th best player to 7th. There are so many unspoken intangibles such as leadership, era, personality, race, geography, social impact, even their college and olympic careers, and so many other outlying factors that have to be played into the equation when points, rebounds, championships, all-star games are so numerous.

Stuart

[Sliccat]

Originally Posted by The_Legend_23

Of course not.
Does that mean that Robert Horry (7 rings) is better than Michael Jordan (6 rings)?

The difference is that these three are all the leaders of all their teams. Horry obviously was not.