SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Spurs legend Tim Duncan is considered the greatest power forward to ever play in the NBA.
His resume speaks for itself with multiple NBA titles, NBA MVP awards, All-Star nods, Finals MVP, and so much more.
However, former NBA forward Rasheed Wallace believes another NBA forward during Duncan's playing days was better.
While speaking on the "Sheed & Tyler" show, Wallace proclaimed that prime Kevin Garnett was a better player than Duncan. He explained that it comes down to Duncan having more help during the prime of his career than Garnett's with the Timberwolves.
"KG because KG carried that team. He carried Minnesota. Tim Duncan had help in his prime," Wallace said. "He [Duncan] had a great line of veterans when he first came into the league. D-Rob [David Robinson], Avery Johnson, Sean Elliott, Mario Elie. That's a great lineup of veterans."
Wallace continued to focus on how Garnett carried the Timberwolves in Minnesota to the playoffs. He believes Duncan would not have been able to carry the Spurs early in his career without the great veteran help as Garnett did.
"I don't know if he [Duncan] would have been able to carry a team early on the way that KG did," he said. "Duncan didn't become that until he was seasoned later in his career. That's when he got to play with the likes of Manu [Ginobili]."
"He [Duncan] got to grow into it. From the prime, from the door, I would say KG."
That's a lot to unpack, but first off, the Spurs' roster was built accordingly before Duncan arrived, and that should be commended and should not factor against Timmy. Robinson, Avery Johnson, Chuck Person, and Elliott were already in San Antonio years before Duncan's arrival.
Minnesota did have veteran help for Garnett. In his rookie year (1995-96), Minnesota had veterans Terry Porter, Sam Mitchell, Andrew Lang, and Doug West. All had six or more years in the NBA.
As for Sheed's opinion on how prime Garnett is better because he carried Minnesota, again, why should Duncan be penalized when the Spurs' front office was just wise to make a championship roster? Also, no one could project that Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker would become Hall of Fame players early in their careers.
Prime Duncan could have led any team to a deep playoff run or a title. He practically did, considering Robinson was at the tail end of his career, Elliott had long retired, and Parker and Ginobili were still very young in their NBA careers.
Perhaps Wallace might still have sour grapes about losing to the Spurs in the 1999 West Finals when Elliott hit the "Memorial Day Miracle" shot over him and Robert Horry's game-winning three-point shot in the 2005 NBA Finals Game 5 against Detroit and Wallace. Both times, Duncan and the Spurs would win the NBA championship.
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