Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history for 75th anniversary

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Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history: No. 5 – Tim Duncan

Career: 1997 – 2016

Achievements: Five-time champion; two-time MVP; All-NBA (15x); All-Star (15x); All-Defense (15x); Finals MVP (3x); Sixth in career blocks; seventh in career rebounds; 18th in career scoring.

If Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was inevitable as a scorer for two decades, Tim Duncan matched him on the defensive end from day one. It’s essentially unheard of for a player to be good enough offensively to make 15 All-NBA teams but match that with 15 All-Defense nods. How Duncan never won a Defensive Player of the Year award is baffling.

He was one of the league’s all-time leaders, quiet except when he needed to be, keeping drama out of his locker rooms and putting in the work to not only get better but set the example for his teammates. The level of success he sustained with the Spurs is historic; they won titles 15 seasons apart, and five in total, maintaining contention for his entire career.

The only players with more career playoff win shares are LeBron James and Michael Jordan; Duncan propelled his teams to the postseason and then upped his game while there. He entered the league later than many of his contemporaries after four full seasons at Wake Forest but still put in a 19-year career with 17 high-level seasons. For his impact on championships, for his ability to lead an all-time team for so long, and for his two-way play and accomplishments, he jumps to 5 ahead of some players who captured pop culture a bit more than this quiet general.