Duncan and USA Today

USA Today devotes the cover of its NBA Finals preview to a discussion of whether Tim Duncan is the best power forward ever.
This is an interesting argument, given that Duncan does not play power forward. He plays center.
He sets up in the low post. He guards the other team's big man. The Spurs run their offense around throwing the ball to him inside.
How is he a power forward, exactly?

 

I'm not an NBA expert, but from all the discussions I've heard the last year or two, the lines between PF-C are becoming ever more blurred.

 

Didn't Duncan always play PF because he had Rasho and Nazr around him at times. Even though those two aren't "true centers" by any stretch of the imagination, it would slide Duncan over to the 4. Amare Stoudamire is a PF, and he guards the opposing big men.

 

How about b/c he never starts at center and doesn't guard the center when the other team actually has one. Think about it: David Robinson/Kevin Willis, Rasho Neserovich/Nazr Mohammed and now they have Elson/Oberto. All the combos averaged over 30 minutes per game. They all guarded the other team's center so Duncan doesn't wear down banging the other team's big guy the entire game. Therefore, Duncan is playing power forward. It's really a pretty simple concept. Duncan might play like a center, but he plays power forward.

 

Duncan is a true power forward. And the best ever. I loved the Mailman, but Duncan is far and away the best PF ever.

Who else could you throw in the discussion as tops all-time? McHale maybe. Drawing a blank of PFs.

 

Duncan is a center, and he has been ever since David Robinson retire

Duncan's a center, and he has been ever since David Robinson retired. All those other guys play or played about 12 minutes a game, none of them at crunch time. Duncan is clearly a traditional, low-post center offensively, and on defense, he's the shot-blocker, primary rebounder and the guy who controls the paint. That's called playing center.

 

Who would you call the Pacers' center?

 

Jermaine O'Neal.
(At least until he gets traded).

 

Duncan is a center, he plays the power forward position with the Spurs. In the Olympics a few years ago, he was the center.

Really it is a blurred line, because there are so few true centers who's game is completely devoted to inside post play.

 

How about most boring human being ever... He makes Tiger Woods sound like Shannon Sharpe...

 

Elgin Baylor would have to be in that discussion. Or was he a small forward?