Poll: Who Was the Greater Player of His Generation, Kobe Bryant or Tim Duncan?

[BusSport]

Vote in the poll! Who was the greater player of his generation, Kobe Bryant or Tim Duncan? Why do you think so?

 

[Bolts]

Definitely Tim Duncan.

 

[Wamu]

Duncan. Better Finals record, more League MVP's, more Finals MVP's & he went to the playoffs every year.

 

[4thstreet]

Duncan. Better Finals record, more League MVP's, more Finals MVP's & he went to the playoffs every year.

I concur

 

[Davis_Mike]

Is this a serious question? A chucker vs The Big Fundamental?

 

[Ojb81]

....................Duncan

 

[bksballer89]

Timmy D

 

[trojanfan12]

Cowherd made a great point about this on his show this morning.

Duncan was the better player. But Kobe was more important to the league.

His reasoning was that kids grew up wanting to emulate Kobe. No kids (outside of San Antonio) grew up wanting to be Timmy.

Either way, both are all time greats who left an indelible mark on the game.

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

Timmy of course.

For me, what Timmy did in the 2003 playoffs is criminally under-rated.

That 2003 Spurs was essentially a one man team (despite certain players blossoming later), and Duncan turned it up a notch in the playoffs.

That 2003 playoff run is by most modern advanced measures the most dominant playoff run ever by one player.

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

Duncan, because I DESPISE Kobe.

And if anyone else who chooses Duncan over Kobe is honest with themselves, there are very few other reasons to do so.

Both are accomplished in different ways...scoring vs. Defense vs rebounding....etc

So, it's almost too close to call.

1a and 1b

 

[trojanfan12]

Duncan, because I DESPISE Kobe.

Hater.

 

[CitySushi]

Duncan was the better player, Kobe was more important to this generation.

I hate Kobe, but Kobe was definitely more important to the league. When Kobe came around, it was right at the tail end of Jordan's career. The NBA needed that next big name to step up and take his place to keep the league thriving. Kobe not only did that, but he became a global phenomenon. While Duncan is revered by peers and by most NBA fans, Kobe was on a whole different level.

Kobe had to live up to a shadow of Jordan which is impossible, but he did it remarkably well. Not only did he become one of the greatest players of all time, but he became the face of the NBA for years at a crucial time, when the NBA needed it most.

 

[trojanfan12]

Kobe had to live up to a shadow of Jordan which is impossible, but he did it remarkably well.

Cowherd said that Kobe always felt like 85% of MJ. Seems pretty accurate to me.

 

[TBBishop]

I think Kobe was the 2nd greatest player of my lifetime and Tim Duncan wasn't first. Duncan may have been the most consistant player I've ever seen. He's going to get you your 25, your 8 rebounds, he's going to play great D, you know when he hits the floor what you'll get. That's what amazed me about Duncan. If I hit the floor with Tim Duncan, I know what I'm getting that night.

Kobe was a completely different beast. No doubt you knew you were going to have your hands full against Kobe but anyone facing him knew this could be the night he dumped 50 on him. It was rare that I watched a Lakers game and he didn't do something that amazed me. In his prime, there was nothing that I could say he wasn't good at. He's what baseball would call a 5 tool player. I feel you could count on both players in the clutch to do their job and more but when but even before crunch time Kobe may see the game slipping and completely take over where it seemed like Duncan would just play and it would be a Parker or a Ginobili that would actually throw the team on their back.

That's my take. I'm sure I'll be ripped because people love Duncan and hate Kobe for whatever reasons but I just can't agree that Duncan was a better player.

 

[Rex Racer]

I think Kobe was the 2nd greatest player of my lifetime and Tim Duncan wasn't first. Duncan may have been the most consistant player I've ever seen. He's going to get you your 25, your 8 rebounds, he's going to play great D, you know when he hits the floor what you'll get. That's what amazed me about Duncan. If I hit the floor with Tim Duncan, I know what I'm getting that night.

Kobe was a completely different beast. No doubt you knew you were going to have your hands full against Kobe but anyone facing him knew this could be the night he dumped 50 on him. It was rare that I watched a Lakers game and he didn't do something that amazed me. In his prime, there was nothing that I could say he wasn't good at. He's what baseball would call a 5 tool player. I feel you could count on both players in the clutch to do their job and more but when but even before crunch time Kobe may see the game slipping and completely take over where it seemed like Duncan would just play and it would be a Parker or a Ginobili that would actually throw the team on their back.

That's my take. I'm sure I'll be ripped because people love Duncan and hate Kobe for whatever reasons but I just can't agree that Duncan was a better player.

I got you sumpin.

 

[CodeBreaker]

Tim was the better player in this generation. But this generation will always be Kobe's. His impact and influence in the NBA through out this generation is above Tim. He was the FACE of the NBA before LeBron took over.

 

[TBBishop]

I got you sumpin.

View attachment 136807

Fantastic retort!

 

[The Q]

Shaq.

No one's peak from this generation matches him. A healthy Shaq is always the answer.

 

[lebron23james]

Cowherd made a great point about this on his show this morning.

Duncan was the better player. But Kobe was more important to the league.

His reasoning was that kids grew up wanting to emulate Kobe. No kids (outside of San Antonio) grew up wanting to be Timmy.

Either way, both are all time greats who left an indelible mark on the game.

Are u telling me u didn't grow up wanting to be Timmy, and expect me to believe that? Wow

 

[trojanfan12]

Are u telling me u didn't grow up wanting to be Timmy, and expect me to believe that? Wow

Difficult as it may be to believe...yes.