David Robinson was a better player then Tim Duncan..true or false

[TAZORAC]

Again..championships is a TEAM ACHIEVEMENT, not an indiviual one. In their primes (not the David Robinson who played with Rookie Tim Duncan)would it be a true statement to say that Robinson was a better player then Tim Duncan?

Would you rather have David Robinson on your team over Duncan?

[Kiddlovesnets]

Nope hes not, without Duncan he doesnt even get to the Finals, while Duncan's one man show in 2003 was enough to win an NBA title.

[COnDEMnED]

False.

[Dragonyeuw]

More 'gifted' sure. More dynamic scorer, rebounder, and shotblocker, but underperformed in the playoffs relative to the regular season. He's probably one of the best regular season players ever, but didn't have those 'intangibles' that Duncan had.

[TAZORAC]

Nope hes not, without Duncan he doesnt even get to the Finals, while Duncan's one man show in 2003 was enough to win an NBA title.

I said championships is a team achivenement..so you mentioning the finals has no place in this thread.

Also, have you seen Robinson play BEFORE Duncan was on the Spurs? I mean like the Robinson who dropped 72 points in a game..not the Robinson who had 2 bum knees and limped around the court while playing with Duncan.

[miggyme1]

robinson was the way better athlete and what people fail to realize is that david robinson just on pure athleticism might have been the most physically gifted center ever after wilt....just off athleticism...dude ran the floor like a guard...like really...people were so enamored with shaq but robinson was actually quicker and faster than shaq...shaq of course was bigger and still quick and fast so he got all the attention.


Duncan is just a complete bball player...if Duncan was 6 feet even he would still be the in nba....just a complete basketball player and very criminally underrated worldwide.....don't see how he doesn't finish being one of the top 10 greatest of all time in some peoples minds but oh well

[Sarcastic]

Well if you swapped their eras, Duncan would be one riding coattails for the ring, and Robinson would get quite a few in the 2000s.

[warriorfan]

Robinson was better but Duncan had WAY better teams and way better coaching

[senelcoolidge]

As a player, Robinson was probably better because he could do everything Duncan could do with uber athletic ability and speed. He has lesser teams so he scored more, he was a superior shot blocker and could rebound just as much.

[ClipperRevival]

DRob's teams routinely finished with the top 1 or 2 records in the WC and his teams underperformed. And some of that has to do with him. Something was missing with this guy when it mattered most.

Give me Duncan any day of the week. DRob was noticeably more athletic so he was supposed to be better in a vacuum. But Duncan was the better player. More complete, more intelligent, more skilled and more clutch.

[T_L_P]

Robinson is a top 5 Regular Season player ever, and in my top 15 all-time list, but no.

His offensive game was about dominating in the open court, and when things slowed down in the Playoffs he wasn't capable of carrying a team's offense in the half-court like a prime Duncan could.

David went up against some awful big men in his day and just couldn't take advantage. I'm talking about guys like Andrew Lang, Oliver Miller, Tyrone Hill, Jim Peterson, Tom Chambers, Greg Ostertag. Total bums.

At the end of the day, basketball wasn't life for D-Rob. He had his religion, his charities, his family. For Duncan basketball was and is life, and I'd take him before David as a player.. :confusedshrug:

[JellyBean]

David was better than Duncan.

[SouBeachTalents]

Duncan was a much better playoff performer, Robinson consistently underperformed in the playoffs

[SsKSpurs21]

Dave was this generations Kevin Garnett. plain and simple. a super athletic guy who could guard 1-5 and was basically a one man show.

Tim was deceptively quick in his own right but he was a lot smarter in knowing his limitations and finding ways to mask them.

[Overdrive]

I really liked Robinson, but slowing down the game didn't wasn't his strong suit. He was great around the basket and also had a great face up game, but he couldn't create as good with his back to the basket 5 ft+ out, which is absolutely needed by a center if the game becomes a grindfest imo.

[Smoke117]

True. His rookie season is better than Duncan's best season. Duncan never carried teams like he did.

[bizil]

This one could go either way in my opinion. But frankly, I think this could come down to Duncan's post game. I would say Timmy has one of the top 5 post games of all time among bigs. Right there with Dream, McHale, and Kareem. By that I mean having the footwork, array shots, craftiness, etc. Plus Tim was very effective away from the basketball. Duncan was EVERY BIT as skilled as David, just not as athletic. So for me, I would go with Duncan. I also think people tend to forget about how athletic young Tim was. Not a freakish athlete like David, but I think his athletic ability was underrated.

[HoopologyPhD]

False, though it is pretty close.

[Smoke117]

This one could go either way in my opinion. But frankly, I think this could come down to Duncan's post game. I would say Timmy has one of the top 5 post games of all time among bigs. Right there with Dream, McHale, and Kareem. By that I mean having the footwork, array shots, craftiness, etc. Plus Tim was very effective away from the basketball. Duncan was EVERY BIT as skilled as David, just not as athletic. So for me, I would go with Duncan.

Where do you guys get this nonsense? :facepalm Duncan wasn't even close to as good of a post player as those three players you named. He only had 2 or 3 good shots from the post and those were basic as hell.

[FireDavidKahn]

I'd easily say that prime Robinson > prime Tim

[Meticode]

I would say that Duncan had a more consistent career for a longer period of time and is a greater player, but I feel Robinson peeked just a little bit more than Duncan ever did during his career in the 93-94 season averaging 29.8PPG, 10.7 RPG, 4.8 APG, 3.3 BPG, 1.7 SPG on 50% shooting and even shot 35% from three that year.

[SCdac]

Give me Duncan for sure. Better post player, better leader, better under pressure, brought more out of his teammates than Robinson could. Duncan's scoring and athleticism is underrated because so many of today's casual fans started watching him in like the last 5-10 years (not even his physical prime)... On a side note, I had a conversation with Robinson a few years ago for about 20 minutes, really nice guy. Talked about the Spurs and stuff. I got him to sign my macbook pro which was new at the time

[ILLsmak]

Give me Duncan for sure. Better post player, better leader, better under pressure, brought more out of his teammates than Robinson could. Duncan's scoring and athleticism is underrated because so many of today's casual fans started watching him in like the last 5-10 years (not even his physical prime)... On a side note, I had a conversation with Robinson a few years ago for about 20 minutes, really nice guy. Talked about the Spurs and stuff. I got him to sign my macbook pro which was new at the time

Get any life advice from Latrell Sprewell?

I'm surprised people are picking David, but I shouldn't be. ISH all about dem statz.

To me, yea Duncan comfortably.

But Robinson was a baller. He just wasn't an all time great; he's one of those stats are better than he actually was players. Dude said (edit oops) Robinson was a top 15 all time player wat.

-Smak

[allball]

Get any life advice from Latrell Sprewell?

I'm surprised people are picking David, but I shouldn't be. ISH all about dem statz.

To me, yea Duncan comfortably.

But Robinson was a baller. He just wasn't an all time great; he's one of those stats are better than he actually was players. Dude said Duncan was a top 15 all time player wat.

-Smak

:biggums:

[Smoke117]

Get any life advice from Latrell Sprewell?

I'm surprised people are picking David, but I shouldn't be. ISH all about dem statz.

To me, yea Duncan comfortably.

But Robinson was a baller.He just wasn't an all time great; he's one of those stats are better than he actually was players. Dude said Dunc an was a top 15 all time player wat.

-Smak

Yeah...Spurs go from 21 to 56 wins his rookie season...but he's not an all time great...just about stats. You are an idiot.

Putting aside what he did offensively...he's still the 2nd greatest defensive player in the modern era after Hakeem and that alone makes him an all time great.

[Big164]

I never really gave it much thought, but its TRUE Robinson is the better player. Imagine how many Rings Young Robinson could win with Manu, Parker, and a seasoned Pop?

[34-24 Footwork]

Judging the situation with context, Hakeem and Robinson are both better that Timmy.

Comfortably.

Yall really think Hakeem would've loss if he played with Ginobli, Parker, Bowen, khawi, Aldridge and etc?

Gtfoh.

[ILLsmak]

Yeah...Spurs go from 21 to 56 wins his rookie season...but he's not an all time great...just about stats. You are an idiot.

Putting aside what he did offensively...he's still the 2nd greatest defensive player in the modern era after Hakeem and that alone makes him an all time great.

Post which top 15 player he is better than. haha.

He shit the bed in the playoffs as the man. You can have a great intuition, great abilities (which he did), and he wasn't a dumb player, but he just lacked that it thing that puts guys into the tier of top 15.

He's a great player and likely deserved his NBA at 50 mention, but I'd love to hear the argument for why he's top 15.

I could say: I watched dude get rekt by Hakeem and Shaq, that alone doesn't make him an all time great. Then he got on the team with an actual all time great and got some wins. He balled, though, he was still an impact player, but for real gimme D Wade over David Robinson.

**** a 'regular season player.' Regular season is like the qualifying round.

edit: oops I meant "Robinson" in my original post, just saw that.

edit 2: I would also like to know how you can think Robinson's rookie season was better than Duncan's best. That's equally insane.

-Smak

[SCdac]

In 2003, Duncan's best teammate was Stephen Jackson or 2nd year Tony Parker with a faulty jumper.

He won his 2nd MVP and Finals MVP that while leading the Spurs in assists, points, rebounds, and blocks in the playoffs.

Beating Shaq and Kobe's team in the process.

In just his second season he averaged 27 ppg & 14 rpg in the Finals while averaging nearly 10 more mpg than the next Spur... His surrounding starting lineup was aged 30, 33, 33, and 35.

[T_L_P]

Judging the situation with context, Hakeem and Robinson are both better that Timmy.

Comfortably.

Yall really think Hakeem would've loss if he played with Ginobli, Parker, Bowen, khawi, Aldridge and etc?

Gtfoh.

No.

Robinson didn't play better than Duncan in the Playoffs despite playing some absolutely trash bigs.

And if this is the case, why isn't Robinson in your top 8-10 all-time? Why isn't David also a better player than Bird and Shaq?

I don't get your point about Hakeem. What exactly do you mean by 'would've loss'? Who's said he would have here?

[34-24 Footwork]

No.

Robinson didn't play better than Duncan in the Playoffs despite playing some absolutely trash bigs.

And if this is the case, why isn't Robinson in your top 8-10 all-time? Why isn't David also a better player than Bird and Shaq?

I don't get your point about Hakeem. What exactly do you mean by 'would've loss'? Who's said he would have here?

Same reason why Karl Malone/Stockton/Tmac/Garnett ain't in my top 10.

I'm saying you have to judge players and their success with context. I truly believe that Duncan is GREATER THAN both players. But I don't think hes a better basketball player than either one.

Robinson, maybe. Lol.

But you'll NEVER convince me that Duncan>Hakeem.

[MiseryCityTexas]

D- Rob needed Duncan to win championships. Duncan has proven that he doesn't need Robinson to win it all.

[MiseryCityTexas]

Same reason why Karl Malone/Stockton/Tmac/Garnett ain't in my top 10.

I'm saying you have to judge players and their success with context. I truly believe that Duncan is GREATER THAN both players. But I don't think hes a better basketball player than either one.

Robinson, maybe. Lol.

But you'll NEVER convince me that Duncan>Hakeem.

Karl Malone wasn't even better than Charles Barkley. Only reason why Malone ended up being better than Barkley in the mid 90s was because Barkley became a lazy fat ass and stayed out of shape and had a bad back while Malone stayed in shape.

[inclinerator]

david robinson had more muscle

[dreamwarrior]

He admitted himself that he never had that killer instinct. He never really cared about basketball or championships that much.

[inclinerator]

robinson was more dominant



https://obnoxioustv.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/20140622-005240.jpg

[Round Mound]

David Was A Better Defender and Face Up 1 on 1 Scorer Than Duncan. Duncan Was A Better Passer, Post Player and Rebounder Than Robinson. David Was Probably Better Till Injuries Post 1996.

[VIP2000]

True. His rookie season is better than Duncan's best season. Duncan never carried teams like he did.

Duncan won a championship with 2nd year Tony Parker, Stephen Jackson, Malik Rose, and retirement home David Robinson.

[greymatter]

Depends on what criteria you look at.

Peak DRob >> peak Duncan at everything except post-up game. The problem is that his prime was cut short (7 seasons) and he came into the league at age 24.

When it came to winning in the playoffs, his game wasn't as well suited for success. The playoffs slowed down to more half court play which better suits bigs that post up. TD shined. Drob didn't.

If you had to decide between a prime TD or DRob in today's game, DRob is the better fit by a landslide.

[Gotterdammerung]

Depends on what criteria you look at.

Peak DRob >> peak Duncan at everything except post-up game. The problem is that his prime was cut short (7 seasons) and he came into the league at age 24.

When it came to winning in the playoffs, his game wasn't as well suited for success. The playoffs slowed down to more half court play which better suits bigs that post up. TD shined. Drob didn't.

If you had to decide between a prime TD or DRob in today's game, DRob is the better fit by a landslide.
This.

Also, Tim Duncan was the better leader, had better BB IQ, and was more dedicated to basketball than the Admiral ever was.
OTOH, the Admiral was one of the greatest physical specimen of all-time. In the top 5 with Chamberlain, James, and a couple others.

[soots]

There is so much Duncan is better than Robinson at, the same way a younger Duncan has a lot of benefits over LBJ, Russel and MJ.

people always forget that defense is half the game and Duncan is possibly the GOAT defensive player.

But, no, lets look at ppg, apg and rpg. Stat whores never understand the intangibles that it takes to win a game. There is only one ball, so the 3 main stats can be deceptive. Just look at the 60s era stats.

Defense, camaraderie, leadership, clutch, team mate development. Ball is life and unless you can stack a team with defensive Bowens and Whitesides, you need to get your team mates involved so they can flourish.

[Smoke117]

There is so much Duncan is better than Robinson at, the same way a younger Duncan has a lot of benefits over LBJ, Russel and MJ.

people always forget that defense is half the game and Duncan is possibly the GOAT defensive player.

But, no, lets look at ppg, apg and rpg. Stat whores never understand the intangibles that it takes to win a game. There is only one ball, so the 3 main stats can be deceptive. Just look at the 60s era stats.

Defense, camaraderie, leadership, clutch, team mate development. Ball is life and unless you can stack a team with defensive Bowens and Whitesides, you need to get your team mates involved so they can flourish.

:facepalm You bring up defense? really? Even people who are picking Duncan concede Robinson was better defensively. Him and Hakeem are the two greatest defensive players in the modern era. You're probably not even old enough to have seen Robinson in his prime...and he was still the Spurs best defensive player through the 2001 season until his back started getting really bad.

[rmt]

He admitted himself that he never had that killer instinct. He never really cared about basketball or championships that much.

Some just look at the physical, athleticism, etc. - DRob had his God, charities, music, etc. Basketball was not the end all, be all to him that it was/is to Duncan. I prefer TD's more back to the basket offense, his competitive drive, his clutchness, his leadership over DRob.

[Gougou]

Yes, he was, but only during his 2-3 year prime spawn.

I mean Duncan is the better player overall due to longvity and consistency. His playoff performance is also better, always shows up big, unlike Robinson he got destoryed by Olajuwon hard in playoff.

[Smoke117]

Stop bringing up athletism like David Robinson is Dwight Howard. He's probably the best ball handler of any TRUE center and his jumper was money out to 15 feet.

[julizaver]

Again..championships is a TEAM ACHIEVEMENT, not an indiviual one. In their primes (not the David Robinson who played with Rookie Tim Duncan)would it be a true statement to say that Robinson was a better player then Tim Duncan?

Would you rather have David Robinson on your team over Duncan?

David Robinson was a beast in the early 90s, he came a little bit later in the NBA, due to a navy service. And for a lot of experst he was considered the best center in the league above Hakeem ...

[Dragonyeuw]

There was a point around 92 when people were debating his value against MJs, I remember the discussions and articles from the time. Robinson was very much looked at as the player of the future around 1990/1991.

[feyki]

False .

Playoffs proof of that .

[dankok8]

Whoever says this isn't close either doesn't know about how good Robinson was or chooses to ignore context. Put Duncan in Robinson's situation in the 90's and he wouldn't win titles either.

That being said, Robinson did lack killer instinct and couldn't dominate the playoffs because he really relied a lot on his quickness and face-up game which he quite simply couldn't use effectively against a guy like Hakeem who was agile enough to stay in front of him. Robinson surprisingly had many defensive lapses against Hakeem too and Olajuwon torched him and made him look like a fool. Still it's one series and Hakeem was that good. Prime Robinson's playoff numbers were about as good as Duncan's. I'll give Timmy a slight edge for "intangibles" and longevity (Robinson wasted time in the navy then got seriously hurt 7 years into his career...) but it's close.

[GINOBILI!]

False. Duncan was better. Particularly in the playoffs. David had a tendency to shy away from the big moment.

[houston]

false ...............Duncan was wayy better than him.

[FKAri]

Amazing how at one time Robinson was being compared to peak MJ but after that one series against the Rockets, he is now unanimously below Duncan.

I don't know where to place him as a player (ignoring accolades and greatness but just going by pure ability) but I do think he has gotten underrated over time.

[houston]

Amazing how at one time Robinson was being compared to peak MJ but after that one series against the Rockets, he is now unanimously below Duncan.

I don't know where to place him as a player (ignoring accolades and greatness but just going by pure ability) but I do think he has gotten underrated over time.


dude was considered better than Hakeem in the 90's.

[CAstill]

dude was considered better than Hakeem in the 90's.

He was proven not to be, and he wasn't the best athlete in the league either.

[TAZORAC]

False .

Playoffs proof of that .

They must only air playoff games in Serbia..where you live. So I guess you only see playoff games.

[thefatmiral]

I really liked Robinson, but slowing down the game didn't wasn't his strong suit. He was great around the basket and also had a great face up game, but he couldn't create as good with his back to the basket 5 ft+ out, which is absolutely needed by a center if the game becomes a grindfest imo.
This is absolutely it. When you have to grind out a couple of points to win the game you could go to Duncan who could at least get some free throw and get his opponentson in foul trouble.
And he was the better defender man on man, and rim protection. Dave was a great blocker but Tim was better at using his length and positioning. That's why Duncan was an elite defender in his late thirties while Robinson needed his athleticism

[Smoke117]

This is absolutely it. When you have to grind out a couple of points to win the game you could go to Duncan who could at least get some free throw and get his opponentson in foul trouble.
And he was the better defender man on man, and rim protection. Dave was a great blocker but Tim was better at using his length and positioning. That's why Duncan was an elite defender in his late thirties while Robinson needed his athleticism

LMFAO...Robinson was much better at getting to the line...this is just absurd. The problem in the playoffs was teams started doubling and triple teaming him every time because nobody else was particularly good offensively. He carried teams to 55-60 wins and everyone thought they were actually great teams...they weren't...he was just that dominant.

For instance...in the 99 season...Tim Duncan averaged 16.9 shots to 7.2 ft's
Robinson averaged 10.8 shots to 7.4 ft's

Oh and Robinson was still the BEST defensive player on the Spurs through the 2001 season...when he was 35 and Duncan was basically in his prime. You don't know shit.

[thefatmiral]

Amazing how at one time Robinson was being compared to peak MJ but after that one series against the Rockets, he is now unanimously below Duncan.

I don't know where to place him as a player (ignoring accolades and greatness but just going by pure ability) but I do think he has gotten underrated over time.
What if mj's next best player was Sean elliot. Imagine Robinson playing along side kawhi

[stevieming]

false...

David was a great player with great stats, but Timmy back in his day was it....he had the mental killer instinct and also could take the pressure...

better offensive arsenal..