Duncan( 97-99) vs Wemby (23-25) two years in...who you got?

[Phoenix]

And lets see if we can discuss it without bringing up that Duncan won a title in 99 with a considerably better cast. So the question is... just as players on the floor, rolling out the ball who you taking as of NOW?

I did see an interesting stat( since we in this era of talking up random milestones). 100 games in, Wemby has more points than Lebron, more blocks than Hakeem, and more 3s than Steph. Notable as these are the all-time leaders in each category.

[highwhey]

Duncan 24/7

his offense was more refined, i don't care for a 7 footer taking 3s. give me a forward that can post you up, hit bank shots, has a face up game that doesn't involved getting stripped every other play. his back to the basket game was elite and extremely reliable...like more reliable than mikal bridges suiting up for a game, more reliable than lebron scoring double digits

there's an unverified tweet claiming duncan beat wemby in a juan on juan game 12-2 recently.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Duncan was better but had the benefit of 4 years of NCAA. My only real gripe with Wemby is that I believe he'd be better off he cut out the threes but he's still an efficient scorer. Over time he's likely to either improve in shot selection or get better at shooting threes so I would go with Wembanyama. Great as Duncan was I believe Wembanyama will be an even more dominant defensive force. He's got the greatest potential as a defender of any player I've ever seen, a potential he will reach, and will average points in the high 20s in his prime.

[Phoenix]

Duncan 24/7

his offense was more refined, i don't care for a 7 footer taking 3s. give me a forward that can post you up, hit bank shots, has a face up game that doesn't involved getting stripped every other play. his back to the basket game was elite and extremely reliable...like more reliable than mikal bridges suiting up for a game, more reliable than lebron scoring double digits

there's an unverified tweet claiming duncan beat wemby in a juan on juan game 12-2 recently.

I read that but I'm not sure if that was fake or not. 90% of the shit I see online now comes with heaping spoonfuls of salt. Shit like that would have been on someones camera and uploaded since everything is video'ed nowaways.

I just don't know if it's a disrespectful question to ask yet because obviously we know the totality of Duncan's career and for me he's like a top 8-ish GOAT but this is about their first two years as of now.

[highwhey]

I read that but I'm not sure if that was fake or not. 90% of the shit I see online now comes with heaping spoonfuls of salt. Shit like that would have been on someones camera and uploaded since everything is video'ed nowaways.

I just don't know if it's a disrespectful question to ask yet because obviously we know the totality of Duncan's career and for me he's like a top 8-ish GOAT but this is about their first two years as of now.

for sure, i would not take it as some truth but it's not beyond the realm of possibilities considering it's duncan and it's a 1on1 match not a full court 5x5 game.

[Phoenix]

Duncan was better but had the benefit of 4 years of NCAA. My only real gripe with Wemby is that I believe he'd be better off he cut out the threes but he's still an efficient scorer. Over time he's likely to either improve in shot selection or get better at shooting threes so I would go with Wembanyama. Great as Duncan was I believe Wembanyama will be an even more dominant defensive force. He's got the greatest potential as a defender of any player I've ever seen, a potential he will reach, and will average points in the high 20s in his prime.

That's my main beef as well but he's very much a product of his era when it comes to that. Defensively I agree, as great aa Duncan was defensively, Wemby is so long and athletic he can actually cover the basket and then close out on corner 3's. And he's never out of the play even if he bites on the first pumpfake:



He's like his own help defender lol. He barely needs to jump to block a shot so if he bites on the first one he can almost instantaneously recover.

[pandiani17]

Is this a serious question? Duncan was 1st team all-NBA his rookie season and won the championship in his second season. I don't think Wemby will match that, to be honest.

[Phoenix]

Is this a serious question? Duncan was 1st team all-NBA his rookie season and won the championship in his second season. I don't think Wemby will match that, to be honest.

Yes it's a serious question. Did you read where I said see if we can compare them as players without the championship, since the 99 Spurs are considerably better than the current ones? And as for first team all-nba, I'd argue it was easier for Duncan to achieve that in 98. Barkley was past his prime, Scottie missed half the year, so who else would be really challenging him for a forward spot on the 1st team that year asides from an aging Karl Malone and Grant Hill? To be first team in the frontcourt now you're competing with peak Jokic and Giannis, Embiid( when healthy), and prime AD. I would argue with Embiid being injured this year he may be first team and it would be criminal if he's not DPOY.

[Full Court]

Duncan....but Wemby's ceiling is higher. Wemby's potential is GOAT-tier.

[MrFonzworth]

You've got to be kidding me, right? Duncan won a championship in year 2. No way OP is serious.

[SouBeachTalents]

Duncan won a fvcking FMVP in his sophomore year, Wemby may not even win a playoff game. Absolutely ridiculous question.

[Phoenix]

You've got to be kidding me, right? Duncan won a championship in year 2. No way OP is serious.

Are you? The very first thing I said is lets see if we can compare them just as players( given that Duncan played on a way better Spurs team in 99).

You then completely ignore that and go right to the championship argument. Duncan isn't winning with the 2024 Spurs either.

[Hey Yo]

Wemby's already played like 6yrs against pro's and still isn't better than 2nd year Duncan.

[Phoenix]

Duncan won a fvcking FMVP in his sophomore year, Wemby may not even win a playoff game. Absolutely ridiculous question.

Now I expect more nuanced takes from you than this. Come on SBT....

[tpols]

Duncan was 1st team All NBA in 1998.