Media Teleconference

A media teleconference with San Antonio Spurs superstar Tim Duncan. Questions are from various media members. The session took place on May 31, 2003.

Q: How do you view this team and what lies ahead?

Tim Duncan: Well, I like where we stand now, and I like our position for the future. We have a lot of cap room coming up and to be in a situation like we are now, going to the Finals, it’s not really a situation you can beat. We’ll have an opportunity to add some talent to our team in the upcoming years, but at the same time, we continue to win now. It’s a situation you can’t beat.

Q: Any shock that this team is where it is, when many thought this would be more of a rebuilding year?

Tim Duncan: It is a bit of shock. Yes and no. We’ve had some ups and downs all year long, but we’re a very talented team, a bunch of guys that want to win, and a bunch of guys that really know how to play and really love to play. We probably didn’t expect to get to this point, but then, why not? We’ve been improving every year, getting closer and closer to the Lakers, and finally got to the point where we could beat them. Now we’re just moving on beyond that, and with the addition of the money next year and the ability to add some more players and continue to get back to this point, it just feels great.

Q: If you had to single out one guy in the league who defends you the best, who would that be?

Tim Duncan: Kenyon’s (Martin) right up there with anybody. He’s a very physical player. He’s got quick feet. He keeps his hands active. Very good defender. If I had to pick one guy, he’d be right there.

Q: What are your thoughts on how the Nets might defend you?

Tim Duncan: It’ll be a different look. I’ve watched the tape of the games we’ve played. They’ve kind have sagged with the guy that fed the ball to me. I’m figuring they’ll do a lot of that. They’re a very good rotating team, very athletic team on the weak side with Kerry (Kittles) and Richard (Jefferson), and they play those passing lanes very well. I’m guessing they’ll sag with the feeder, which is usually Jason (Kidd), and play the weak side in between the passing lanes and try to steal some passes. They have a very good defender with Kenyon there, and with Jason (Collins) and Aaron (Williams). So I’m guessing they’ll play me a little one on one, but they’ll still have that help defender right their in the middle.

Q: Given the success you team has had with Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, what does that mean for the entire NBA?

Tim Duncan: It’s been heading this way for years now. The talent is incredible overseas, and it’s being shown in the NBA. To find gems like we have in Tony and Manu, it says a lot for what’s out there, because these were guys who weren’t exactly touted as some of the best. We get Tony with the 28th pick in 2001 and he’s already one of the better point guards in the league. Manu’s been overseas for the last few years after we drafted him, and now he’s here with us and giving us a tremendous boost. It just says a lot about what the scouting teams have to do and the kind of talent that’s out there.

Q: Is David Robinson a better basketball player or person?

Tim Duncan: Tough question. I’ve got to say a little bit of both. I think it’s pretty equal, with the career that he’s had and numbers he’s put up, and the teams he’s taken as far as he has, along with the kinds of things he’s done off the court with his school, with just being the person he is and representing the NBA the way he has. It’s a pretty equal match.

Q: What are you going to tell the younger players in preparation for this series?

Tim Duncan: The three series we’ve already been involved in, they’ve prepared us a great deal for this series. Playing against Phoenix and having Tony play one of the best point guards in the league in Stephon Marbury, a very scarppy team, a very strong team in Phoenix, and L.A. with their triangle offense being a lot like New Jersey with their motion offense, and then seeing the Mavericks with the helter skelter also prepares us for New Jersey. We’ve had three great series to get ready for these guys. I don’t know if we could have had three more perfect series to get ready. They’re going to be a tough challenge no matter what because of their personnel and the roll that they’ve been on. I don’t know if I’d tell these young guys anything. It’s still the game of basketball. It will be a lot more intense and there will be a lot more at stake. Hopefully, they can be naïve enough to not even notice it and just play the way they’ve been playing. Hopefully, it ends on a high note.

Q: How do you balance the need for you to score and find teammates?

Tim Duncan: It’s all a read and it is a difficult read. Over the years, I’ve seen just about everything you can throw at me. I’ll try to find a happy medium between them not letting them take me out of the game and being aggressive enough that they will have to double team and I get my guys some open shots. I’ve watched the tapes of the last two games we’ve played, just to see how they do things and how they play me. That’s going to help a lot. Between that and practice, I should be prepared for what they’ll throw at me. It’s just about that happy medium between attacking and not being too aggressive to the point that I hurt the team.

Q: How do you judge Tony Parker’s development in the playoffs?

Tim Duncan: He’s obviously raised his level of play a great deal. I think he understands the game a lot more, having gone through these tough series. In just these two years, he’s grown three-fold from the player he was coming in here.

Q: Is the Tony Parker-Jason Kidd matchup the key to this series?

Tim Duncan: One of the big keys, knowing that Jason is their head guy, the one who runs the show, and Tony is the same for us. He’s been with us long enough that we know that to expect. We do expect a lot and we expect him to be a veteran point guard and to make good decisions. He’s been doing a great job with that since he got here.

Q: How will this Finals be different for you?

Tim Duncan: I expect it to be a lot different. Hopefully, the same result (as in 1999). It’s going to be different because I am one of the older guys. I am the guy that some player are going to lean on and that changes my role a little bit. At the same time, the guys that we have are basketball players. They go out and they play the game. We’re very well coached and we understand what we’re trying to get out of situations. If we keep the game simple and don’t try to make things more complex, we’ll be great.

Q: Is the difference between 1999 and this year the fact that the 1999 team was a little older and more savvy, while this team is more talented and athletic, but makes more mistakes?

Tim Duncan: Yeah. I think we’ve been working all season to get to that point where we were in 1999. That year, we had that confidence. We went on the court and we didn’t make mistakes. We played for 48 minutes and we wore people down. We’ve been trying to get to that level with this team. We’re a little different now because of the players, the talent, the youth, but in a lot of ways we’re the same. We’re a very good team. Our goal is to play for 48 minutes better than the other team and wear them down. If we can do that in this series, we’ll be OK.