An argument can be had for Tim Duncan being the greatest power forward the NBA has ever seen. If you look at the amount of victories he’s accumulated over his career as a member of the San Antonio Spurs, it’s hard to deny him that title.
With a 112-107 Spurs victory in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals on Saturday night, Duncan tied John Stockton of the Utah Jazz for the fourth-most career victories in league history at 1,042.
Tim Duncan won his 1042nd career game, tying John Stockton for 4th all-time.
— Quixem Ramirez (@quixem) June 1, 2014
Kareem Abdul-Jabber is the all-time leader with 1228 wins. Robert Parish is in second with 1121, while “The Mailman” Karl Malone rounds out the top-3 with 1050.
If Duncan were to retire at the end of the season with a fifth Larry O’Brien trophy to add to his collection, he would fall just four wins shy of tying Malone for third overall.
The 2014 NBA Finals will begin on Thursday, June 5 at 9:00 p.m. when the Miami Heat visit the AT&T Center for Game 1 of the series.
Ironically enough, as Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press points out on Twitter, both Duncan and LeBron James of the Heat have the most wins by a player over the last 10 years.
Most wins by an NBA player, last 10 years:
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) June 1, 2014
1) Tim Duncan, 622.
2) LeBron James, 621.
Oh, these NBA Finals should be epic.
If that wasn’t amazing enough, the five players with the highest field goal percentages over the last 10 years will all be featured in this series as well.
OK, this is crazy. FG%, last 10 years:
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) June 1, 2014
Duncan, .502
James, .500
Parker, .500
Bosh, .497
Wade, .492
Is is Thursday yet?
The Heat defeated the Spurs in seven games in 2012-13 to win their second-straight NBA Championship.