5 reasons Tim Duncan was better than Kevin Garnett

Feb 16, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Western Conference forward Tim Duncan (21) of the San Antonio Spurs and Eastern Conference center/forward Kevin Garnett (5) of the Boston Celtics talk during practice for the 2013 NBA All-Star game at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

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Mandatory Credit: PAUL BUCK/AFP/Getty Images /

1. Legacies

Ultimately, how players are viewed depends on the legacy they leave. Let’s compare the legacies of Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. Both are going down as among the greatest players of all-time. But Duncan has a significantly better legacy than Garnett.

Duncan will go down in history as arguably the best power forward of all-time, and certainly within the modern era. No power forward can match Duncan’s stats or championships when you consider the era that he played in.

While Karl Malone had better individual stats than Duncan, keep in mind that Malone was consistently a focus of the Utah Jazz offense. Charles Barkley also can’t live up to Duncan’s legacy. Duncan is arguably a top 10 player in NBA history.

Garnett will go down as one of the best power forwards of all-time. But he isn’t one of the 10 best players in NBA history. You can make that argument for Tim Duncan, but not for Garnett. Garnett is in the tier of players who are just below the best of all-time. Probably somewhere in the 15-25 range.

Next: NBA: 2000s All-Decade First Team

Maybe Tim Duncan doesn’t have such a great legacy if he plays for any other team. But because he got lucky enough to be drafted by a dynasty, his legacy is unquestionably better than Garnett’s.

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