San Antonio Spurs: The Definitive Tim Duncan GOAT Case

Tim Duncan as a leader

There's one last way to impact winning. It's possibly the most important part of winning and also happens to be Duncan's greatest skill: leadership. Air Alamo already covered what the rest of the world knows: Tim Duncan is the ultimate teammate.

Gregg Popovich, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker, all remark how Duncan falling into line is the reason the rest of the team did. Coach Mike Budenholzer, took it a step further talking about Duncan's coachability and presence, remarking that Duncan WAS the "culture" responsible for setting up the success of so many others.

The bottom line: Tim Duncan was in the absolute top tier as a teammate, leader, defender, and winner, if not the best ever in those categories. Nearly unrivaled scoring and passing for a big fueled by flawless fundamentals and underrated strength that created a combination of versatility and dominance to pick apart defenses. An emphasis on intangibles like screening and secondary assisting on par with the most selfless role players.

Add in unparalleled two-way longevity. Factor in the stat deflation that enabled his to teammates thrive. Then take a step back and think about it; Duncan was ALL of these things together. And what you have is the largest overall impact on winning ever. What you have here is the absolute greatest of them all.