San Antonio Spurs: What if Ray Allen misses that shot in 2013?

Tim Duncan Enters the GOAT Debate

With LeBron out of the top two ever, someone has to take his place. Tim Duncan is a six-time champion who sustained excellence for twenty years. Undefeated in the Finals, he won as many as Jordan and won more games than Jordan. The debate rages for years on who was a better player.

Duncan is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time in our real world, and in this new one where Ray Allen misses his shot, he very well may be the best player ever. 

Duncan has now defeated LeBron James three times in his Finals career, never once losing to him. It could be argued that he’s better than Jordan and that his Spurs team was the greatest team ever assembled. 

Winning six championships over 19 seasons and never missing the playoffs is a solid GOAT case. Duncan has more All-Star appearances than Jordan, more wins, the same amount of Finals, and a better defensive career. 

Yes, Jordan scored more and won his rings in a shorter stretch, but sustained greatness is worth something. Like the current Jordan versus James argument, both sides in the new debate have merit, but I know which side I'd take. If Ray Allen misses that shot, the San Antonio Spurs from 1998-2017 is the greatest team ever, Duncan is the greatest player ever, Popovich is far and away from the best coach ever, and the Spurs are the undisputed model for basketball forever. 

Tim Duncan is a missed shot away from being the ultimate winner, the ultimate team player. He’s a top ten player all-time right now, ahead of other legends of his time like Kobe, Shaq, Dirk, Garnett, and Wade. If Ray Allen misses his shot, Duncan leaves the spot he’s carved out as the NBA’s best big man ever and immediately becomes the best player to ever play the game of basketball.

A young man from the Virgin Islands, playing in small-market San Antonio -- suddenly the best in the world. Wild to think about.