2003 Tim Duncan is transported to 2024 NBA

[NO-KG-AI]

Even better than before. They won’t waste time playing at the 4 next to some stiff. His passing ability will get more heavily utilized, he’ll trade some post ups for pick and rolls, and the extra space will make him much tougher to guard when he gets guys isolated. He’ll be a big time foul drawer still.

[CIN-C-STAR]

There's no one else in today's game who's in his stratosphere.

No, that's definitely inaccurate. There are a bunch of guys who are in his stratosphere. And Duncan's offensive impact would be clearly lessened in this era, even accounting for this being his peak season, so that really undercuts that comparison's utility...

Why would his offensive impact be lessened?
There are fewer post defenders these days.
Teams would love his elite outlet passing as pace is emphasized more these days.
A screen and roll threat is still used around the league.

If anything his defensive impact might be lessened, but no one thinks he'd be worse than reigning DPOY Rudy Gobert.

[dhsilv2]

Correct answer.

Definitely not #1. Just couldn't be good enough as a two-way guy to secure that title.

Would certainly still be great on the boards and on D, though, and good enough on O that he'd be among the best in the league.

That's like saying because Jokic isn't good on D he isn't good enough as a two way guy to be #1.

There's no one else in today's game who's in his stratosphere.

The value of elite defenders has lowered as defensive value is more spread out among the 5 players today.

[dhsilv2]

Who's in 03 Duncan's stratosphere? 03 Duncan is considered one of the greatest peaks in NBA history. Only Jokic is currently in that discussion.

No, that's also wrong.

Luka, Jokic, SGA right now, Giannis when he's healthy... there are a bunch of guys on a similar plane. Don't confuse accomplishment with player value; they aren't the same thing.

If anything Duncan's offensive impact would be better.

Gods, no. That's DEFINITEY wrong. He wasn't good enough on offense in a primary scoring role for that to be true. Yes, if you played him like his 2014 self, that would be valuable. Duncan was always unselfish, and didn't care about stats. He did what Pops said was necessary to win, and then stepped it up as necessary. But he wasn't a good enough shooter from basically anywhere to be a high-volume scorer of value in this environment. He had structural limitations on his utility. So a sensible strategy wouldn't have him scoring a ton, he'd be more like his later self, where he was more of a decoy. And that limits his upper bound relative to others.

Look at an old Duncan on the 14 Spurs who were very much a "modern" offense.

Right. And he was a 29 mpg player who took 12 FGA/g that year. Not really sure you're grokking my point if you're raising that season as being of relevance to this discussion.

He wasn't just a post-up guy which BTW, Jokic makes a lot of his living off of.

Sure, but he wasn't as good a finisher, wasn't as good a passer, had nothing like Jokic's range and struggled at the line enough to separate himself there as well. Not really sure where that was going. Jokic is an ATG offensive player. Duncan was not; his bread and butter were defense, rebounding and team-centric attitude on O. He would scale poorly on O in this era due to skill limitations.

2007 Duncan is a better example of what offensively a modern duncan would be.

[tsherkin]

2007 Duncan is a better example of what offensively a modern duncan would be.

Yes, I agree. Better rebounding than that particular year, but a good usage case, yes.

[BadWolf]

Duncan and Trae could win a championship.

[r0drig0lac]

It is absolutely crazy that somehow Jokic is still so underrated on this sub.
No one from the past 40 years other than Prime LeBron, Shaq(2000-02) or MJ were better than current version of Jokic.

lol

[tsherkin]

Duncan and Trae could win a championship.

Not if they didn't have a strong 3rd scoring force and Trae's scoring efficiency kept folding like a cheap suit in the playoffs.

[FluLikeSymptoms]

Duncan’s whole thing was out-basketball-ing everyone the way Joker is doing now. He never had any overwhelming ability that wouldn’t translate, he handed out bespoke beatdowns. He’d be right up there with Joker and Giannis, I tend to think he’d be the best because he’d be a better matchup for those two than anyone now, but I couldn’t get farther down the list than that.

[dakomish23]

Bank shot 3s for everyone

I regret not appreciating his greatness till the back half of his career

[SonicMcMahon]

It was much weaker and primitive league though.

Am I doing it right?

Sure, the league was weaker. But as I've told you, guys can transcend their league. There's plenty of reason Bill Russell wouldn't be a top 10 player today; he had no offense for example. Duncan's game translates just fine. I think he might not have quite as much longevity, because his lesser mobility in his old age would hinder him too much in certain match ups. But young Duncan was far more mobile and athletic than Jokic, even playing the 3 as a rookie.

Bill Russell would definitely be a top 10 player today.

He'd be like a mix of 2008 PnR Dwight and 2014 peak Joakim Noah or peak Draymond without the 3pt shot. But with Tim Duncan's basketball IQ, leadership, and intangibles. Like, KG if he couldn't shoot but finished plays like prime Dwight. The type of player that would elevate weak and strong supporting casts alike - portable. Anchors a defense to elite status by himself; is the ultimate play finisher and connective tissue piece on offense.

The type of player that just seems to get the most out of any and all players. Give him Washington and he'd have them in the playoffs right now. Add him to Atlanta and they'd be right there with Boston as leading contenders.

Averages would look something like 18-22 ppg, 13-15 rpg, 6-8 apg, 1-2 spg, 2-3 bpg, and shoot 60-65% FG.

Elite screener, PnR roll man, finisher around the basket, and rebounder on both ends. Would function as a DHO elbow passing hub in the half-court like Sabonis. His fantastic ball handling and passing allow him to secure defensive rebounds and attack the fast break like Westbrook. He may also have some Giannis-like ball handler action in the PnR too.

I think the stats you posted are a bit exaggerated - I think the PPG,APG and especially FG% would all be down abit from what you post - but agree with your overall take and player comparisons. Bill Russell would be a menace and winner in a huge way today or in any era.

[Pantsman]

He and KG are ideal 5s in today’s game with their ability to guard on the inside, outside and score

[One_and_Done]

He and KG are ideal 5s in today’s game with their ability to guard on the inside, outside and score

KG's lack of rim protection makes him less than ideal, and I say that as someone with KG top 10 all-time.

[Roseability]

Probably second behind Jokic

Tim Duncan was on the all defensive team 15 times and on the first team 8 times. Jokic has never had the honor.

Sent from my SM-N975U using RealGM mobile app

Jokic is top 3 all-time playoff offensive player, arguably number 1. So, the rules and the facts are the facts. Jokic is the big cheese in this hypothetical regardless of Duncan’s individual defensive ability. Duncan is a souped-up version of AD, which makes him better than Giannis, Luka, and Embiid but not quite as good as Jok.

[SweaterBae]

Timmy would absolutely f'ing slap in any era.