Shaquille O’Neal has never been shy about talking about his own career in the NBA, and how he stacked up against the other greats of his era. Yes, the Big Man was big-time dominant in his day…one of the most dominant players ever to hit the court. Still, there were other dominant big men in his day – plenty of them! Who gave Shaq his biggest hardwood headaches? Read on…
O’Neal has often talked about the other big man of his era, and the one man who gave him the hardest time. No spoilers here, let’s get the name right up front: Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs.
Yes, Shaq used his overwhelming size and strength to his advantage pretty much every minute he was on the court. Both on offense and defense, O’Neal’s muscle power was on display.
But it wasn’t just about the muscle and the power. Shaq had some mind-games he could play as well. Stuff to get in the head of opposing players and had them wondering what was coming next. Did that work on everyone? Well, not really. O’Neal says Duncan seemed to have the ability to let his trash-talking bounce right off of him, offering only a nonchalant look when he tried something different.
Of course anyone who had the good fortune to see Duncan play all those years in San Antonio knows that he pretty much had the same exact nonchalant, non-excited, non-engaged look for every minute he played. He saved his excitement for off-court celebrations…and the Spurs had plenty of opportunities for those.
Shaq from his own autobiography: “The Spurs won because of Tim Duncan, a guy I could never break. I could talk trash to Patrick Ewing, get in David Robinson’s face, get a rise out of Alonzo Mourning, but when I went at Tim he’d look at me like he was bored. Whenever I run into a Tim Duncan fan who will claim Tim Duncan is the GOAT, I won’t disagree with him.”
Was Duncan a little robotic in his play? Maybe. But you can’t argue with the results. And in a way, Duncan’s personal style was almost a reflection of his team in general. Under the guidance of “Pops” – coach Gregg Popovich – the Spurs played a no-nonsense, never-flashy style. They rarely ran the fast break. Maybe the only highlights were Tony Parker’s spin moves and Manu Ginobili’s euro-step.
No, it wasn’t flashy, but it was absolutely great basketball. Popovich’s system featured crisp ball movement, perfect rhythm, and pristine defense. Sure, there were occasional times when Duncan used his size and speed to push his way to the circle, but it was mostly the simple jumpers from mid-range that racked up the scoring numbers.
Along with Shaq, others have sung Duncan’s praises. TNT broadcast partner Charles Barkley has gone as far as to name Duncan his power forward GOAT. Including him with the likes of Michael Jordan or LeBron James is a huge deal. Maybe the only reason he’s not mentioned more often was his super low-key profile, both on and off the court. After all, this was a guy whose nickname was the Big Fundamental. Not exactly superhero stuff!
Duncan was a member of the Spurs’ coaching staff with Pops in the 2019-20 NBA season but stepped down in November 2020. Since then, he’s kept a low profile. Just like back in his playing days!