Tim Duncan is retired, which means everyone has an opinion on where he ranks among the all-time greats in NBA history. Top five? Top 10? Some are calling him one of the best big men ever, but fellow big man Shaquille O’Neal is ready to have a semantic argument that dispels the notion.
Shaq feels that Duncan shouldn’t be considered a big man. He laid out his argument on his podcast, “The Big Podcast With Shaq.”
“I only have one beef with how they’re throwing this around,” O’Neal said. “They’re saying he’s one of the greatest big men. Do you count power forwards as big men? Because I don’t.
“I was always taught that the big man was a center. I know we got new rules and they don’t have the center spot no more, but no.”
And despite the big-man debate, Shaq had zero big men in his top-five list: Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Julius Erving, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James.
No matter the situation, men will always argue about their size compared to other men. Shaq is 7-foot-1, while Duncan, who did his share of defending the taller Shaq, stands 6-foot-11. A 2-inch difference can be a big deal in certain situations, sure, but not when comparing men this tall.
Besides, it’s not the size of the big man; it’s how he uses his package that determines his quality.
