Off the top of my head, Tim Duncan is one of the top three or four big men of all time. A true once-in-a-lifetime player. A legend (without the ego of one), with the MVP and championship trophies to back it up.
That said, think of all the big men who were simply not in TD's class. The list goes something like this:
Ewing.
Olajuwon.
Robinson.
McHale.
Parish.
Posted by djsunyc:
if tim duncan played in the mid/late 80's to the early 90's, he'd be brad daugherty.
what? dj, i can't believe you undervalue duncan to that degree.
imo . . . .
olajuwon was one of the true marvels to ever take to the court. but even with that i'd say duncan's on his level because of his overall record and impaat on any game he played n.
ewing would play great all game and then come up short in the end - duncan would do a couple of small things to beat him.
robinson was an athletic and physical freak with a fantastic attitude toward the game but imo without a real center's game and no bread-and-butter move when he needed it. and he'll always be remembered for being blown right off the court by hakeem in his own MVP year.
mchale was killing everyone until he played in the playoffs with a busted foot. he was never the same after that - would have been interesting to see just how dominant he could have become. but he didn't carry a team to championships the way duncan did.
parish - duncan has it totally over the chief.
), Magic (or Shaq) to the Lakers and Bird to the Celtics.