Tim Duncan vs Shaquille O’Neal

The most dominant player in the NBA in the last decade… the list usually comes down to Tim Duncan, and Shaquille O’Neal. This article hopes to analyze their accomplishments, career statistics, winning percentages, and unique characteristics to find out who has had the biggest impact. Please feel free to drop off any thoughts in the comments section and vote for you think who has been the most dominant player at the bottom of the article.

Accomplishments

Both players have won four titles in the last 10 years, Shaquille O’Neal won three back to back championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and one in Miami, while Tim Duncan one all four championships in San Antonio although none of them were in consecutive years. Shaq took the regular season MVP honor in the 1999-2000 season, while Duncan got it back to back in 2001-2002, and 2002-2003 seasons. Both players have won 3 finals MVP awards, Shaquille O’Neal winning all three while in Los Angeles (Dwyane Wade won it last year in Miami), and Tim Duncan winning the first three as well (Tony Parker got it this year).

Winner: Tie

Career Stats

Throughout his career Shaquille O’Neal has averaged 26.0 points per game, 11.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.5 blocks. Tim Duncan has averaged 21.8 points per game, 11.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.5 blocks. Shaquille O’Neal scored 25+ points per game for 10 straight seasons from 1993 to 2003 and even during an injury prone stint in Miami has managed to average over 20.0 points a game over the last three years. Tim Duncan however has never had a season in which he scored more than Shaq’s career average of 26.0 points per game, but out of his 10 seasons in the NBA he has averaged 20 or more points a game for 9 of them.

Winner: Shaquille O’Neal

Floor Dominance

When you think of the biggest, baddest, and most dominant player in professional sports, well at least for me, there’s only one name that comes up; Shaquille O’Neal. He draws double, triple, and even quadruple teams when he’s around the basket. Smaller players jump on his shoulders and he still goes up strong to throw it down. If other NBA centers wake up in the middle of the night with a cold sweat you know that they are thinking of the game tomorrow night when they have to defend Shaq. This is the guy that bought down the whole basketball net with a dunk; rim, backboard, supports, and everything in between. Tim Duncan is an excellent player, a solid scorer, a great defender, and a genuine winner, but when it comes to dominating a basketball court, there’s no one in the world who’s got the upper hand on the Diesel.

Winner: Shaquille O’Neal

Post Play

There’s no question that Shaquille O’Neal is the most unstoppable player when he gets the ball underneath the basket, whether it’s an offensive rebound or just dominant positioning, it’s an automatic two points. Tim Duncan is better fundamentally when he has his back to the hoop or further out from the key. He has one of the most natural bank shots the NBA has ever seen and his short range jump shot is automatic. Not only can both players score efficiently down low but are well adept at passing out of double teams to create easy scoring opportunities for teammates.

Winner: Tie

Defense

Tim Duncan has been on the NBA’s all defensive team for ten straight years, seven of them being on the first team. Shaquille O’Neal however has never made the first team selection, but has earned a spot on the all-defensive second team three times. One thing to remember though is that there is only one center spot on the all-defensive team, but two forward spots, giving Duncan an advantage when it comes to being selected. Either way both players are excellent anchors to their respective teams’ defense but while Shaquille O’Neal is prone to pickup quick fouls, Tim Duncan gets just as many blocks as Shaq with almost 1 less foul a game. Tim Duncan is also a better a better perimeter defender and is able to help out on screens with greater efficiency.

Winner: Tim Duncan

Free Throws

Shaquille O’Neal is arguably the worst free throw shooter in the NBA history; shooting at around 50% on a consistent basis (sure there’s Ben Wallace who’s barely above the 40% mark, but Shaq takes almost 4 times more free throws than Wallace each game), heck there’s even an in depth article at Wikipedia detailing the Hack-a-Shaq strategy. Tim Duncan isn’t a great free throw shooter either, with a career average of 68%, he is one of the most inconsistent players from the free throw line. He holds the team record for most free throws made in a game without a miss (17/17 vs Utah on January 17th 2002), and in that 2002 season he shot a very respectable 79.9%, but dropped down to 59.9% just 2 seasons later. None the less, Shaq has only had one season of free throw shooting above 60%, while Duncan has only had one season of free throw shooting less than 60%.

Winner: Tim Duncan

Team Value

Since coming into the league, Shaquille O’Neal has played for three teams: the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, and Miami Heat, acquiring records of 208-120 (63.4%), 435-189 (69.7%), 155-91 (63.0%) respectively, for a total of 798-400 (66.6%). Tim Duncan on the other hand has only played for the San Antonio Spurs, and in his 10 year career has helped them acquire a record of 559-229 (70.9%), higher than any team that Shaquille O’Neal has played on, and furthermore the highest winning percentage of any team since the 1997 draft. You also have to consider that Tim Duncan is 4 years younger than Shaquille O’Neal (who turned 35 earlier this year) and his salary is also $2,500,000 less than Shaq’s. On the other hand Shaquille O’Neal is a much more marketable player than Tim Duncan whose fundamentally sound basketball skills do little to sell out road games, or produce exceptional TV ratings. In fact in three of the last five years where San Antonio has traveled to the NBA finals TV ratings have continued decline finally hitting a record low rating of 6.2 in this years finals (down over 25% since last year).

Winner: Tie

Result

Vote

Well I still can’t decide who has been the more dominant player in the NBA in the last decade. Both players have accomplished much in their careers, and are still two of the best basketball players on the planet, so it’s up to you guys to decide who you think has been the most dominant player in the NBA in the last decade. Vote below, or drop off a comment on the permalink page.