Kerr hesitates to call Duncan greatest PF ever: 'I think he's a center'
Current Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr bore witness to the greatness of 15-time All-Star Tim Duncan firsthand as his teammate on the San Antonio Spurs for four seasons, including two championship-winning teams.
Duncan, 40, announced his retirement from the NBA on Monday after 19 seasons with the Spurs. There was no farewell tour, no lavish press conference, or any big reveal of the sort, which is befitting of a player who never needed or demanded that sort of spotlight.
"To just walk away without a press conference is just typical Tim. Modesty. Humility. Just a phenomenal teammate that was so much fun to play with," Kerr told ESPN's Tim MacMahon.
Related: By the numbers: Breaking down Duncan's illustrious 19-year career
With his career now officially over, the question now becomes where Duncan's storied run ranks in league history. The widespread belief is that there's never been a better power forward, but in the eyes of Kerr, we may be viewing "The Big Fundamental" at the wrong position entirely.
"I think he's a center," Kerr said. "The only reason he's called a power forward is because he started his career playing next to David [Robinson], but once David left, Timmy was down on the block all the time. I mean, it's just semantics. ... Regardless, he's certainly a top 10 player of all time. I think you can make that argument real easily."
Duncan played over half of his minutes at the four spot from 2000-04. It wasn't until 2008 when those percentages drastically leaned towards center, with the five-time champion suiting up at power forward for just six percent of his minutes in 2007-08. Between 2009 and 2014, Duncan played exclusively at center.
Of his 1,536 minutes last season, only 15 were at power forward.