Twitter wasn't invented until 2006. Prior to that, vigorous, unhinged, and mean-spirited debates were limited to playgrounds, bars, and the sort of Internet chat rooms you might feel the need to shower after visiting.
One such debate straight out of 2005 was Tim Duncan vs. Kevin Garnett. The two Hall of Fame-bound big men were in their NBA primes, having entered the league in 1997 and 1995, respectively. As their careers wind down a decade later, it's still a divisive topic among some longtime league observers: KG versus Timmy. The Big Ticket versus The Big Fundamental.
The hot-take fallback, of course, is to go with the player who has won more championships. Duncan has a healthy 5-1 lead there, and unlike Garnett, a shot at snagging another one this year. (If KG wanted to ring-chase, he probably could, but seems content ending his career working with the Minnesota Timberwolves' youth movement.)
Yet the broad blanket of the Larry O'Brien Trophy doesn't do the argument's nuance justice. When David Robinson missed 76 games for the the 1996-97 San Antonio Spurs, it did two things for the franchise: tailspun it to a 20-62 record - which allowed it to win the lottery and draft Duncan No. 1 that June - and made it name Gregg Popovich head coach.
The result has been the most venerable, efficient NBA machine of the last two decades. The Spurs won the championship in Duncan's second year, and have never lost more than 32 games in a season since. The only time the franchise failed to win 50 games with Duncan was the lockout-shortened 1999 campaign, which produced that first title.
Early in his career, Garnett - drafted straight out of high school in '95 - was the face of a Minnesota franchise that had stumbled since coming into the league. The idea of Stephon Marbury as his sidekick fizzled when Marbury wanted out, and Wally Szczerbiak was anointed the next cohort. When Garnett won his lone NBA MVP award in '03-'04 and the Wolves finished atop the Western Conference, his go-to guys were Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell. Minnesota lost in the conference finals.
By the time Garnett moved on to the Boston Celtics in 2007, he had modified his role alongside Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, and focused his considerable energy predominantly on the defensive end. The result was his lone NBA title and sole Defensive Player of the Year award.
That visible energy also drills down on the difference between Garnett and Duncan. The debate often seemed like a argument about style versus substance, and it was easy to see why: Big Fundamental, plodding, back to the basket, getting it done with the trained precision of a tax lawyer opposite the Big Ticket, who'd shut down the opposing team's best player, crush a dunk with the full force of his 7-foot-4 wingspan, and unleash a primal scream in rapid succession.
Their personalities underscored those surface differences. There was Garnett's infamous intensity coming through while discussing his team, causing him to break down and cry during a televised interview with then-TNT broadcaster John Thompson. Meanwhile, one of the most significant glimpses into Duncan's private life came when he appeared on late-night TV and chatted about wanting to fix cars after he retires.
It's tough to find two polar opposites who dominated their positions in one sport at the same time for so long. Consider the numbers. The 39-year-old Garnett, in his 21st season, has spent the majority of his life as an NBA player. While Duncan - born 24 days before KG in 1976 - came into the league two years later, he's played in almost 100 more postseason contests than Garnett, which means he's actually appeared in more games overall.
Either way, averaging a double-double for two decades is quite an accomplishment. The career averages going into Wednesday:
| Season | PTS | REB | BLK | FG% | FT% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Duncan | 18+ | 19.3 | 10.9 | 2.2 | 50.6 | 69.6 |
| Kevin Garnett | 20+ | 18 | 10.1 | 1.4 | 49.7 | 78.9 |
The modification of the old men's games as they adjusted to new circumstances hasn't been unflattering to their legacies either, particularly in Duncan's case.
It's widely expected that neither will play beyond next season at the latest. For Duncan, that could mean more hardware as the Spurs pass the mantle to the likes of Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge. For Garnett, that means serving as mentor to Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins (born in the same city of Toronto that Garnett was drafted in, four months earlier).
In the end, the two brilliant and inextricably linked careers will conclude much the way they unfolded. Enjoy them while you can.
