“I was like, 'I didn't know you're married with kids'”- Shaquille O’Neal opens up on his relation with Tim Duncan, says he was uninformed on the "enigmatic superstar" parenting 2 daughters
In his 19 years in the NBA, Tim Duncan was a five-time champion, three-time finals MVP and back-to-back league MVP in 2002 and 2003. Duncan is widely considered to be the greatest power forward of all time.
His on- and off-court demeanor served him well during his time in the league as a gentle-giant, quiet big-man who would obliterate you in the post.
Shaquille O'Neal weighed in on Duncan's off-court life, calling him enigmatic:
"When I see him, when I see his beautiful wife and two daughters and they were tall. I'm looking, I was like, 'I didn't know you're married with kids.'
"Like, he's one of the more enigmatic superstars of the NBA. He had two tall daughters and I said, 'Bro, you know I got daughters.' He said, 'Yeah Shaq, I know you got kids.'"
Formidable power forwards of the 2000s: Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Rasheed Wallace and more
The stretch four is a power forward that stretches the defense. They force the defense to guard farther away from the basket owing to the forward's ability to shoot the ball.
The 2000s was a deadly era if you were a power forward. On a nightly basis, you were matched up against deadly two-way players and near-seven-foot athletes. They could also score in a variety of ways. Be it Dirk Nowitzki's one-legged fadeaway, Tim Duncan's bank shot or Kevin Garnett's mid-range jumper.
Power forwards in the early-to-mid 2000s were some of the most complete players. This was partially because of the skill they had developed and partially because of their physical gifts.
Garnett was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2008. Rasheed Wallace was a defensive menace. Tim Duncan is often called the greatest defender to have never won a DPOY award. He had 15 All-Defensive selections.
Besides the aforementioned players, Chris Bosh and Rashard Lewis were some of the most formidable power forwards in the league. Bosh was notably part of the "Big Three" in South Beach, also sometimes referred to as "The Heatles."
The shift from a power-forward centric to a guard-centric league was gradual and connected with the rise of the Golden State Warriors. This was mostly due to the 3-point revolution and Steph Curry.
Post-ups had become a thing of the past by the time the Dubs established their dominance. Switching defenses and ball movement has become the lie of the land in the NBA.
However, with teams now exclusively hunting for wing players, the shooting power forward is likely to reappear, this time with a 3-point shot.