Call Me Boring

The National Basketball Association playoff finals are going on right now. Tim Duncan's San Antonio Spurs are playing LaBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers. I don't watch NBA basketball but the finals are sometimes fun to follow.

I'm intrigued by all the media hype LaBron James has received and all the negative criticism that Tim Duncan and the Spurs have received. LaBron is new, exciting, confident, and brash. He has been anointed the next savior of the NBA. Wow! Pretty big shoes to fill.

Tim Duncan aka "The Big Fundamental," is described as old (he's 30!), dull and boring! Watching the Spurs play basketball has been likened to watching paint dry. And what has Tim and the Spurs done to deserve this kind of criticism? All they do is win basketball games and championships in a professional, team-oriented style of play. The Spurs have been recognized as the model NBA franchise that all others should seek to emulate.

Please spare me! Isn't this what professional sports is supposed to be all about? Isn't success measured by championships? I don't know about you, I don't mind being called boring as long as you also call me "Champion!"

The problem is that athletics have become more about entertainment and less about competition. Big egos, large super-star contracts, charismatic personalities, and unfulfilled expectations litter the sports landscape on the way to championship rings. In the end, it's almost always the team who quietly plays good defense, executes on offense and plays together well as a team who wins championships.

And what has Tim Duncan accomplished during his 10-year NBA career? Tim Duncan is a three-time NBA champion and a three-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. He has also won the NBA Most Valuable Player twice, and was voted into nine All-Star games, ten All-NBA teams, and ten All-Defensive teams. Many basketball experts consider him to be one of the greatest power forwards in history

In addition, as a college player, he was named ACC Male Athlete of the Year, won the John R. Wooden Award and was named Naismith College Player of the Year (all 1997). In his rookie year in the NBA (1998), he was voted Rookie of the Year and elected into the All-NBA Rookie Team. Duncan is one of only four players to receive All-NBA First Team honors in each of his first eight seasons (1998-2005), along with Hall of Famers Bob Pettit (10 seasons), Larry Bird (9 seasons), and Oscar Robertson (9 seasons), and is the only player in NBA history to receive All-NBA and All-Defensive honors in his first nine seasons (1998-2006). Duncan was also named by the Association for Professional Basketball Research as one of "100 Greatest Professional Basketball Players of The 20th Century", being the youngest player on that list.

Not a bad resume' for such a boring guy! You won't be reading about Tim Duncan being arrested for animal endangerment. You won't be reading a newly released book by Duncan criticizing his teammates and coaches. You won't be hearing his name associated with a steroid investigation. And you won't be seeing his mug shot on national news regarding felony charges related to weapon possession at a local strip club. How boring!

Tim Duncan is a classy, stand-up guy who quietly goes about his business and wins championships. He knows that winning is more about substance than style, team-work rather than individual accomplishment. In this age of super-star egos, Tim Duncan is a flat-out winner.

So go ahead, call Duncan boring if you must. But just remember, you also must call him Champion!