Philadelphia 76ers: The Next Duncan and Shaq Rivalry?
There has not been a good big man rivalry since Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal. Now the Philadelphia 76ers have a big man to help make a new rivalry.
Rivalries make basketball fun. Some of the most entertaining had to be the Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal match ups from the mid-90s and going to the end of the 2000’s. When they faced off, the showdown enamored many, as two titans clashed against each other on the low block. Like Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain before them, Duncan and O’Neal were in a different time in the league where centers were the focal point of teams. In this new era of the NBA, point guard is the golden position that all teams clamor for. It is hard to find a well balanced center in today’s NBA. The rivalry of centers still has a chance to revive itself and it all starts with a young big man with the Philadelphia 76ers.
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Joel Embiid could be the O’Neal in the newest form of the rivalry. Similar in height and stature to O’Neal, Embiid carries around the fun loving and care free charisma that O’Neal does. It might not be fair to compare the two, because Embiid has yet to play an NBA game. However, it is hard to refuse to see the similarity both physically and personality wise. Based on the practice videos of Embiid the only two differences between O’Neal and Embiid, is that Embiid is more mobile and he has a much better mid-range shot.
The Duncan role of this new rivalry is a little trickier to figure who could fill that role. Karl-Anthony Towns is the perfect player to fill the role. Compared to Embiid, Towns is much more low key in personality. Like Duncan, Towns can play both power forward and center. Towns is a similar build and stature to Duncan and the both have similar games.
| Rk | Player | Age | G | GS | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | eFG% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Duncan | 21 | 82 | 82 | 39.1 | .549 | .000 | .553 | .549 | .662 | 3.3 | 8.6 | 11.9 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 21.1 |
| 2 | Karl-Anthony Towns | 20 | 82 | 82 | 32.0 | .542 | .341 | .559 | .555 | .811 | 2.8 | 7.7 | 10.5 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 18.3 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/2/2016.
Duncan obviously has the edge over Towns in a majority of categories, however the similarities between their stats is hard to ignore. The reigning rookie of the year has a bright future to have similar first year stats with the great Duncan.
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Embiid and Towns have long careers ahead of them as long as they stay healthy. There could be plenty of memorable match ups between these two. For now, the only way that they would meet in the playoffs at this point is if they got to the NBA Finals, which is a few years away for both teams at this point. This article is not to say that these players are going to be like O’Neal and Duncan, but rather, that they could fulfill the need in the NBA of a big man rival that is a prime time event in decades past.