 by Preston Tolliver
“It’s better to burn out than to fade away.” The line was first written by Neil Young for his song, “Hey Hey, My My,” and would later be the defining line in Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain’s suicide note, paving way for broody teenagers the world over to use it to define their, well, broodiness. The line hasn’t been particularly relevant since April of 1994 when Cobain shot himself, but it’s one that’s come to mind when watching the two greatest basketball players of their generation – Kobe Bryant, the enigmatic godchild of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Tim Duncan, the drab and oft-boring “Big Fundamental” of the San Antonio Spurs – enter into the twilight of their careers. Since they were drafted – Kobe in 1996, and Duncan in ’97 – the two have become masters of their respective positions on the court. Kobe would, upon Michael Jordan’s retirement in 2003, lay claim to the title of the NBA’s best active two-guard; Duncan, on the other hand, has risen to argumentatively the greatest power forward of all time. But, as Father Time is wont to do, it’s given Duncan and Kobe two ways of exiting the hardwood: to burn out, or to fade away, and, just like their careers over the last 20 years, their swan songs couldn’t be any different. Everyone likes to make the LeBron James comparison, but what Kobe Bryant has been is the closest thing we’ve seen to Michael Jordan if Michael Jordan were human – driven almost psychopathically to win and win with the ball in his hands, almost at any cost, yet undeniably flawed. In his career, Kobe’s had no shortage of huge moments – his 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors, willing the Lakers into overtime and then over the Phoenix Suns in 2006, and of course, his five rings, the most recent of which came in 2010 when he and Pau Gasol sought revenge against the Boston Celtics in a rematch of the 2008 Finals. And like Jordan kept the likes of Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and John Stockton from the hall of champions, Kobe would close those doors to other chip-worthy players as Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady. Here's what Kobe and Michael look side-by-side, courtesy of basketball-reference.com (as of Thursday, Dec. 3): Jordan: 15 years in the NBA; six championships; 14 all-star appearances; five regular-season MVP's; six Finals MVP's; 1,072 games played; 41,011 minutes played; .497 field goal percentage; 32,292 points (fourth all-time); 5,633 assists; 6,672 rebounds; 2,514 steals; and 893 blocks. Bryant: 20 years in the NBA; five championships; 17 all-star appearances; one regular-season MVP; two Finals MVP's; 1,295 games played; 47,245 minutes played; .450 field goal percentage; 32,734 points (third all-time); 6,171 assists; 6,860 rebounds; 1,897 steals; and 628 blocks. But while Kobe has always played with the same chip on his shoulder that led Mike to his six rings, his playing style was oftentimes haphazardly selfish, and although until the last three seasons he possessed the ability to will the Lakers to the win on his own, he didn’t always take the best course of action. Where Michael controlled his drive to win, Kobe was consumed by it. Sure, Michael’s last seasons were uneventful, but Kobe’s final act has proven nothing short of depressing (his 31-point game against the Washington Wizards Wednesday night notwithstanding), and the memories we’ve made of him dominating on the court are quickly being replaced by the sad image of a legend trying and failing to claw his way back into basketball lore, each air ball and clank off the edge of the backboard chipping away, bit by bit, at the legacy he’s built. Meanwhile, while Duncan’s stats have incrementally lowered over the years, he’s accepted each newfound role under Gregg Popovich as he’s looked to shoulder less of the workload and instead rely more on the team’s other parts. Duncan is like Bill Russell in that way, and Kobe the rival Wilt. Where both Wilt and Kobe have always been about leading on paper, Russell and Duncan have always looked to lead on the court. Now, anyone with the Internet knows that Kobe has announced this year will be his last on the NBA court, and no one would be surprised to see Tim Duncan step away at the end of this season. The two are virtually their equal in terms of career statistics – they both played close to an equal number of minutes, and while Kobe leads Duncan heavily in points and assists, Duncan smashes Kobe on the boards and in swats (as would be expected in a comparison between a guard and a forward/center). Here's a look at Duncan's stats, again, courtesy of basketball-reference.com on Dec. 3: 19 years in the NBA; five championships; 15 all-star appearances; two regular-season MVP's; three Finals MVP's; 1,349 games played; 46,324 minutes played; .506 field goal percentage; 26,156 points; 4,114 assists; 14,807 rebounds (seventh all-time); 993 steals; and 2,971 blocks (fifth-all time). Another important stat: Kobe’s Lakers have faced Duncan’s Spurs five times in the postseason. Of those, the Spurs took three, most recently in the opening round of the 2013 playoffs, a series which Bryant was forced to sit out due to injury. So if we’re looking at Tim vs. Kobe, as far as the postseason goes, the two are 2-2. Now, let's take a look at how their numbers compare about a quarter of the way through the 2015-16 season (keep in mind that while Kobe was drafted a year before Duncan, Duncan is still two years the elder at 39 years old): Bryant: 15 games played; 471 minutes played; .311 field goal percentage (84 of 270 shots); 252 points; 49 assists; 60 rebounds; 15 steals; and one block. Duncan: 18 games played; 492 minutes played; .529 field goal percentage (73 of 138 shots; 182 points; 52 assists; 163 rebounds; 15 steals; and 29 blocks. Duncan peaked in the 2002-03 season, averaging 23.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.9 blocks a game. This season, as 13 years on the court are wont to do, his numbers are much lower, averaging 10.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.6 blocks per game. What separates Duncan’s decline from Kobe’s, however, is the acceptance of fading into the background. While Duncan’s scoring less, he’s also shooting less, taking an average of 7.7 shots per game, compared to 17.2 in the 2002-03 season. Kobe, however, is averaging 16.8 points per game this season, in addition to 3.3 assists, 4 rebounds and .1 blocks per game. The points look impressive until you look at how many shots he’s throwing up to get those numbers up – on average, he’s shooting 18 field goals per game, and is only connecting on 5.6 of those. The point is, if Duncan has aged like a fine wine, Kobe has fizzled like a soda left out on the counter. Tim Duncan is fading way, slowing his game until he’s ready to walk through the doors of the AT&T Center the last time, while Kobe is burning out, punching the gas in an old, worn out engine. No one can argue that Kobe Bryant has been nothing but legendary, argumentatively a top 10 player of all time, and top 15 at worst. But like we learned in Aesop’s Fables, slow and steady wins the race. Kobe was always the hare, pushing too hard and expecting too much at the apex of his run, culminating in a standstill just short of the finish line; inversely, Duncan has kept himself a pivotal piece of the Spurs’ puzzle, contributing not where he’ll get the most notoriety, but where his team needs him, and it’s with that reluctance toward any spotlight that he has slowly trudged ahead of Kobe, who, mired by injury, rested in the grass the last two years. Now, Kobe has woken up just in time to see the greatest player of their generation cross the finish line ahead of him.
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