Pounding the Rock’s All-Time Spurs 1-on-1 Tournament: Final Four

After several hard fought rounds, the San Antonio Spurs All-Time 1-on-1 Tournament is reaching its climax. Arguably the four best Spurs of all time have overcome Hall-of-Famers, All-Stars, NBA champions and even an alien to advance to the semi-finals. Now Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, George Gervin and David Robinson will clash to decide who is the best 1-on-1 player in the franchise’s history (based on votes from a pool of dedicated fans.)

The official results of the last round, with voting percentages is in the bracket below:

Here is a reminder of the rules before we get into the matchups:

• Each player is at the prime of their Spurs tenure. So someone like Kawhi Leonard or Dominique Wilkins would represent their peak season as a Spur, not the best of their career.
• Assume traditional 1-on-1 rules for the tournament. Half court, games to 11 straight up (ones and twos), no offensive rebounds, and checking the ball after a score. For this exercise, we’ll be alternating possessions, so no “make it, take it.”
• Single elimination tournament bracket. If a player loses, they are done.

Vote in the polls below for the winners of the Final Four.

Tim Duncan (1) vs. Manu Ginobili (5)

Marilyn: The GOATPUFF vs. the greatest 6th Man of all time. Manu’s creativity will keep him in this one despite there being a decent gap in where these two rank all time, but he’s going up against one of the greatest defenders of all time, who was somehow robbed of never winning DPOY. Prime Tim has the defensive chops, discipline and lateral quickness to keep his teammate in check, along with the size and power down low to overpower him to get his points and advance.

Jacob: It’s hard to find a more fitting matchup in this tournament. Two of the biggest names behind one of the most iconic stretches in NBA history face off for ultimate bragging rights (I’m being dramatic, I know). Manu’s scoring chops make this a respectable matchup, even with a size disadvantage. But Duncan is a stout defender and would physically dominate this game. It has felt like we were destined for a Big Fundamental vs. The Admiral final. I expect at least one half of that to happen.

Jesus: Manu faced tough odds to get here. Both Larry Kenon and Kawhi Leonard could have eliminated him. It’s not crazy to say that Kawhi should have. It’s still believable that one of the most competitive and creative players ever managed to get an edge on two bigger opponents with similar scoring chops, but his run should end here. Ginobili beat Duncan the one time they faced each other at the team level, in the 2002 basketball World Cup, with Timmy at the height of his powers. He was a nightmare to guard for every elite big man he faced. He’d make it suspenseful. But Prime Duncan would prevail. Big Fun was unguardable in the post and had a jumper. He was also mobile for his size, a defensive savant, and too calm to get rattled by Manu magic. It would be the biggest upset in the tournament to see him lose this, even against a great opponent like Ginobili.

J.R.: I don’t relish calling Manu an underdog, but there it is. Big Fun just has to be the heavy favorite against El Contusion. Since this is a matchup made to pull at my heartstrings, this is no time to listen to my heart. I want to take this seriously, and to do that I have to remember how fast Timmy was in his prime. How agile he was and how high he could jump. I have to remember how quick his second and third jumps were, and the way guys bounced off of him. I have to focus on his preternatural ability to stay on his feet instead of falling for pump fakes. Finally, I must remind myself that it’s not the worst thing in the world for your favorite player to lose to the greatest power forward of all time.

David Robinson (2) vs. George Gervin (3)

Marilyn: If the Admiral can overcome The Alien, he can overcome his smaller version in the Iceman. Don’t get me wrong, Gervin is the best scorer in Spurs history and will get his points, but Robinson is also arguably one of the greatest defenders of all time along with the power and scoring prowess to overwhelm Gervin on offense. Unsurprisingly, the Spurs’ two greatest players, both big men, advance.

Jacob: Robinson didn’t have my vote against Victor Wembanyama, but he gets it here. The Iceman is smooth, and will get his buckets against the bigger Robinson, but I don’t think he stands a chance guarding the big man inside. Robinson advances to the finals for a clash of two iconic big men.

Jesus: Few players were as fun to watch and as devastatingly effective on the offensive end as The Iceman. The last thing I want to do is to downplay his greatness on that end. The man has four scoring titles, after all. But David Robinson also led the league in scoring once and dropped 71 points once in a game. Because he was an absolute beast on defense —and the boards— on top of being an elite offensive player, The Admiral’s scoring prowess is often downplayed somewhat, but the man could get buckets. When you combine his dominant play on both ends with some of the best athletic tools the league has ever seen, you get an absolute matchup nightmare. Gervin would score, because that’s what he did better than 99 percent of players who have suited up in the pros. But Robinson should be too much for him to handle.

J.R.: This one is about as simple to me as I can imagine a Final Four matchup being. Bottom line is that both players can score in bunches, but David could also defend like a maniac, while Gervin is serviceable at worst, and slightly above average at best. This one goes to 50, and I don’t think it’s all that close.