There’s no Spurs legacy without the Big Three — and now sports culture website Bleacher Report is giving San Antonio’s dynasty its proper due. In a new ranking of the 100 greatest NBA players of all time, all three pillars of the Spurs’ golden era made the cut, with Tim Duncan landing firmly in the top 10.

The list, compiled by Bleacher Report’s NBA experts, weighs the full scope of each player’s career — including cumulative and average stats, accolades, playoff performances, championships, cultural relevance, and, of course, the ever-subjective greatness factor.

Tim Duncan, widely considered the greatest power forward in NBA history, sits at No. 7 overall. The five-time NBA champion and two-time MVP anchored the Spurs for 19 seasons, all in silver and black. Known for his quiet demeanor and textbook bank shots, Duncan led San Antonio through nearly two decades of playoff runs and title hunts.

“San Antonio grew and shifted around Duncan over the years,” wrote the Bleacher Report. “From a plodding, double-big look including David Robinson, the Spurs morphed into early adopters of the three-point revolution. Duncan was in the middle of all of it, hitting bank shots and driving championship runs as the supporting cast evolved.”

Duncan’s Big Three teammates, Argentinian Manu Ginóbili (no. 75) and French point guard Tony Parker (No. 86), checked in much further down the list. Robinson, affectionately known as “The Admiral,” came in at No. 19 as the greatest NBA player of all time for his work defining the Spurs ’90s era. In addition to scoring Bleacher Report admiration, he’s also part of a club so exclusive it only has two members — Robinson and Michael Jordan are the only players in NBA history to win both a scoring title and Defensive Player of the Year.

San Antonians may give side-eye to Kawhi Leonard’s inclusion at No. 32, although Bleacher Report nodded to his early career dominance in San Antonio. After Leonard departed from the Spurs in 2018, the local hate got so rowdy that Gregg Popovich had to chide local fans for disruptive booing during a 2023 game.

A handful of notable players who had career-defining stints with the Spurs also made the list:

  • No. 42 — George Gervin
  • No. 62 — Pau Gasol
  • No. 67 — Dennis Rodman
  • No. 100 — Artis Gilmore