Tim Duncan Quotes

Karl Malone used a lot of veteran stuff that I thought was cool. Charles Barkley taught me a lot when I played against him. How he would use his body or use his dribble to get people in there and all that stuff. Veteran moves.

I'm not the strongest, I'm not the fastest, I can't jump the highest, so for me, it's doing it in other ways: changing paces, using your body to get open, knowing your defender. A lot goes into it. You have to study the game.

The thing in basketball is you always want to be free. I don't want to be hugged up to my guy. When we're body to body, I want to control you.

I developed my game a lot and learned how to score off the dribble. I learned how to play team defense and one-on-one defense.

Once I got to college, I didn't know defensive rotations; my footwork was sloppy. I used to travel every other play.

I'm starting to figure it out - figure out my spots, where I should be on the court, where I'm most effective, and how I handle double teams - and it's paying off.

I don't back down. Like, I don't know how to flop. That's never been a part of my game. For me to know if a guy likes to turn left shoulder or right shoulder in the post, I have an advantage. Or if he likes to go left all the time, I have an advantage. Or if he can't make open jump shots, I have an advantage.

I got used to throwing a lot of lobs, got used to finding shooters, finding cutters. Each year at Duke I have had to score in different spots. I think that has helped me so much.

I'm not the fastest player, but you can't really play up on me because my handles are good enough where I can get around you. But you can't play off of me, because I can shoot. And if smaller guys try to defend me, I'll back them down. I'm a good post player.

I always try to outsmart my defender.

I'm a 6'1' guard, but I'm blessed to have a wingspan of 6'7'. I have good lateral movement. For me, fighting over screens and using my hands, I kind of get tips on the ball. People don't understand getting a hand on the ball - not just stealing it - means a lot, especially in this league because everything happens so fast.

It's basketball, man. It's being smart, using your size as an advantage. I can get into people. I can get into your stomach, so you can't back me down. I can stay in front of you, I can move my feet, I can be aggressive. People don't understand that it can be a disadvantage being tall, too.

I need to improve on a lot of different areas. I need to improve on my timing on my shot-blocking, when to go, and when not to go. And there's definitely always room for improvement on my shooting.

People who understand basketball definitely appreciate what I bring to the table.

I wasn't a bad basketball player, but I was far from the world's greatest. Good defense, no offense - that was me.

You've got to learn the footwork, the positioning, how to box out, how to pass, how to shoot your free throws. All these things are necessary, not to be the No. 1 player in the world, but maybe you can play against him.

My type of basketball is about how to create space, how to maneuver, how to get your shot off.

At the end of 2003, my game was complete. Shooting, defense, using the dribble, transition, midrange stuff was all there. Then it was about fine-tuning and trying to improve in each area.

I feel good doing it. It's not like guys are stripping me at half-court or I'm just losing the ball dribbling. I think I'm handling the ball pretty well, just trying to make good passes, man.

I think that everyone should be able to dribble. Everyone should be able to pass. Otherwise, why are you out there?

When I was young, I had to learn the fundamentals of basketball. You can have all the physical ability in the world, but you still have to know the fundamentals.

Corner is the easiest three in basketball.

In Indiana, I knew the offense in and out. I knew spacing; I knew personnel. I knew the offense, how coach wanted to play me. So when I just wanted to take over and control the game, I could.

I've been working on my defense and my inside game.

I had a two-dribble limit.