"I remained unconvinced" - Phil Jackson initially doubted Tim Duncan's ability

Tim Duncan was an incredible player the moment he stepped onto the NBA hardwood.

Many rival coaches viewed him as a big threat as they were in awe of his skills and potential, except for the legendary Phil Jackson.

As the mastermind behind the Chicago Bulls dynasty in the ’90s, Jackson was understandably hard to impress. He had a reputation and the resume to say whether a player was good or not.

In a candid admission, The Zen Master wasn’t sold on the idea that Duncan had what it takes to be a great player in the NBA.

“My first encounter with him took place in a summer league in Utah back in 1997,” Jackson said of Duncan. “A number of people on my coaching staff with the Chicago Bulls were impressed with his game. I remained unconvinced.”

Jordan recognized Duncan’s potential

The San Antonio Spurs were all-in on making Duncan a reliable co-star for David Robinson. In fact, he played 46 minutes in the Spurs’ first encounter with Jackson and the Bulls. He logged a staggering 19 points, 22 rebounds and one block.

The same could be said of Duncan’s performance in the second meeting. He scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. However, that wasn’t enough for Phil to acknowledge that Timmy was the player everybody was raving about at the time.

“He was effective in his rookie season — my last year with the Bulls. But we only played the Spurs twice,” Phil noted.

The Bulls won in both contests during Duncan’s rookie year with the Spurs. Though Jackson was unconvinced that Duncan would be a force to be reckoned with, Bulls icon Michael Jordan recognized the youngster’s bright future in the league.

“We got a lot of talented players…You can go with Duncan. Don’t sleep on Tim Duncan. I would think he is probably the most fundamental all-around big man,” Jordan said at the time.

How Duncan earned Phil’s respect

It took a while before Duncan finally earned Jackson’s respect as a player. In fact, Jackson publicly criticized the Spurs’ championship run in 1999, infamously stating that it deserved to have an asterisk because of a lockout-shortened season.

Phil’s perception of Duncan only changed during his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers as head coach. When the Spurs posed a significant challenge to the Lakers in the playoffs, Jackson realized that The Big Fundamental was actually better than he thought.

“Then we had our run of three straight championships (2000-02), and Tim was always the player we had to plan for in those series against the Spurs,” Jackson admitted.

“He had some limitations — free throws and on the left block, we could trap his right shoulder — but he overcame those limitations and the Spurs were able to stop our fourth chance at another championship,” Phil added of Duncan.

“When David retired, Tim had to carry a larger load, which initially affected him. But Tim took on the challenge,” Phil pointed out.

Duncan won back-to-back MVP honors in 2002 and 2003. As the new face of the Spurs, he spearheaded San Antonio to a second NBA title in ’03, preventing Jackson and the Lakers from pulling off a historic four-peat.

At that point, Jackson could no longer deny that Duncan was indeed an exceptional player.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 3, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

“I remained unconvinced” – Phil Jackson initially doubted Tim Duncan’s ability

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