Duncan doesn't say much, so when he does speak his teammates listen. Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

"So I just try to think of him more as a power forward, for lack of a better definition. And I don't know that there's ever going to be somebody better at that position, considering everything he's done. It's not just the scoring and the defense -- you add the blocked shots, the passing, the leadership he's given, the championships."

Says Orlando Magic senior vice president Pat Williams, "Are Karl Malone, Kevin McHale and Bob Pettit the greatest power forwards of all time? On that basis I'd take Duncan. He's just rock solid as a competitor and performer every night. He wins. At the end of the day that's all there is to do."

Last year Duncan looked prematurely old while playing 80 games (and averaging a career-low 18.6 points) with a painful seasonlong bout of plantar fasciitis. "We talked a lot about, 'If you're at a certain point, Timmy, I'll just need to sit you for two months,'" recalls Popovich. Duncan's ailment, along with a leaguewide trend toward up-tempo play, combined to create doubt that the Spurs could keep up with younger contenders like the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks, who KO'd San Antonio in the second round.

But Duncan began working himself back into shape early last summer, and after pacing himself through the regular season (20.0 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.38 blocks in just 34.1 minutes per game) he has picked up his production in the playoffs with a more familiar line: Through Monday he had averaged 23.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.53 blocks. "It's always interesting to see how he is to start the ball game," says Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "He is very polite and very nice to the guys he plays against, and then he annihilates them when he gets out on the floor. He is a no-nonsense guy."

After watching Duncan seal himself deep in the post for one-step layups to help the Spurs seize the first two games in San Antonio, Utah decided to forego the nonsense as well. In Game 3 last Saturday in Salt Lake City, Mehmet Okur, Jarron Collins and anybody else within slapping distance struck Duncan's hands, arms and head, forcing him to commit an uncharacteristic eight turnovers. Duncan's subsequent retaliations led to gamelong foul trouble, limiting him to 16 points and 26 minutes in a 109-83 loss. "People were asking me if I was surprised to see him so emotional," says Jazz guard Derek Fisher. "I'm not surprised. Tim's a champion. If things aren't going well for you, you're supposed to be frustrated and not pleased with what's happening."