Gilbert Arenas and Lou Williams with shots fired on 90's and 70's eras

[AZNKidd]

People who are saying he’d win >6 rings in a row in the 90s are implying that Lbj is that much better than MJ. Nope.

[Sabas11]

The 1973 NBA MVP can be seen in this picture, can you spot him?

[sfballa13]

That disrespect to Rodman.
I bet prime Rodman would still average 14 rpg in today's league. I mean if Westbrook can get 10+ rpg then so can Rodman.

I do agree with the Lebron in '75 though - he'd wreck the league. I'm doubtful about the 15 chips although I'm sure that was hyperbole on Lou's part.

Pat Beverley at a generous 6'1" averaged 9 rpg PER 36 (8 overall) and had multiple 12+ rebound games vs the Warriors. So yea, obviously Rodman would obliterate these guys on the glass. Probably AVERAGE close to 20 rpg.

Exactly. Westbrook averaged 10 rebounds a game which means Rodman could probably average over 20 in his sleep esp with all the 3pt shots being taken

People forget that Rodman was able to guard Shaq and shut him down on numerous occasions.

[UnbelievablyRAW]

I think floor for the league has definitely raised and there are more stars at the top near the ceiling. I think the best of the best from any era from the 80's on could exist in any era.

Staunch "the NBA was tougher back then" proponents have to admit that back then there were a plethora of the role player guys on teams that wouldn't even make it into D2 teams today.

[r0drig0lac]

- Pippen would be a superstar in any nba season and would be a top 5 player today
- Rodman is the biggest rebounder ever and would be even more dominant today
- both players would be dpoy candidates in the current scenario each season

is really simple.

[LKN]

Young guys today won't understand until they're a bit older and the younger generation starts saying that Lebron James would be a terrible player in 2030. They'll say he just played against regular guys likee JJ Barea and Steve Novak. You'll see. Not today, not tomorrow but in time and then you'll understand just how good the older generations were.

This - all of this.

He's right - it will happen. I was in my very early 20s when MJ won his last title and I thought I'd never hear anyone run him down.... 20 years later? Here we are. If you are in your 20s now you are going to be shocked what people say about Lebron when you are in your 40s.

[LKN]

lmao. He's not wrong. Pippen opens himself up to this when he says he could shut down anybody in today's game. Bruh was a buck-90 back then; that aint guarding Lebron today

In his prime he was almost the exact same size as Kawhi Leonard, this quote is sig worthy.

Yup, that’s the contemporary equivalent. I don’t know if Scottie was better than Leonard — he at least never won any DPOYs — but anybody who can’t tell he was absolutely elite from about five minutes of film doesn’t know sh*t about basketball. Size, length, speed, quickness, strength, explosiveness, instincts ... he had absolutely everything you could want in a perimeter defender. Nobody could stop LeBron, but Pippen would have absolutely held his own. He’s certainly on a completely different tier than Iguodala, who got a Finals MVP because he kinda/sorta speed bumped LeBron for a couple of games.

I'm not sure Pippen was any better at man defense than Iggy - but he was a terror when it came to help defense (which would of course make him more impactful even if he didn't do any better slowing an individual guy down).

[Q C]

The 1973 NBA MVP can be seen in this picture, can you spot him?

Steve Nash is a 2 time MVP winner during the LeBron NBA era lol

[LKN]

Athletes aren't any "better" today - humans have not become more athletic over a few decades (Evolution does not work on that time scale lol). Nutrition, sanitation and healthcare have had a huge impact over the last 100 years - as has equipment.

See what happens when an elite sprinter uses the same equipment as Jesse Owens and runs on the same track surface:

https://articles.aplus.com/a/andre-de-grasse-jesse-owens?no_monetization=true

[Sabas11]

The 1973 NBA MVP can be seen in this picture, can you spot him?

Steve Nash is a 2 time MVP winner during the LeBron NBA era lol

Yeah the 6'10 Center Steve Nash, we all remember him.

[Dajadeed]

Young guys today won't understand until they're a bit older and the younger generation starts saying that Lebron James would be a terrible player in 2030. They'll say he just played against regular guys likee JJ Barea and Steve Novak. You'll see. Not today, not tomorrow but in time and then you'll understand just how good the older generations were.

This - all of this.

He's right - it will happen. I was in my very early 20s when MJ won his last title and I thought I'd never hear anyone run him down.... 20 years later? Here we are. If you are in your 20s now you are going to be shocked what people say about Lebron when you are in your 40s.

What’s hilarious is them laughing at GP being a defensive stopper because he’s little and the best defensive free agent right now is Patrick Beverly.

I would have loved to see Gilbert drive to the rim against Oakley and Mason and try to talk smack...

[nedleeds]

Drop Rudy Gay in 1975 and he'd win 10 titles. No kidding, the level of conditioning and training is completely different. He'd also never make it past 1/2 court without being called for palming.

[Hawkamanic81]

Gilbert Arenas was a loser and Lou is a one trick pony.

[BarbaGrizz]

The 70s/80s/90s weren't more physical than the NBA today.

That's sig worth.

[Q C]

Drop Rudy Gay in 1975 and he'd win 10 titles. No kidding, the level of conditioning and training is completely different. He'd also never make it past 1/2 court without being called for palming.

If you dropped Rudy Gay in the 70s he would have to have retired after his achilles injury and he'd probably be walking with a cane or some **** after

[Gooner]

Gilbert Arenas was a loser and Lou is a one trick pony.

It's funny how they talk about Pippen and Rodman being small at 6'7, and Arenas is 6'4, and Lou is 6'1. Pippen is legit 6'8 too, so he got it wrong.

[Side beard]

That disrespect to Rodman.
I bet prime Rodman would still average 14 rpg in today's league. I mean if Westbrook can get 10+ rpg then so can Rodman.

I do agree with the Lebron in '75 though - he'd wreck the league. I'm doubtful about the 15 chips although I'm sure that was hyperbole on Lou's part.

If he played with Westbrook, he'd average around 7 boards per game. Or just see whatever Steven Adams gets per game.

[Repeat 3-peat]

Read on Twitter

[jinxed]

Athletes aren't any "better" today - humans have not become more athletic over a few decades (Evolution does not work on that time scale lol). Nutrition, sanitation and healthcare have had a huge impact over the last 100 years - as has equipment.

See what happens when an elite sprinter uses the same equipment as Jesse Owens and runs on the same track surface:

https://articles.aplus.com/a/andre-de-grasse-jesse-owens?no_monetization=true

tbf , that track surface seemed a lot softer than even then one Owens ran on. But your overall point is a good one.

[jinxed]

Players are more athletic today than in any era, but the the advancement in skill development far outweighs athleticism.