NBA players are better than ever, despite what the legends say

[C_Alejandro]

This NBA season has the deepest level of talent we’ve ever seen. We have players from Jokic, Embiid, Luka, Steph, Ja, Kyrie, and many other talents. Even the role players are incredibly versatile and skilled.

Yet every single day, I see constant comments from older heads like Charles Oakley saying that Giannis wouldn’t make an NBA roster in the 1990s. Or that Steph would get bullied by the likes of Isiah Thomas

I’m all for respecting the NBA older-heads, but no other sport does this. NFL and soccer fans aren’t constantly listening to legends denigrating the current game. They barely even do analysis anymore.

I see guys like SHAQ who didn’t even know who Rui Hachimura was, despite his literal job being paid to talk about basketball. Yet this same guy will denigrate the current talent and say they’re “soft.”

It’s honestly killing the product. Fans believe what these legends say, and their nostalgia leads them to believe that NBA superstars today would struggle in the 1990s. That’s false. The opposite is true. Yet I’m seeing 21 year olds who falsely believe that they missed out on the golden era of basketball.

Again, no other sport does this. Basketball is beset by this cancer of nostalgia bias and Jordan worship, and it needs to stop if this sport is to thrive.

[Dr Aki]

Can you imagine smalls venturing into the paint and getting levelled as an accepted defensive tactic?

[Nate505]

This NBA season has the deepest level of talent we’ve ever seen. We have players from Jokic, Embiid, Luka, Steph, Ja, Kyrie, and many other talents. Even the role players are incredibly versatile and skilled.

Yet every single day, I see constant comments from older heads like Charles Oakley saying that Giannis wouldn’t make an NBA roster in the 1990s. Or that Steph would get bullied by the likes of Isiah Thomas

I’m all for respecting the NBA older-heads, but no other sport does this. NFL and soccer fans aren’t constantly listening to legends denigrating the current game. They barely even do analysis anymore.

I see guys like SHAQ who didn’t even know who Rui Hachimura was, despite his literal job being paid to talk about basketball. Yet this same guy will denigrate the current talent and say they’re “soft.”

It’s honestly killing the product. Fans believe what these legends say, and their nostalgia leads them to believe that NBA superstars today would struggle in the 1990s. That’s false. The opposite is true. Yet I’m seeing 21 year olds who falsely believe that they missed out on the golden era of basketball.

Again, no other sport does this. Basketball is beset by this cancer of nostalgia bias and Jordan worship, and it needs to stop if this sport is to thrive.

Perhaps if these guys played more instead of load managed themselves into oblivion and treated the regular season like preseason nobody would take the older guys seriously.

[C_Alejandro]

The NBA game wasn’t as violent as they claim it was. There were lots of ticky-tack fouls called, and hand-checking was never a serious defensive tactic.

Watch full NBA games from that era. The game tape doesn’t lie.

[Ni Da Ye]

Sure. Everyone looks good when they are allowed to travel and carry.

[C_Alejandro]

This NBA season has the deepest level of talent we’ve ever seen. We have players from Jokic, Embiid, Luka, Steph, Ja, Kyrie, and many other talents. Even the role players are incredibly versatile and skilled.

Yet every single day, I see constant comments from older heads like Charles Oakley saying that Giannis wouldn’t make an NBA roster in the 1990s. Or that Steph would get bullied by the likes of Isiah Thomas

I’m all for respecting the NBA older-heads, but no other sport does this. NFL and soccer fans aren’t constantly listening to legends denigrating the current game. They barely even do analysis anymore.

I see guys like SHAQ who didn’t even know who Rui Hachimura was, despite his literal job being paid to talk about basketball. Yet this same guy will denigrate the current talent and say they’re “soft.”

It’s honestly killing the product. Fans believe what these legends say, and their nostalgia leads them to believe that NBA superstars today would struggle in the 1990s. That’s false. The opposite is true. Yet I’m seeing 21 year olds who falsely believe that they missed out on the golden era of basketball.

Again, no other sport does this. Basketball is beset by this cancer of nostalgia bias and Jordan worship, and it needs to stop if this sport is to thrive.

Perhaps if these guys played more instead of load managed themselves into oblivion and treated the regular season like preseason nobody would take the older guys seriously.

Players have to cover more ground in half-court sets, especially when it comes to closing out on shooters. Back in the 1990s, you’d have the star player going iso while 8 guys would stand there and watch. Now you have constant movement, leading to more fatigue.

But that’s besides the point. The older-heads are wrong. Giannis would not be a bench player in the 1990s. Scottie Pippen could not shut down Kevin Durant. They’re lying to us. These new ballers are better than ever

[Yuri Vaultin]

When players aren't allowed to defend offensive players will all look like gods.

[C_Alejandro]

Sure. Everyone looks good when they are allowed to travel and carry.

Sure, everyone looks good when you’re forced to defend your man 1-on-1.

The Illegal Defence rules in the 1990s favoured star players, allowing them to score more. You had to guard your man, and it was difficult for help defence to rotate. Today, you can trap and do hybrid zones on your star player, forcing the ball out of their hands.

[C_Alejandro]

When players aren't allowed to defend offensice players will all look like gods.

You’re repeating the same myths that these older-heads would repeat

Today’s NBA defences are better than the 1990s. Their defensive schemes were primitive, and you had guys like Jordan going iso while all of the help defence was on the weak side.

Again, watch some game tape. The tape doesn’t lie

[Nate505]

This NBA season has the deepest level of talent we’ve ever seen. We have players from Jokic, Embiid, Luka, Steph, Ja, Kyrie, and many other talents. Even the role players are incredibly versatile and skilled.

Yet every single day, I see constant comments from older heads like Charles Oakley saying that Giannis wouldn’t make an NBA roster in the 1990s. Or that Steph would get bullied by the likes of Isiah Thomas

I’m all for respecting the NBA older-heads, but no other sport does this. NFL and soccer fans aren’t constantly listening to legends denigrating the current game. They barely even do analysis anymore.

I see guys like SHAQ who didn’t even know who Rui Hachimura was, despite his literal job being paid to talk about basketball. Yet this same guy will denigrate the current talent and say they’re “soft.”

It’s honestly killing the product. Fans believe what these legends say, and their nostalgia leads them to believe that NBA superstars today would struggle in the 1990s. That’s false. The opposite is true. Yet I’m seeing 21 year olds who falsely believe that they missed out on the golden era of basketball.

Again, no other sport does this. Basketball is beset by this cancer of nostalgia bias and Jordan worship, and it needs to stop if this sport is to thrive.

Perhaps if these guys played more instead of load managed themselves into oblivion and treated the regular season like preseason nobody would take the older guys seriously.

Players have to cover more ground in half-court sets, especially when it comes to closing out on shooters. Back in the 1990s, you’d have the star player going iso while 8 guys would stand there and watch. Now you have constant movement, leading to more fatigue.

But that’s besides the point. The older-heads are wrong. Giannis would not be a bench player in the 1990s. Scottie Pippen could not shut down Kevin Durant. They’re lying to us. These new ballers are better than ever

I mean, use whatever excuses you want, but that's the point the older guys have and it works for them. Back in the day, if you watched a game between two potential MVP candidates, there's a 99% chance they'd actually play against each other. Now it's a coin flip chance at best.

Do I think Giannis would be a bench player in the 90s? No. but if the root of this is the old guys are saying the younger generation is soft, well, the older guys played a lot and didn't rest that much. The younger guys don't play as much. If these guys are really the super athletes that I've heard they are, fatigue shouldn't be much of an issue. Their superior athleticism should make up for it.

[Yuri Vaultin]

When players aren't allowed to defend offensice players will all look like gods.

You’re repeating the same myths that these older-heads would repeat

Today’s NBA defences are better than the 1990s. Their defensive schemes were primitive, and you had guys like Jordan going iso while all of the help defence was on the weak side.

Again, watch some game tape. The tape doesn’t lie

Not a myth.
You're conflating schemes with how the game is officiated. Better schemes now for sure on both ends. But the whistle grossly goes in favor of the offensive player now with little balance. I won't even get into the how many more HARD and cheap fouls there were then because it seems you watched a few videos on youtube and have suddenly become an authority on an era well before you were born.

[Optms]

When players aren't allowed to defend offensice players will all look like gods.

You’re repeating the same myths that these older-heads would repeat

Today’s NBA defences are better than the 1990s. Their defensive schemes were primitive, and you had guys like Jordan going iso while all of the help defence was on the weak side.

Again, watch some game tape. The tape doesn’t lie

What are you smoking? Pass some over.

[C_Alejandro]

When players aren't allowed to defend offensice players will all look like gods.

You’re repeating the same myths that these older-heads would repeat

Today’s NBA defences are better than the 1990s. Their defensive schemes were primitive, and you had guys like Jordan going iso while all of the help defence was on the weak side.

Again, watch some game tape. The tape doesn’t lie

Not a myth.
You're conflating schemes with how the game is officiated. Better schemes now for sure on both ends. But the whistle grossly goes in favor of the offensive player now with little balance. I won't even get into the how many more HARD and cheap fouls there were then because it seems you watched a few videos on youtube and have suddenly become an authority on an era well before you were born.

I can easily show you a compilation of hard fouls over the last 5 years. That’s not what we use to judge eras

I know you like to watch tape of the same 5 hard fouls committed by Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman, but that’s not what we use to judge eras.

And I’ve watched FULL playoff series. As well as regular season games. The physicality you speak of is completely overrated.

I remember back in 2000, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would claim that the current NBA players were too rough and brutish, while his era had more “finesse and skill.” He said this as an underhanded shot against Shaq, who was MVP at the time.

So they change their argument whenever it suits them.

[C_Alejandro]

Perhaps if these guys played more instead of load managed themselves into oblivion and treated the regular season like preseason nobody would take the older guys seriously.

Players have to cover more ground in half-court sets, especially when it comes to closing out on shooters. Back in the 1990s, you’d have the star player going iso while 8 guys would stand there and watch. Now you have constant movement, leading to more fatigue.

But that’s besides the point. The older-heads are wrong. Giannis would not be a bench player in the 1990s. Scottie Pippen could not shut down Kevin Durant. They’re lying to us. These new ballers are better than ever

I mean, use whatever excuses you want, but that's the point the older guys have and it works for them. Back in the day, if you watched a game between two potential MVP candidates, there's a 99% chance they'd actually play against each other. Now it's a coin flip chance at best.

Do I think Giannis would be a bench player in the 90s? No. but if the root of this is the old guys are saying the younger generation is soft, well, the older guys played a lot and didn't rest that much. The younger guys don't play as much. If these guys are really the super athletes that I've heard they are, fatigue shouldn't be much of an issue. Their superior athleticism should make up for it.

Players suffer through injury as a result of the style of play that requires constant movement. That isn’t an “excuse.” That’s a valid point

Back then, players stood around and watched the scorer go iso. Today, you have constant screen action and closing out on shooters. That’ll inevitably lead to more wear and tear, more injuries, and more fatigue.

[og15]

Regardless of rules and all that, with the global reach of the game, the now seemingly unlimited development opportunities, the easy ability for players to access film and breakdowns of older players and take everything from them, the constant expansion of talent acquisition, NBA players SHOULD be able to better than ever in a season where the talent doesn't have a random drought.

[Nate505]

Players have to cover more ground in half-court sets, especially when it comes to closing out on shooters. Back in the 1990s, you’d have the star player going iso while 8 guys would stand there and watch. Now you have constant movement, leading to more fatigue.

But that’s besides the point. The older-heads are wrong. Giannis would not be a bench player in the 1990s. Scottie Pippen could not shut down Kevin Durant. They’re lying to us. These new ballers are better than ever

I mean, use whatever excuses you want, but that's the point the older guys have and it works for them. Back in the day, if you watched a game between two potential MVP candidates, there's a 99% chance they'd actually play against each other. Now it's a coin flip chance at best.

Do I think Giannis would be a bench player in the 90s? No. but if the root of this is the old guys are saying the younger generation is soft, well, the older guys played a lot and didn't rest that much. The younger guys don't play as much. If these guys are really the super athletes that I've heard they are, fatigue shouldn't be much of an issue. Their superior athleticism should make up for it.

Players suffer through injury as a result of the style of play that requires constant movement. That isn’t an “excuse.” That’s a valid point

Back then, players stood around and watched the scorer go iso. Today, you have constant screen action and closing out on shooters. That’ll inevitably lead to more wear and tear, more injuries, and more fatigue.

It's absolutely an excuse. Plus the idea that screens and movement didn't exist in the 90s is absurd. Players fought thru screens and moved around then. And again, if these guys have the benefit of 20 years of sports medicine and are just that much physically superior, shouldn't that make up for the increase in movement?

But even if you believe this is valid, the cold reality is that it leads to tons more rest for players today, so the older generation can call them soft and the fans today can turn on a game and see star players out and believe that criticism.

[JRoy]

The new generation certainly shoots more 3s.

Everything else?

No, with a few exceptions.

[Yuri Vaultin]

You’re repeating the same myths that these older-heads would repeat

Today’s NBA defences are better than the 1990s. Their defensive schemes were primitive, and you had guys like Jordan going iso while all of the help defence was on the weak side.

Again, watch some game tape. The tape doesn’t lie

Not a myth.
You're conflating schemes with how the game is officiated. Better schemes now for sure on both ends. But the whistle grossly goes in favor of the offensive player now with little balance. I won't even get into the how many more HARD and cheap fouls there were then because it seems you watched a few videos on youtube and have suddenly become an authority on an era well before you were born.

I can easily show you a compilation of hard fouls over the last 5 years. That’s not what we use to judge eras

I know you like to watch tape of the same 5 hard fouls committed by Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman, but that’s not what we use to judge eras.

And I’ve watched FULL playoff series. As well as regular season games. The physicality you speak of is completely overrated.

I remember back in 2000, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would claim that the current NBA players were too rough and brutish, while his era had more “finesse and skill.” He said this as an underhanded shot against Shaq, who was MVP at the time.

So they change their argument whenever it suits them.

Wow!! Whole playoff series? Tell me more ye wise sage and graduate of YouTube University. You're basically mansplaining - I've watched NBA basketball from the 80's through to today.

Not to diminish your contributions but your post and subsequent posts in this thread are basically code for "how to say you're young and haven't seen much ball from the era you're ripping without saying it".

[C_Alejandro]

Regardless of rules and all that, with the global reach of the game, the now seemingly unlimited development opportunities, the easy ability for players to access film and breakdowns of older players and take everything from them, the constant expansion of talent acquisition, NBA players SHOULD be able to better than ever in a season where the talent doesn't have a random drought.

You’re 100% correct. I agree with everything you’ve said here

NBA players should be better than ever. And they are

[og15]

Not a myth.
You're conflating schemes with how the game is officiated. Better schemes now for sure on both ends. But the whistle grossly goes in favor of the offensive player now with little balance. I won't even get into the how many more HARD and cheap fouls there were then because it seems you watched a few videos on youtube and have suddenly become an authority on an era well before you were born.

I can easily show you a compilation of hard fouls over the last 5 years. That’s not what we use to judge eras

I know you like to watch tape of the same 5 hard fouls committed by Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman, but that’s not what we use to judge eras.

And I’ve watched FULL playoff series. As well as regular season games. The physicality you speak of is completely overrated.

I remember back in 2000, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would claim that the current NBA players were too rough and brutish, while his era had more “finesse and skill.” He said this as an underhanded shot against Shaq, who was MVP at the time.

So they change their argument whenever it suits them.

Wow!! Whole playoff series? Tell me more ye wise sage and graduate of YouTube University. You're basically mansplaining - I've watched NBA basketball from the 80's through to today.

Not to diminish your contributions but your post and subsequent posts in this thread are basically code for "how to say you're young and haven't seen much ball from the era you're ripping without saying it".

Didn't expect to see this pop up? Wouldn't you guys need to know each other's genders for this to basically be happening?