How good would Kareem, Jordan, Magic be in today’s game?

ceiling raiser · Post #1 » by **ceiling raiser** » Fri Jan 20, 2023 3:19 am

Would they be better or worse relative to competition compared to how they were in real life?

Statlanta · Post #2 » by **Statlanta** » Fri Jan 20, 2023 3:22 am

Kareem in this league would be a cheat code.

capfan33 · Post #3 » by **capfan33** » Fri Jan 20, 2023 4:27 am

Because of the level of talent that exists, I think they would all be a bit worse relative to the competition but they would all be fine lol. I think Magic might have a bit more trouble adapting due to defense, specifically later on, but they would all be top-3 at worst in their primes today.

No-more-rings · Post #4 » by **No-more-rings** » Fri Jan 20, 2023 4:46 am

They’d be pretty damn good obviously. You’re talking about 3 of the top 10 players ever.

No-more-rings · Post #5 » by **No-more-rings** » Fri Jan 20, 2023 4:48 am

capfan33 wrote:Because of the level of talent that exists, I think they would all be a bit worse relative to the competition but they would all be fine lol. I think Magic might have a bit more trouble adapting due to defense, specifically later on, but they would all be top-3 at worst in their primes today.

Magic’s defense shouldn’t be any more of a problem than Curry or Jokic’s.

SilentA · Post #6 » by **SilentA** » Fri Jan 20, 2023 4:58 am

Kareem would probably have the edge over Jokic and Embiid but who knows. I'd like to see it. I'd bet on him for MVP if on a playoff level team.

Jordan on a good team would have been great to watch as a rival to the GSW dynasty. His legendary pettiness vs GSW pettiness and Draymond's edge would be great content. Purely in terms of position comparison, the shooting guard position also seems pretty weak so I think he'd be seen as the best, though people might compare him to Tatum.

Edit for people with reading comprehension issues since it's not worth making another post: The Tatum comparison is not to say they are on the same level, but rather the shooting guard position is so devoid of competition right now that he could just be compared to "elite two-way wing" players instead (like Tatum or even possibly Durant). The topic asked about "relative to competition", and so while he'd likely dominate the shooting guard position assuming reasonable adjustments to the modern era, it would be tighter if he were just to be viewed as a wing player. This post also doesn't say "in their peak" so I am looking at Kareem, MJ and Magic "at their average".

I think Magic would not stand out as much because there are other good passing and/or ball dominant players with so-so defense in the league. But he'd still be very good.

Jaqua92 · Post #7 » by **Jaqua92** » Fri Jan 20, 2023 6:37 am

Between people claiming Giannis and Jokic retire higher all time in rankings, and that Michael Jordan, we "think would be seen as the best shooting guard." Or compared to Tatum is absurd. MJ at his peak was the best player of all time and that wouldn't change today.

Kids really think he was a bigger Devin Booker against mailmen, huh?

HeartBreakKid · Post #8 » by **HeartBreakKid** » Fri Jan 20, 2023 6:42 am

Jaqua92 wrote:Between people claiming Giannis and Jokic retire higher all time in rankings, and that Michael Jordan, we "think would be seen as the best shooting guard." Or compared to Tatum is absurd. MJ at his peak was the best player of all time and that wouldn't change today.

Kids really think he was a bigger Devin Booker against mailmen, huh?

Why wouldn't Giannis and Jokic end up retiring in all time rankings? They're the best players today - wouldn't that mean they are going to be all time greats after their retirement?

Dutchball97 · Post #9 » by **Dutchball97** » Fri Jan 20, 2023 9:23 am

HeartBreakKid wrote:
Jaqua92 wrote:Between people claiming Giannis and Jokic retire higher all time in rankings, and that Michael Jordan, we "think would be seen as the best shooting guard." Or compared to Tatum is absurd. MJ at his peak was the best player of all time and that wouldn't change today.

Kids really think he was a bigger Devin Booker against mailmen, huh?

Why wouldn't Giannis and Jokic end up retiring in all time rankings? They're the best players today - wouldn't that mean they are going to be all time greats after their retirement?

He said higher all-time. Probably talking about the thread where Jokic was voted to end up ahead of guys like Kobe and Bird when all is said and done.

MacGill · Post #10 » by **MacGill** » Fri Jan 20, 2023 3:54 pm

Superstars would transcend over any era albeit their career may look a little bit different. Sports science, as an example, has exploded the past 15+ years and combined with current technology it has really helped provide access to services that were not as reachable even in the 90's. But every player would now benefit from the same access in today's game so in my opinion you simply cannot pick and pop a player as he was in his era and think it would be the same today. KAJ, for example, may have actually been a 3 point threat or Showtime may not have looked like it did because of the focus on the 3 point shot. Just a few hypotheticals but not all league changes or advantages are created equal but there is no reason to think that a stand out superstar in any era wouldn't easily be able to perform the same feat, even if it may look different. That's the fun of the debate