For NBA fans that are 35 or older!

xinxin · Post #21 » by **xinxin** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 12:15 pm

Magic's rookie year...

-I dont like the foul-bating tactics of today's superstars
-I dont like it that players cant even curse now without getting a T
-bring back hand-checking

I like it that you can watch any game you want for a reasonable price

patman66 · Post #22 » by **patman66** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 12:34 pm

post play, I don't like the modern game of 3 point basketball, I like the 70s and 80s of driving to the basket, feeding the big man down low, splitting defenders down low, the physicality of the game, guards getting knocked on their posterior for mixing it up down low.
over 60YO, seen russell/wilt to Tatum/simmons. Players shoot better now, but play worse basketball. Hated the goon 90s.

Cowens, Oscar, Mavarich, Montcrief, McHale, Jordan, Pippen, Magic and Bird were and still are my favorite players, with Pistol Pete my favorite of all time.

BookerBulls · Post #23 » by **BookerBulls** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 12:37 pm

42 right now, started watching in 89 so always been a Bulls / MJ fan - but loved every thing about the 90's era of basketball - other than only being able to watch 2 NBA games each week over here in Australia.

Things that I miss....
- Real Rivalries - Teams that absolutely hated each other and you knew it would be a hard game when they played - no matter the standings.
- Player Rivalries as well
- Unique Offenses - Not just cookie cutter - Pick and Roll everything - Jack Up 3's
- Big Man Offense and Defense - The PFs and Centres of the 90s - Robinson, Ewing, Mourning, Mutombo, Dream....
- Players that would trash talk and go toe-to-toe with their opponent

Things that I hate in todays NBA
- Everything is about 3 point shooting
- Adam Silver - Trying to change everything every season to bring back the TV ratings of yesteryear
- Flopping - the league has become SO soft. I don't want to see fights returning
- Over Zealous Refs - giving out techs for a player that looks at them sideways or stares down an opponent after dunking on them.

Anyway, enough yelling at the clouds for me. At least the Bulls should be halfway decent this year....thats a good thing

lobosloboslobos · Post #24 » by **lobosloboslobos** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 1:11 pm

first game in 1972 as a kid

i miss Bird and Sleepy Sam Perkins and Sheed
i miss the brief glory of half-man half-amazing
i miss the old arenas that stank like beer and smokes
i miss the organ playing
i miss the cheap seats
i miss Kareem's goggles
i miss when the NBA wasn't a buddy-buddy zillionaire's club
i miss hard fouls
i miss the refs just letting them play
i miss gigantic big men battling it out all game long
i miss backboards shattering

having said that i enjoy today's game a lot
but would like to see less flopping and cheap fouls and no video replays
and no more #*%&%$^$#& superstar calls

Post #25 » by **FJS** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 1:39 pm

41 years old.
Finals from 87 1st memories.
Then, I watched finals from 88-89-90-91-92-93 and some RS games, and 97 and 98 finals.
Finally I watch closely NBA from 99.
I miss physical game. Defense. When a 3 was a dagger and could become the difference between a break and not. Right now you win by 12 or 13 and means nothing. In 4 misses and 4 3s you are tied.

old skool · Post #26 » by **old skool** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:07 pm

gavran wrote:Just turned 35, and have been following the NBA since the 70s. Miss cocaine.

Must have missed math class also.

Sent from my SM-N960U using RealGM mobile app

Nate505 · Post #27 » by **Nate505** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:17 pm

Teams with different styles of play. Now it's all the same garbage. Analytics have ruined basketball, just like they ruined baseball and just like they ruin most things in life.

druggas · Post #28 » by **druggas** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:17 pm

old skool wrote:
gavran wrote:Just turned 35, and have been following the NBA since the 70s. Miss cocaine.
Must have missed math class also.

Sent from my SM-N960U using RealGM mobile app

Must have been "special" cocaine.

gavran · Post #29 » by **gavran** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:24 pm

old skool wrote:
gavran wrote:Just turned 35, and have been following the NBA since the 70s. Miss cocaine.
Must have missed math class also.

Sent from my SM-N960U using RealGM mobile app

kwajo · Post #30 » by **kwajo** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:26 pm

Tottery wrote:
Dr Aki wrote:But most of all, I hate not seeing any variety of basketball styles.

This is it for me. I miss the versatility. Seems like everyone plays the same now.

Yeah, I miss the clashes of styles, especially when you had fast-paced teams like the late 90s/eary 2000s Kings for example, meeting teams from the East like the Knicks or Heat that preferred having slug-fests. The intrigue that came from seeing who could impose their will on the style of game was fantastic to watch.

OdomFan · Post #31 » by **OdomFan** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:32 pm

I'm 35. Watched the NBA since between 1990.

I miss the the NBA on NBC theme song

The stories told that built up playoff matchups.

The multiple unpredictable personalities spread out through the league

The talent in general being spread out through the league

and the multiple play styles. You had your explosive Dunkers, your outside shooters, the guys that could get to the rim just as well but were more so into doing the smooth layups and finger rolls.

It was also fun seeing many of them show up in movies. Some do now too but it's just different.

Only thing I really like now is what certain players bring to their teams now like CP3, Jimmy Butler, Giannis and Zion.

Still don't mind seeing a good 3 point shot go in here and there, but after a while it gets repetitive when that's all most teams choose to go for over and over.

kwajo · Post #32 » by **kwajo** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:38 pm

Forgot to include that I am 37, started watching in around '92 after I randomly picked up a biography of David Robinson to read in the school library and begged my dad to let me stay up and watch the Spurs so I could see him play. Was a Spurs fan for years until Vancouver got a team and I staned Bryant Reeves and Antoine Carr until the team got taken away and I switched to being a Raptors guy.

Post #33 » by **Harry Garris** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:44 pm

-Luke- wrote:I am 34 and will soon be 35, so I hope I qualify for this thread.

Like many guys of my generation I started watching the NBA in 96 or 97, sometime during the Bulls' second three-peat.

What I miss:
- When I started watching the NBA you could actually watch some stuff here in Germany on television. That has stopped completely. Even in Dirk's prime nobody was really interested.
- I know I sound like an old man, but I really miss the NBA (and sports in general) without social media.
- While I appreciate analytics and stuff and I totally understand why teams use it, I feel like we have gone a little bit too far. Three-pointers, layups, dunks and free-throws. All cool. But only those shots?
- I miss Dirk
- I miss the Seattle SuperSonics

What I like:
- I can watch every game of the season with League Pass for a reasonable price.
- New and better stats. Plus a lot of videos. It's easier to evaluate players.
- I like recent developments like the play-in-tournament and new draft odds.
- Higher talent level. Basically every team has some players to feel good about for the future.
- Game is faster, more scoring, no 78-75 anymore.

I completely agree with you on all the points that you miss, but I think it is worth noting that an analytics site did a review on mid range attempts last season. I can't remember if it was 538 or one of the other ones. What they discovered is that stars take about the same volume of mid range shots that they always have, the difference is that role players have almost completely stopped taking them. Partially because role players have never been able to hit mid range shots with any consistency, but also to space the floor better for stars to operate and do their thing. Especially in the playoffs we still see guys like Lebron, KD, Kawhi, Steph, Trae Young, Embiid, or Donovan Mitchell taking a ton of mid range shots, we just don't have to watch guys like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or other role guys shoot them anymore. I don't know if that's such a bad thing.

patman66 · Post #34 » by **patman66** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:53 pm

[quote="lobosloboslobos"]first game in 1972 as a kid

i miss when the NBA wasn't a buddy-buddy zillionaire's club

Agreed, I loved it when the celts. sixers and Lakers actually hated each other's team. Wilt and Russell were friends off the court but on the court they played each other like they hated each other.

Scuall · Post #35 » by **Scuall** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 3:08 pm

Here's something that only us old farts would remember:

Three to make 2.

BigGargamel · Post #36 » by **BigGargamel** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 3:25 pm

I'm 41. I started watching/collecting basketball cards in the late 80's. Was your basic late 80's/early 90's kid who's favorite team was the Bulls because of Jordan and ESPN. I also was a Sonics fan because Shawn Kemp was awesome and I wanted his shoes. I'm from denver and became a lifelong Nuggets fan after they beat Seattle in 94. Little did I know that would be the last good thing they did for over a decade.

I'm not stuck on the old game like a lot of other people. I kinda do miss the days where you could throw a goon in there to try to take out the other teams best players. Remember the name JoJo English? A legendary goon for the Bulls who started that huge fight. Literally the first and last time you ever heard his name.

I miss the hated rivalries. You knew teams like the Bulls and Pistons hated each other. The rough fouls, tough inside play was fun. That's why Jordan will always be the GOAT to me. A 6'6 shooting guard owning an era where big men ruled.

I don't get hung up on the fact that teams and players don't hate each other anymore. These kids all play together from the ages of 10 in, so of course they're friends. It doesn't mean they don't love the game, it just means they love each other and just want to play for fun/a job. That's why players move around more often. They want to team up and play with their buddies. Sure, us old heads may not like that and miss the competitive fire, but it's just not that like anymore. You can't learn to hate someone you've been playing with on circuits your entire childhood.

The game has changed a lot, but I think it's in very good hands. I love watching guys like Jokic, Giannis, Embiid. These guys have elevated the game the same way Shaq, Hakeem and others did when I was a kid.

I am kind of waiting for LeBron to move on though. I appreciate his legacy but feel he's holding the rest of the NBA hostage at this point. It's not entirely his fault, I blame ESPN, who's basically been his marketing machine since he was a sophomore in high school.

HotelVitale · Post #37 » by **HotelVitale** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 3:28 pm

I'm in my 40s and the actual basketball is pretty hard to differentiate--we always think we remember things were tougher or more intense or whatever but that's usually very selective memories. Competition is competition, top athletes are going at it hard and I've liked watching these games as much in the 90s, 2000s, and now. People are just flat-out in denial if they watched a few minutes of last year's playoffs and think players don't go as hard now as they did then.

What I miss is bball just being less of a huge expensive deal; I liked sports in the 80-90s being pretty accessible and cheap, just another thing to do in the city with your family or after work or whatever. And the players were less of a big deal too, still famous and I'm sure had huge egos and whatnot but there was less money and fame going around. It just seemed like an integrated part of city life, some guys would be competing at 7pm and you could go on by if you wanted to and shoot the ish about it the next day.

Kingsway_fan · Post #38 » by **Kingsway_fan** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 3:39 pm

Pre three point era... started watching as a teen in early 70s.. Knicks, Lakers... fewer teams more Allstars...

Now it's just three point chuckfests most nights... too much focus by nba and broadcasters on Lakers and few other big market teams...

khufure · Post #39 » by **khufure** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 3:52 pm

The dominating winner's mentality coupled with the best nba guard body ever. He was sliding & gliding, moving & grooving, hanging in the air longer than all

edit anotha one

K3nny Pow3rs · Post #40 » by **K3nny Pow3rs** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 4:32 pm

I miss David Stern.
I despise Adam Silver.