How much does location matter when discussing legacy?

Pinkyring · Post #1 » by **Pinkyring** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 1:04 am

Heres what i mean, most of the guys that get looked at as goats played in big markets, my question is would the Jordan's, kareem, magic, bird, shaq, kobe, russells of the world be viewed the same if they played in the smaller market towns? Please factor that we're talking in terms of pre social media area. Oscar Robinson for example is never mentioned by casual fans as the guy yet he was dominant with Cincinnati

RoxSteady · Post #2 » by **RoxSteady** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 7:18 pm

I don't think Oscar Robertson's legacy would've been significantly enhanced had he played in a bigger market. His teams in Cincinatti were not that great and his championship reign in Milwaukee lasted one season... I think the other guys having a greater legacy has more to do with number of championships they've won and/or that they played more recently (with the exception of Russell). Also, several of them are significantly better players.

Dominator83 · Post #3 » by **Dominator83** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 7:28 pm

I think if your somewhere with less previous legends the better. Take a guy like Westbrook for example. If he was a career Laker, he would be just another star on a long list of them. His legacy is much higher imo as an ATG okc thunder

Mogspan · Post #4 » by **Mogspan** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 7:33 pm

How about the importance of names? Would Magic or Kobe have the same mystique if either were named Spencer Dinwiddie?

thebigbird · Post #5 » by **thebigbird** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 7:39 pm

Kobe's legacy would be much worse if he hadn't played for the Lakers. He's the Derek Jeter of the NBA. Great player but gets overrated because he played for the keague's most storied franchise.

clyde21 · Post #6 » by **clyde21** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 7:42 pm

Mogspan wrote:How about the importance of names? Would Magic or Kobe have the same mystique if either were named Spencer Dinwiddie?

i always think of that :lol:

like...would LeBron James still be him if his name was Todd Smith? :lol:

RoxSteady · Post #7 » by **RoxSteady** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 7:50 pm

clyde21 wrote:
Mogspan wrote:How about the importance of names? Would Magic or Kobe have the same mystique if either were named Spencer Dinwiddie?

i always think of that

like...would LeBron James still be him if his name was Todd Smith?

Do you think Emmitt Smith's name hurt his legacy?

Dominator83 · Post #8 » by **Dominator83** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 7:55 pm

RoxSteady wrote:
clyde21 wrote:
Mogspan wrote:How about the importance of names? Would Magic or Kobe have the same mystique if either were named Spencer Dinwiddie?

i always think of that

like...would LeBron James still be him if his name was Todd Smith?

Do you think Emmitt Smith's name hurt his legacy?

No but if he was John Smith or Mike Smith then maybe

LKN · Post #9 » by **LKN** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 7:56 pm

Michael Jordan and Bill Russell are pretty run of the Mill names.

Rakim Allah · Post #10 » by **Rakim Allah** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 10:23 pm

thebigbird wrote:Kobe's legacy would be much worse if he hadn't played for the Lakers. He's the Derek Jeter of the NBA. Great player but gets overrated because he played for the keague's most storied franchise.

Quite the opposite. The critics and media wouldn’t have been so hard on him. A lot less hate. His legacy would have been championed by them, like Duncan’s legacy. If Duncan played for the Lakers, not defending a title, going 10-27 in game 7 of 2005 Finals, losing to an 8 seed would be brought up all the time. Playing for a storied franchise, that actually wins championships, in a big market heaps a lot more pressure on a player than a small market. Kobe was able to block all the drama and pressure out and help bring the Lakers 5 championships in his career/Legacy. Nothing overrated about that.

First Take · Post #11 » by **First Take** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 10:54 pm

I think it's huge. A recent example is Lebron James. LeBron won 2 championships in Miami. That would be a huge accomplishment, but a lot of people do not give him the credit he deserves because a lot feel like he team up with 2 top stars. However when he went to Cleveland and won it for his home location, he solidified himself as a top 2 player.

NZB2323 · Post #12 » by **NZB2323** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 1:48 am

Pinkyring wrote:Heres what i mean, most of the guys that get looked at as goats played in big markets, my question is would the Jordan's, kareem, magic, bird, shaq, kobe, russells of the world be viewed the same if they played in the smaller market towns? Please factor that we're talking in terms of pre social media area. Oscar Robinson for example is never mentioned by casual fans as the guy yet he was dominant with Cincinnati

Is Boston really a big market? According to Wiki, there are 20 cities in America bigger than Boston:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population

I think it hurts Oscar Robertson's legacy a little bit that Cincinnati doesn't a team anymore, but he never won a title with them. He does have a 9 foot tall statue outside of his college though. Pop and Duncan both have a great legacy even though San Antonio isn't the biggest town. Lebron played for Cleveland and Miami for most of his career.

Also, look at the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay is a super small town but people rate Brett Favre and Aaron Rodger high.

Pinkyring · Post #13 » by **Pinkyring** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 3:21 am

Dominater wrote:
RoxSteady wrote:
clyde21 wrote:
i always think of that

like...would LeBron James still be him if his name was Todd Smith?

Do you think Emmitt Smith's name hurt his legacy?

No but if he was John Smith or Mike Smith then maybe

I mean todd Smith is the name of one of the most famous rappers of all time, u may know him as LL cool J

Dominator83 · Post #14 » by **Dominator83** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 3:24 am

Pinkyring wrote:
Dominater wrote:
RoxSteady wrote:
Do you think Emmitt Smith's name hurt his legacy?

No but if he was John Smith or Mike Smith then maybe

I mean todd Smith is the name of one of the most famous rappers of all time, u may know him as LL cool J

But we don't know him as Todd Smith! Smart move on his part to use a stage name

clyde21 · Post #15 » by **clyde21** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 3:29 am

Pinkyring wrote:
Dominater wrote:
RoxSteady wrote:
Do you think Emmitt Smith's name hurt his legacy?

No but if he was John Smith or Mike Smith then maybe

I mean todd Smith is the name of one of the most famous rappers of all time, u may know him as LL cool J

actually his name is James Todd Smith...James is what the J stands for in LL Cool J

but he's still LL Cool J to everyone

Post #16 » by **infinite11285** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 3:35 am

RoxSteady wrote:
clyde21 wrote:
Mogspan wrote:How about the importance of names? Would Magic or Kobe have the same mystique if either were named Spencer Dinwiddie?

i always think of that

like...would LeBron James still be him if his name was Todd Smith?

Do you think Emmitt Smith's name hurt his legacy?

Hard to tell, but if Kobe's real name was God Shammgod he'd be the GOAT.

RCM88x · Post #17 » by **RCM88x** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 3:41 am

I think it's a factor, but not a big one.

Like if Pat Ewing played his whole career in Minnesota or Memphis I doubt half the people who consider him a top 25 player all time would put him in their top 40.

If Oscar played his whole career in NYC he'd almost certianly be talked about more. Same goes for a Moses Malone or Walton if they played in LA.

Pinkyring · Post #18 » by **Pinkyring** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 3:49 am

Dominater wrote:
Pinkyring wrote:
Dominater wrote:No but if he was John Smith or Mike Smith then maybe

I mean todd Smith is the name of one of the most famous rappers of all time, u may know him as LL cool J

But we don't know him as Todd Smith! Smart move on his part to use a stage name

Meh, there's nothing exciting or exact about Kobe Bryant or Allen Iverson vince Carter Michael jordan, all those are boring

Post #19 » by **Capn'O** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 4:21 am

I don't think much. Most basketball people place Robertson just outside the top 10 which seems appropriate. Karl Malone was pretty huge and he played in Utah. Tim Duncan in SA.

Pinkyring · Post #20 » by **Pinkyring** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 6:11 am

NZB2323 wrote:
Pinkyring wrote:Heres what i mean, most of the guys that get looked at as goats played in big markets, my question is would the Jordan's, kareem, magic, bird, shaq, kobe, russells of the world be viewed the same if they played in the smaller market towns? Please factor that we're talking in terms of pre social media area. Oscar Robinson for example is never mentioned by casual fans as the guy yet he was dominant with Cincinnati

Is Boston really a big market? According to Wiki, there are 20 cities in America bigger than Boston:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population

I think it hurts Oscar Robertson's legacy a little bit that Cincinnati doesn't a team anymore, but he never won a title with them. He does have a 9 foot tall statue outside of his college though. Pop and Duncan both have a great legacy even though San Antonio isn't the biggest town. Lebron played for Cleveland and Miami for most of his career.

Also, look at the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay is a super small town but people rate Brett Favre and Aaron Rodger high.

Boston is big in terms of tradition they were a dynasty its a big market in the basketball world, green bay is unique because its owned by the people.