It's funny what perception can do for an era of basketball. Time changes things and you don't even realize what you had until it’s gone.
Bird and Magic, amazing. Celtics and Lakers, two of the deepest and greatest teams ever. The Showtime era in the NBA really put the NBA in the spotlight. Let's be real, it was magic. No pun intended.
Meanwhile, the side story of the 80's was the emergence of Michael Jordan. Jordan was nice enough to not start trying to win titles until the 90's. He alone attracted fans and pushed the NBA even further into the spotlight.
However, it became a huge problem when Michael Jordan retired, because David Stern had put all of his eggs in one basket. The NBA lost countless fans that just became uninterested.
10 years later, you still have nostalgic pundits reminiscing about the good old days, and how the NBA still isn't what it used to be. Whether about the 80's or 90's, you have folks stuck on each era.
Well, snap out of it! It wasn't that good.
Let me tell what is good. The NBA today is good. The greats in today's game rival and surpass any era we've had thus far. It's basketball evolution.
Since Jordan retired for what should have been the last time (1998), we have seen the best power forward of all-time (Tim Duncan), arguably the best peak center of all-time (Shaquille O'Neal), and the 2nd best shooting guard of all-time (Kobe Bryant). We've had two dynasties intertwined with each other.
Now we are seeing Chris Paul play better than any point guard ever has. Statistically he is right there. Can you argue that?
We have LeBron looking like he will be considered the best small forward of all-time within 5 years.
We have true centers like Dwight Howard and Yao Ming dominating the paint again.
Kevin Garnett? It's been a long time coming for him. No 7 footer in history has his skill set, athleticism and coordination. He is a guy you will regret not appreciating when he is gone. Trust me.
How about Amare Stoudemire scoring in a way that would make Charles Barkley proud. How good is a guy who can score 25-30 points on around 60% from the field? Oh, and he shoots over 80% from the free throw line. You can't just hack him.
You can't ignore the international takeover either. They are too good to ignore. Dirk has his shortcomings, but the guy is amazing. Ginobili has given fits to just about any team who has had to check him in an important game. The league is filled with highly skilled foreigners. It's great for the game too.
I can't even shout out all the talent in the league, there is too much.
Then you have the Pistons and Jazz, who lack MVP candidates, but still can compete with anyone on any stage. For the people who don't like superstar-based basketball, there are pure execution-based teams for you too.
Now we have our greatest players playing on our greatest teams. That is the icing on the cake. Great games are brewing and historic performances are upon us. Legacies are being made as we speak.
Please don't take for granted how great of an era this is for the NBA. Don't get caught fantasizing about how great it used to be, because I guarantee as soon as 2010 rolls around, it's going to happen again.
People will remember how great Kobe and Shaquille were together.
Duncan will retire and nostalgia will kick in.
Kobe will lose a step, and fans will be on YouTube looking at how great he used to be when he was dropping 81 on the Raptors.
Appreciate it now while it happens, and you won't have to later. I promise you, it's better that way.
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5 months ago
fantastic perspective! i've been trying to tell people that the NBA has re-emerged through its young stars and is once again a great entertaining game being played on a very high level. You explained it perfectly
5 months ago
You have lost your mind. Kareem would eat Shaq's breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Which by the way might be a good thing for Shaq.
5 months ago
Oh, young, naive John.
The NBA definitely has some great players and is as exciting as it's been in years. That being said, the teams of the '80s - Lakers, Celts, early decade Sixers and late decade Pistons - would drink these guys milkshakes. They'd drink them up!
You need not look any further than how these playoffs have unfolded. I was expecting excitement out west, and every series has basically been over by the end of game 2. And the Celts are looking a little shaky.
And Shaq is, at best, the 5th best center of all time. Behind Kareem, Wilt, Russell and Hakeem. I mean, the guy couldn't hit FTs, was often out of shape, and blamed his teammates whenever the going got tough.
5 months ago
Apparently, you don't know much about the NBA before Magic and Larry. The 1960s had the best pure talent the league has ever seen: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, and Oscar Robertson just to name a few. Yes, the Celtics won all but one championship in that decade, but how can you argue with the talent back then? Sorry, but you need to learn more NBA history before writing this article.
5 months ago
It looks as though I've brought the folks living in the past. Anyone who thinks that Kareem would take a prime Shaquille to school just isn't being objective.
These historic figures that you guys throw out are great and all, and should be well-respect for what they did relative to the competition in their era, but basketball evolves. Humans evolve. Training has evolved.
Guys like West and Robertson are legends. No question. The thought of them trying to stick Kobe or LeBron though is absolutely laughable.
Again, wake up.
from 5 months ago
Kareem - 6 MVPs
Shaq - 1 MVP
Kareem in his prime would school Shaq in his. He might not be as big, but he was a far smarter player and Shaq would never be able to stop the sky hook. You know, plus the Captain could actually hit his FTs so he could actually be effective down the stretch.
from 5 months ago
Check this out. Voted on by some of ESPNs top NBA guys. Guys who know far more than you and I do. Look who's #1. Look who's # 4.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-GreatestCenters
5 months ago
Are you really using MVP awards to argue your point? In that case, Steve Nash is the 2nd best point guard of all-time, and a top 10 player of all-time. We all know how true that is.
from 5 months ago
MVP awards don't determine the pecking order. Someone who has one more than another player may not be better. But Kareem doesn't just have one MVP award more than Shaq. He has five!
My guess is you didn't bother to check out the link that illustrates that most people who follow the NBA for a living, don't consider Shaq the best center of all-time.
5 months ago
I don't think Shaquille is the best center of all-time. That is Kareem. I said in their primes, which is entirely different. Kareem played at an amazingly high level for two decades. Shaquille has had half that.
It's difficult to compare players from different eras, so we'll agree to disagree, but I think Shaquille is the best peak center ever, and maybe even the best peak player ever.
5 months ago
Okay, I understand your argument a little more. I didn't know what the hell you were talking about peak center. I'm still not sure he was the best, but I think he's at least a legit argument for that.
5 months ago
I agree with what your article is tring to say. Right now the NBA is good and people should realize that and start watching the games instead of worry about weather David West touch Dirk's face or Paul Pierce made a "mencing gesture". That said you did go too far tom make your point. Is Chris Paul playing better then any PG ever? No. Was Magic Johnson a better player then he will ever be? Yes. Paul is something but thats the truth. At the same time LeBron has a ceiling that I can't imagine. He's still inconsistent from the perimiter, doesn't have a post game, and doesn't realize how good he can be with his size and althletism on D. That amazing. Kobe, he's something special. Williams, Paul, Howard, Bron these guys are as good a crop of young players you could ask for. None of these teams would beat the mid 80's Lakers or Celts though. It not their fault but there are too many teams in the league today to have that kind of talent on one roaster. The 80's will always be special. It's when bigtime basketball was born and was hightlighted 2 guys that will never come again. Micheal was a Micheal so that era will be special too but there something special brewing right now too. Its not VC and Stephon Marbury right now. This is good basketball
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