Question about the NBA Talent Level

[Yavin4]

Is it just me or is the talent level in the NBA horrible right now. Sure, there are a few good players, like Shaq, Wade, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett. But after this group, there doesn't seem to be a lot of good players.

The person I blame for this is Michael Jordan. Jordan was a great player, but he over-commercialized the sport. So much so, that on all levels of basketball, everyone is looking for the next Jordan instead of developing players.

[northzax]

1. for pure talent, it is better than ever

but there are also more players than ever, since there are more teams, and therefore more roster spots. 20 years ago, there were 40 fewer spots in the NBA, and the single worst player now would still likely make one of those teams. Players are bigger, faster and stronger than ever before, and the training starts at a lower level, which equalizes talent over time.

I would argue that there are twenty great players today, any one of which would have won MVP awards twenty years ago, Nowitzki? Arenas? Kobe? Iverson? I could go on. take the worst NBA team today, and it would have a winning record in 1985, no question. One reason the talent looks worse is that the background ability is so much higher.

Magic Johnson, for instance, was a great player, and he'd still be great today, but he never faced an entire team of people his size, every night. He'd still win, but the difference between him and others, based partially on his physical gifts, would not be as great. Shaq, for instance, is a freak of nature, but he's not as big and strong, compared to others, as he used to be. he's had to work harder, develop a hook shot and a few moves, as the people he's playing put on 15-20 pounds and an inch or two.

[Awsi Dooger]

4. I agree

As a handicapper I would thrill to bet the best teams of today against the top teams of the Showtime '80s. That would be a riot. Especially because the fan impression (and therefore the pointspread) would favor the soft defenseless uptempo teams of that glitzy era as superior.

Those '80s NBA games make me gag whenever I watch them in their entirety. Want an uncontested 12 foot jumper? Be my guest. They don't threaten to play defense until the final minutes of a close game, and even then the defensive pressure or intensity doesn't begin to threaten what it is today throughout the game.

Massive kudos to Chuck Daly, coach of the Bad Boy Pistons. He was the first one to emphasize contested possesions for 48 minutes, or close to that.

The only thing I don't agree with is Magic Johnson. He would be dominant in any era. I think it's extremely poor handicapping to place him outside the top three or four players of all time, and I wouldn't quarrel heavily with number one. I still wish he would have played that rumored one on one match against Jordan. He would have been the big underdog and that would have been like stealing. Not that I'm diminishing Jordan, but one-on-one games heavily favor the bigger and taller guy.

[northzax]

6. nothing against Magic at all

I just don't think the gap between the 80's Magic and his peers would be as great if it was the exact same player playing today. Of course, then he would have had access to all the physical training and other benefits of today's players, so he would have raised his game farther. He'd be a different player today. Or would he be Penny Hardaway? it's hard to tell how someone would react to a different situation.

And he would have beaten Jordan at 1-1, he was a better ball handler and his size advantage would weaken Jordan's defensive acumen. But it would have been close.

[imouttahere]

9. Magic played center, in place of Kareem....

to beat the Sixers in the finals, as a rookie, in 1980. Jordan can't beat that.

[HuskerDU]

10. Beat Jordan at what?

MJ still has more titles and is considered the greatest player of all time.

MJ was so competitive, he would've played center for a game just to make you happy.

[lazarus]

11. I don't consider him the greatest of all time

Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell are both ahead of him.

Russell has more rings than fingers, and Chamberlain...

How many rules changes did they make because Jordan was so dominant? They had to make a bunch for Wilt.

[HuskerDU]

13. You might have an arguement with Wilt. His numbers are off the

chart and he was a physical specimen. But Russell is pushing it. Yeah he won a lot of rings, but he had HOFers surrounding him and a much smaller league to contend with than exists today. And he was only 6'9" with a limited offensive game.

Like the article you cite below surmises, the NBA is full of very talented atheletes today. Russell couldn't dominate defensively now like he did in the 60's.

If you could take any in-their-prime NBA great and build a team around them today, I highly doubt Russell would be the guy. Wilt maybe. But Jordan is a no-brainer. You know what he can do with guys like Luc Lonley starting.

If only Wilt had won more championships. He always had better stats verses Russell, but Russell always won. Jordan had the best stats, and he won.

[underpants]

7. Greg ...... ..... KIte

Nice theory but how can you account for Greg Kite???? Huh how can you?

The answer is YOU CAN'T!! There is no accounting for Greg Kite EVER!!!!

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kitegr01.html


Just kidding of course. We used to watch Celtics games and when Kite came into the game the women screamed (high shorts) and the men lamented not being 6'8" and thus (by Kite's example) gotten to play in the NBA.

[GOPisEvil]

2. I think basketball talent is better than ever.

However, basketball fundamentals are in the toilet. The game has gotten too individualized, and there's very little team basketball played in the NBA.

[jakefrep]

3. I found this piece in ESPN.com insightful...

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hruby/051104

[lazarus]

8. Was just about to post that article

I believed virtually every one of those myths before I read it. Changed my mind on all of them, too.

[aaronbees]

12. excellent article...

I agree that it dispells quite a few myths about the NBA today that I'm frankly freakin' tired of. It's the emphasis on defense that has changed the shape of today's NBA. Thanks, Scottie Pippen ;)

[erpowers]

5. Kobe Bryant

I am surprised you would leave Kobe Bryant off your list. Say what you want about his ego even without Shaq he played well and scored really well. Kobe is really one of the great players in this league. The Lakers just need to build up their team.

[realisticphish]

14. Lebron James

great talent, and, from watching him, a pretty good team player, not selfish