The NBA debate over the greatest players of all time has slowly turned into a debate about eras. Many wonder if Bill Russell could play in today’s game or if a player like Giannis Antetkounmpo could have played 40 years ago. Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr. believes a guy like Giannis could not only play
Porter Jr. recently joined The Ringer Off Guard Podcast with Austin Rivers, where the two debated the best players in the NBA and different eras of NBA basketball.
“It’s better now,” Porter Jr. said. “If you take some of those players and you put them in then… Like, if you put Giannis [Antetokounmpo] At that time he would have been the best player to ever play basketball.
Austin Rivers interrupted to say, “He would have broken Wilt’s record. He would have had a game with like 140. It was just on the decline.”
From athletic to technical level, basketball has continued to evolve. Today’s players are increasingly skilled, which leads to an increase in debates.
“As human beings, we’re supposed to evolve and get better over time,” Porter Jr. added. “The players today may obviously be more talented than the players of the past, but there are certainly players that you could have taken from back then and put them in today’s game and they would have adapted. For example, if you put Michael Jordan in today’s game, I’m sure he shoots a lot more three-pointers. He’s probably still the best player in the NBA by far.”
These debates are not going to end anytime soon, as players of the current game and past eras continue to go back and forth on which era is better.
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