If you’ve been on social media in the past few days, you’ve probably seen a lot of old clips of players like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Isiah Thomas.
This is part of the old debate about which era was better, a debate with no real answer because it is impossible to compare players from very different eras.
It’s easy for old hands like me to talk about the physicality, competitiveness and skill of the past, while younger fans will point to the increased athleticism and shooting of the modern game.
The truth is that every era of the NBA has been filled with talented playersIt’s just that the game is evolving, and so are the athletes, who take better care of themselves today than they did in the 80s, and who benefit from a myriad of technological, nutritional and medical advances as well as natural human evolution that has led us to bigger people in general.
dark. Related article. 3 X-Factors That Could Make the Pistons Better Than Expected. 3 X-Factors That Could Make the Pistons Better Than Expected
Not to mention better shoes.
The most recent form of this debate was started by Anthony Edwards, he of many horrible positions, who had this to say about players of the past in a stupid comment in the Wall Street Journal (subscription) which received a predictable response from players like Isiah Thomas.
Propaganda works, so be careful what you choose to believe. https://t.co/A2fJvxDlmd
— Isiah Thomas (@IsiahThomas) August 20, 2024
It’s interesting that the “old school” players were only known for being tougher, while there were plenty of players with as much or more skill than today’s players.
As someone who followed the NBA for most of what could be considered the “modern” era, I can confirm that Edwards’ comments are ridiculous. He admitted that he didn’t even really watch previous eras, so I’m not exactly sure what evidence he has to back up his idiotic statement.
The game was simply different in the ’80s and ’90s because teams had not yet adopted analytics that told them that dunks and 3-pointers were the only ones worth making, and rule changes had not yet affected the physical side of the game.
But if you think Michael Jordan was the only talented player, you should have your head examined. And if you think that “all” modern players are talented, as Edwards suggests, take a look at last year’s Pistons roster to convince yourself that that idea is wrong.
Take for example the 1988-89 Pistons, a team I ranked in the top 5 of all time and could beat most modern NBA teams.
The Bad Boys became known as a physical (some would say dirty) team, but they were also very capable with an offense ranked 7th in the league (110.8) and a roster full of guys who could knock down a shot from 15 to 18 feet.
Years later, it becomes a matter of narrative versus reality, because a guy like Bill Laimbeer, who is mostly known as a thug by fans who never saw him play, was actually a very talented center with a deadly shot.
The Bad Boys could have ranked near the bottom of the league in offense this season, but that’s more because playing defense is harder than ever, not because the players suddenly lack skill.
The scoring also saw a boost thanks to a huge increase in three-point shooting. In 1988-89, Mark Aquirre led the Pistons in scoring with 2.5 three-point attempts per game, roughly the number of three-point attempts a modern center would make today.
I agree that players today are better long-range shooters, but that simply wasn’t part of the game back then, as common sense told teams to try to get as close to the basket as possible to score, an idea that has been disproven by analytics that say otherwise.
It’s equally ridiculous for old school fans to say that modern players are soft, because that’s not true either, it’s just that the rules have changed over time and large scale aggression is no longer allowed.
Fans and players have to accept that the eras are completely different, which makes it difficult and ultimately pointless to try to compare players, but I assure you, Ant, the players of that era had talent and it wasn’t just MJ.
