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Actually a lot of those guys on the list are not spoiled Divas. Rose in particular is often lauded by sportswriters for being anything but diva-like.
I don't know about the new heights thing, it's a true rarity to have a bird-magic rivalry or a player with the magnetism of Jordan (My grandma even looooooved MJ lol). I think the NBA's real growth in the 00's was overseas which doesn't show up as easily like the growth of the 80's and 90's.
Yao and Dirk...Parker and Ginobli....the Gasol brothers....Nash...lot's of good foreign players which of course I'm forgetting many more.
^^those are the best of the foreign born players for sure
Who's on the next generation of foreign born players? Of course Rubio in Minnesota.....who else?
I don't know about the new heights thing, it's a true rarity to have a bird-magic rivalry or a player with the magnetism of Jordan (My grandma even looooooved MJ lol). I think the NBA's real growth in the 00's was overseas which doesn't show up as easily like the growth of the 80's and 90's.
The NBA basically came into the spotlight in a major way during the Bird-Magic Celtics-Lakers rivalry. Jordan came in and rode that wave taking the NBA to unprecedented heights of popularity, culminating in the Dream team in 1992. That was when Basketball became a global sport.
So, there's been plenty of good players since but they're essentially walking the trail carved out by the 80's and 90's superstars, which is why people tend to hold them in such high regard, and why that era is commonly known as the 'Golden Age' of the NBA. I'm not sure the NBA will become any bigger than it is now, nor do I think another 'Jordan' will come along that totally ingrains himself into the public conscience ( there WILL come along a player that exceeds Jordan as a player, it's inevitable).
I do agree with you that we'll continue to see more foreign players enter the league, and greater parity between America and other countries as the years go on. I think we're past the point now where a U.S dream team is going to smoke every team in an international tournament by 50 points. There are some very good international teams now, many of them with prominent NBA players and probably a few more who are NBA quality, but may prefer to play in their native regions for one reason or another.
The NBA basically came into the spotlight in a major way during the Bird-Magic Celtics-Lakers rivalry. Jordan came in and rode that wave taking the NBA to unprecedented heights of popularity, culminating in the Dream team in 1992. That was when Basketball became a global sport.
So, there's been plenty of good players since but they're essentially walking the trail carved out by the 80's and 90's superstars, which is why people tend to hold them in such high regard, and why that era is commonly known as the 'Golden Age' of the NBA. I'm not sure the NBA will become any bigger than it is now, nor do I think another 'Jordan' will come along that totally ingrains himself into the public conscience ( there WILL come along a player that exceeds Jordan as a player, it's inevitable).
I do agree with you that we'll continue to see more foreign players enter the league, and greater parity between America and other countries as the years go on. I think we're past the point now where a U.S dream team is going to smoke every team in an international tournament by 50 points. There are some very good international teams now, many of them with prominent NBA players and probably a few more who are NBA quality, but may prefer to play in their native regions for one reason or another.
Sometimes there is just the right guy at the right time....with the perfect marriage of personality and ability. Ali springs immediately to mind, Tiger, Jordan.....Ruth....they are indeed rare.
I personally don't expect to live long enough to see another Jordan...and I'm 42. Don't get me wrong, there will be guys that have special seasons like he had...heck Olajuwon did it. It just takes health, luck in getting the right team around you and much much more.
Jordan is still probably the highest endorsed NBA player in a typical year.
^^those are the best of the foreign born players for sure
Who's on the next generation of foreign born players? Of course Rubio in Minnesota.....who else?
I can think of two guys on the Cavs right now, Kyrie Irving(Australia) and Tristan Thompson(Canada).
Sometimes there is just the right guy at the right time....with the perfect marriage of personality and ability. Ali springs immediately to mind, Tiger, Jordan.....Ruth....they are indeed rare.
I personally don't expect to live long enough to see another Jordan...and I'm 42. Don't get me wrong, there will be guys that have special seasons like he had...heck Olajuwon did it.
Ali, Nicklaus, and so on. Exactly.....
A few players have had across the board dominant seasons like Jordan had in his prime. Hell, Shaq in 2000 won MVP, Finals MVP, Scoring title (and well all-star MVP but that's fairly 'meaningless'). Eventually someone will come along who people will generally say 'yeah, this guy is better than Jordan', but I doubt he'll capture the public's imagination as Mike did. There are already guys playing right now, who mirror some of his abilities, but are just missing that 'certain' ingredient to put it all together like MJ did.
How do they( thus far) compare to the stars of the 80's/90's/00's. Of course many are still far away from their prime, so this is more or less forecasting based on what they've shown thus far. I'm going to include a list of guys who will carry the NBA for the next decade:
Lebron: Massive disappointment in my opinion. A guy with all the tools to own the NBA for the next decade, yet he has the heart of a mouse. No burning desire to get better. Why did it take him 8 years to realize he needs a post up game? Doesnt he want to dominate? And that's not even mentioning the whole Decision and move to Miami. He would be laughed at by the 80s guys. Next
Howard: Here's a guy who while being really athletic, is just not a natural basketball player. Youtube him being coached by Hakeem, watch Hakeem demonstrate a move then see Howard try to replicate it. Not even close. Hakeem even at his old age looked so natural, effortless. Howard just looked herky jerky. But that wouldnt matter if he had that desire to be great. He could have been this era's Moses Malone, a guy who wasnt polished in the paint but was a ferocious rebounder and effort guy. But he's more interested in dunk contests and Superman nicknames. Next
Durant: Great, great natural talent, but I dont know...Westbrook seems to be more assertive. Could you imagine Pippen DARING to take shots away from MJ? Would Pippen still be alive today? Yet Westbrook punks Durant constantly. It's hard to take you serious as a leader when your own teammates dont seem to respect you.
Rose: He's good, not the finished article as a scorer or a point guard. I'm not sold on him being the pg either. I wonder if he should play off the ball more. But his team respects him as the leader, and he does what he has to do. But he leaves me underwhelmed. Now I'm not saying he's trash, he's very good. But whatever.
Griffin: The new jacks think he's the best thing since sliced bread, a big man who dunks! Too bad they dont know about the REAL dunking big man, Shawn Kemp. Griffin is nice, but I'll take the Reignman every day and twice on Sunday. Sorry.
Paul: Before the knee issue, I would have put him down as one of the potential all time greats. Watching him drag a mediocre Hornets team to 50 plus wins and the conference finals that one year really made me appreciate his greatness. Now I've heard that one of his knee ligaments is almost gone and he will soon be bone on bone. Don't know how legit this is (especially since the Clips traded for him), but that's the only reason I downgrade him.
D-Williams: Maybe it's because he was in Utah for so long so I dont get to watch a lot of his games here in Dallas. I think he's real good. Not quite on Chris Paul's level but decent.
Love: Havent watched a whole bunch of his games so all I can go on is the highlights. Seems to be a much better version of Bill Laimbeer, but dont' quote me.
Westbrook: First thing first. We are being denied a chance to accurately gauge how good this guy can be because they keep playing him as a point. He's NOT a point. Surely everyone saw that in last year's playoffs when he got benched and the offense ran better? He's an undersized two, the sooner someone recognizes that the better. He could be Stephon Marbury 2.0, the better version that plays defense and is not a cancer. And OKC need to trade him. He's not a second banana. He needs his own crew.
Bynum: How would he fare compared to the 80s and 90s centers? Really?
Wade: Now this is one of the guys who would have been excellent in the 80s and 90s. Aggressive, talented, clutch, lives for the big moment. He has everything you would want in your 2 guard. The only thing with him is that he seemed to be injury prone. But other than that. Excellent.
Carmelo: Would be awesome in any era OFFENSIVELY. Defensively i'm not so sure. Ditto for his attitude issues. Still remember that girly slap he did back in Denver a few years back. That would be a serious credibiity problem in the 80s.
etc etc etc. I've left out some names, but you get the general idea. How is the next decade of NBA basketball shaping up?
I hardly ever post on NBA boards now days, the "game" (if you can call it that) is nothing compared to the 80's and 90's. I think it peaked in 96, 97, 98.
I was watching the 2000 lakers/blazers playoff games the other day on youtube.
The blazers that year were stacked.....Wallace, Smith, Stoudamire, Pippen, Schrempf? Bonzi Wells, Brian Grant.
I don't think there's any team in the league like that now, stacked 5-7 deep of quality players, no scrubs.
-I know it sounds like a broken record, but I think the guys in the 80's and 90's would school all of these players now.
Bynum wouldn't even be in this discussion. Against Robert Parish? Laimbeer, Charles Oakley? He'd get run over.
I think with everyone on that list, there were people who did it better, who didn't get all the accolades, who didn't even win championships.
Blake Griffin? Shawn Kemp was dunking 20 years ago.
Wade? I think you saw a bunch of incarnations similar, KJ? Mitch Richmond?
Is he better than Drexler, probably not. If he puts up better career numbers than Drexler, I'll change my opinion.
The problem is, a lot of these guys are quasi college players (i.e. Love, Westbrook, Durant). Very young, very little playoff experience. Are they much different than Dominique Wilkins at 23-24?
-Maybe the real question is....put these guys in a gym (Lebron, Wade, Howard, Westbrook, Durant) with Magic, Jordan, Bird when they were 23-25 and see who wins. I think the older guys would win.
Bynum wouldn't even be in this discussion. Against Robert Parish? Laimbeer, Charles Oakley? He'd get run over.
Some odd names you picked out, but generally I agree with the premise. Bynum doesn't hold a candle to the great centers of the 80's and 90's i.e Kareem, Moses,Hakeem, Admiral, Ewing, Shaq etc. I wouldn't put him on equal footing with Mourning either, who was a beast in his prime.
Some odd names you picked out, but generally I agree with the premise. Bynum doesn't hold a candle to the great centers of the 80's and 90's i.e Kareem, Moses,Hakeem, Admiral, Ewing, Shaq etc. I wouldn't put him on equal footing with Mourning either, who was a beast in his prime.
I was thinking the same thing...
But I agree with the premise as well.
He's got time though to make himself great if he wants to be. It's really on him. My guess is he wont. I don't see that type of drive and determination in him. call me a skeptic I guess. but he seems happy being just above avg which makes you a top center in today's NBA. smh
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