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Ok, spinning off from another thread let's discuss the players that did the most to develop the league from it's regional bus riding days to one where franchises are rivaling the value of MLB teams and rookies are making more their first year than MVP's used to even after adjusting for inflation.
The two obvious ones are of course Bird\Magic....and Jordan.
After that we have a bunch of other guys I will throw out there whom developed the league and not just in the US.
Guys with big impacts for foreign markets: Kukoc, Dirk, Ginobli, (oops left off Yao Ming...glaring oversight)
Guys with media presence like movies, TV shows, commercials etc. : Kareem (other than Jordan he's probably #2), Shaq
Guys that really developed domestically: Mikan, Walton, David Robinson
I know I'm leaving guys out, surely Iverson belongs in there somewhere along with Kobe and Lebron...just starting a conversation.
I always hear that Bird/Magic saved the NBA, so I'll say those two guys get the top vote. Jordan really hit his stride right at the tail-end of Bird and Magic's careers, so he kinda took the torch and ran with it.
I think that another group of guys that were hugely influential and contributed to the "growth" of the sport were the Fab Five of Michigan University.
I remember growing up in NYC everyone in every playground was wearing Michigan gear and wearing the baggy shorts and black socks with the black Nike Huaraches and then the Nike Air Force Max that Nike did for Charles Barkley. I mean EVERYONE was doing it!!
I won't say that their contributions to the growth of the sport is at the same level as Magic/Bird, but The Fab Five was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. Some people literally hated them, but most people really loved them.
I always hear that Bird/Magic saved the NBA, so I'll say those two guys get the top vote. Jordan really hit his stride right at the tail-end of Bird and Magic's careers, so he kinda took the torch and ran with it.
I think that another group of guys that were hugely influential and contributed to the "growth" of the sport were the Fab Five of Michigan University.
I remember growing up in NYC everyone in every playground was wearing Michigan gear and wearing the baggy shorts and black socks with the black Nike Huaraches and then the Nike Air Force Max that Nike did for Charles Barkley. I mean EVERYONE was doing it!!
I won't say that their contributions to the growth of the sport is at the same level as Magic/Bird, but The Fab Five was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. Some people literally hated them, but most people really loved them.
There were two really big bumps in NBA popularity and they were magic\bird and Jordan.
Fab 5 are a good discussion point. Did they really draw that many new fans to the NBA though and increase it's popularity? I don't know but it's a good discussion point you've made.
I think there have been several that come to mind. There is no denying Bird/Magic and Jordan will forever be on the upper echelon of that list. But there are others.
Dr. J comes to mind with an aerial assault not really seen before him
George Mikan changed the game due to his size that had not been seen before him. Even rules were changed.
How about Bill Russell/Wilt Chamberlain and their battles? And Chamberlain scoring 100 points in a game.
Bob Cousy and his passing was the beginning of fast break basketball.
There were two really big bumps in NBA popularity and they were magic\bird and Jordan.
Fab 5 are a good discussion point. Did they really draw that many new fans to the NBA though and increase it's popularity? I don't know but it's a good discussion point you've made.
Yeah, I agree, I don't think the Fab Five belongs on the list NEXT to Bird/Magic or Jordan. Or perhaps even the some of the other guys mentioned... They probably did not increase the NBA's popularity, they were a college team after all. But as far as having an impact on the culture of basketball, and how it took over in the playgrounds, I'd say the Fab Five was very influential.
They probably didn't attract "new" fans to the NBA, but for the existing fans, they were trendsetters, only thing is trends don't last 25 years, and they're affect on the game is still evident today. So what does that make them?... Innovators? And I don't think their impact was only in the urban population either...
That being said, maybe the Fab Five does not belong in this discussion. Maybe they should be in the most "influential" discussion. My bad...
Bird and Magic were like the early rock and roll pioneers like Elvis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, etc. But Jordan was like The Beatles, he took basketball to another level. Everyone wanted to be like Mike. I believe his potential refusal to play on the Dream Team if Isiah Thomas played was a huge reason why Thomas was left off that team because of the NBA trying to really go bigger in terms of the global market. You have to remember that even though there was a presence of international/foreign born players then, it was nowhere near what it is today.
Jordan also revolutionized the style of the NBA. The man has his own brand! His cultural influence also seemed to extend to guys shaving their heads.
There is no basketball shoe more iconic than the Jordans. Idiots even kill for them
I would say that the death of basketball pre-Magic/Bird was greatly exaggerated. Baseball was king back then, but basketball was still extremely popular, regardless of what TV execs thought. People like Wilt Chamberlain, Walt Frazier, Rick Barry, Wes Unseld, and many others did as much for the game as the much-vaunted Bird and Magic. Bird and Magic were great, but they did not invent modern basketball. People before them did it.
Ok, spinning off from another thread let's discuss the players that did the most to develop the league from it's regional bus riding days to one where franchises are rivaling the value of MLB teams and rookies are making more their first year than MVP's used to even after adjusting for inflation.
The two obvious ones are of course Bird\Magic....and Jordan.
To leave out Kareem Abdul Jabar is unforgivable!
Anyway...
With the exception of the Knicks Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe, the list could begin and end there, if the issue is who turn NBA into one of the preeminent sports franchises. And if you add , Clyde Drexler, Karl Malone, Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwan and the Doctor you have players who made teams outside of the Boston/LA nexus making teams, in the West and South, actual rivals of the two perennials.
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After that we have a bunch of other guys I will throw out there whom developed the league and not just in the US.
The league was already developed internationally before Kukoc, Dirk, Ginoblie and Yao came along which is why they "came along" in the first place. And if you want to credit the Team that brought European play up a level worthy of consideration... you are right back where you started, Bird and Magic Dream Team I.
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Guys that really developed domestically: Mikan, Walton, David Robinson
Again within the context of your question the NBA was a done deal by the time they signed their contracts. Think about it, Walton was a 3rd generation Laker big man, trying to follow in none other than Wilt, a Kareem. Robinson was good center in an era packed with great all time greats, Robert Parish, Olajuwon, Malone, Ewing, McAdoo. Artis Gilmore.
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I know I'm leaving guys out, surely Iverson belongs in there somewhere along with Kobe and Lebron...just starting a conversation.
As you should, along with Shaq massive players but in a mature league.
Last edited by TheWiseWino; 08-25-2015 at 12:31 AM..
I might just be tired, but I don't understand what this category is about. Care to expand on the meaning Math?
Basically guys that brought US fans to the pro game that were previously college fans (mainly) or not fans at all.
Compared to a guy like Yao Ming who brought millions and milllions of foreign fans to basketball for the first time.
In fairness, technology made what Yao Ming did possible.
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