I was just thinking today, and a thought provoking question came to mind. We all hear about how the late 80's and the early 90's were the best era of basketball. You had Jordan, Stockton, Ewing, Barkley, and that is only mentioning a few. Now, as I was thinking I was wondering if the era of basketball we are in right now will be considered the greatest ever. There is so much talent these days, the game has really changed. Today, parents train their children to thrive in sports. They want money, and they want their kid to get it for them. It seems like before the parents would back their kid with whatever he or she wanted to do, but now they seem greedy. But, I will get back to the main point. When you think about all the stars in the game today, I honestly think this could be considered the strongest and most dominating era of basketball, ever. Just look at all the studs you have: <ul> [*]Kevin Garnett [*]Tim Duncan [*]Kobe Bryant [*]Shaquille O'Neal [*]Allen Iverson [*]Jason Kidd [*]Dirk Nowtizki [*]LeBron James [/list] And those are just a few that popped off my head quick. Guys like Dwayne Wade, Paul Pierce, Elton Brand, Tracy McGrady, and Jermaine O'Neal all could still be huge. So, now I ask the question for debate. In twenty years, will fans of basketball consider the era we are in today, the greatest? I would love to hear some nice thoughts come out of this. And that is just naming the one
hahha yer u didnt mention kobe but i think ppl will look back and think this was a great era for bball but not the greatest
More of a transitional era, from skills to athleticism and versatility. I'm sure the next generation will be even more prepared physically when they enter the league.
I think fans 20 years from now will still look at the Jordan, Ewing, Stockton as like the best era. Those times were packed with talent, heart, and style.
I think the class of '03 will be the draft class everyone will talk about. It's got 5 potentiol future hall of famers: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Kirk Hinrich. Then you have the solid role players who could turn into superstars: Luke Ridnour, Chris Kaman, Mickael Pietrus. This will be a great era, but not the greatest.
I think the athleticism, versatility, creativity, and explosiveness of todays players in todays game is greatly overlooked. Many people will deem the Jordan, Bird, Magic era as the greatest ever, but I think that has it's origins born more of nostalgia than anything else. I mean, Vince Carter put his arm in a basket. Who had ever even thought of that before he did it. Tracy McGrady threw a pass to himself off the backboard in a regular season game. There's plenty of entertainment in today's game, make no mistake about it, and these kids are starting their careers earlier and earlier, and they'll certainly be more experienced when they hit their primes. I seems that some people are just stuck in the past and can't let go of the fact that the great players of yesteryear are gone. But I don't buy into all the "crisis in basketball" talk. If I had a choice as to which NBA era I'd like to live in, it'd be this one.
Each era that has passed in basketball has brought better players. Its just the natural evolution of man. I'm pretty sure we will find this era to be one of the best but 20 years from now who knows? There could quite possibly be better players in the future than there is right now. I can only speak for the present and I think this years crop of players is the best by far atheletically but in terms of fundamentals and knowledge of the game, I would have to go with the 90's. BTW Shaq was part of the 90's era too. Arguably that is when he was most dominant.
I don't think basketball now will ever amount to the 90's or probably not even come close to being arguably the best era NBA basketball has ever witnessed.. There were too many stars in the 90?s. I mean now we have KG, Kobe, Duncan and all the rest of the greats, but in my honest opinion, they don?t have the same skills as the many greats in the 90?s. I think it is pretty safe to say almost every team had a superstar on it. I also think you guys are forgetting that there are numerous amounts of other things that made the 90?s era the best ever and also because it was more than just the players. Let?s not forget the surprises. I can only think of two off the top of my head, but remember those Dikembe Mutombo lead Nuggets that defeated the 1st seed Sonics. Also (my favorite ) those ?99 8th seed Knicks that made it to the NBA finals. That right there made 90?s basketball so entertaining because of records like those being broken. Even people that didn?t even watch NBA basketball had a deep respect for this era. My parents are good examples. Both of them don?t like sports and probably couldn?t tell you who someone like Kevin Garnett was however, they can name just a handful of players from the 90?s and some important events that took place. Such surprises like those are good for fans as well. The fans always root for the underdog and when surprising events like what took place in the 90?s occur, you are satisfying the fans needs. How many bloopers and things have we seen during this era? Who remembers the all time classic with Shaq breaking the hoop back when he was in Orlando playing for the Magic? That had to be one of the most surprising things that I have ever seen in my entire life. There are problems tons more that I am leaving out. Another great thing about the 90?s is because it was propelled by one of the greatest Dynasties ever assembled, The Chicago Bulls of the 1990?s. This team in my honest opinion was the greatest team in all sports. Better than the Yankees, or any other team that you can think of. I think they were even better than those Celtics of old. The record 72-10 doesn?t lie and it is no surprise why they had it. The team consisted of a combination, of skill, determination, character and diversity. I?m not talking diversity by race but, rather personalities. Steve Kerr?s personality was definitely much different from someone like say?Dennis Rodman. All of them were very different but, what remained the same for each Bull was the will and the determination to win. During this great stretch, the Bulls got 6 NBA championships, and probably more had Michael Jordan not decided to make a brief retirement, and go into baseball...another surprise! They had the best players, and arguably the best coach ever. This is what made the Bulls such a special team. What also made the 90?s era probably the most special is a man by the name of mrj18. This guy was a legend and a true joy to watch. Just kidding he needs no introduction his name is the great: Michael Jordan. It was very necessary creating his own line for self explanatory reasons. Michael Jordan was the best basketball player that ever stepped foot into this planet! The way he dominated in every aspect was what made him such a special and untouchable player. I have the greatest respect for him. Everyone may not like him however, they have to respect the man. Michael Jordan was an extraordinary offensive player, an extraordinary defensive player, an extra ordinary talent, an extraordinary player in general. The thing that was greatest about Jordan was his competitive spirit. We would definitely not be talking about him had he not been such a competitor. His competitiveness is what got him into the NBA in the first place. I would go on and on about him but, that would probably take away all of the space in the thread. That?s how much this man has accomplished in the NBA. The entertainment was ridiculously amazing in the 90?s. They somehow mixed entertainment with fundamentals so the game became very fun to watch. Who wants to watch a boring basketball game and at the same time, who wants to watch players shoot their team in the foot because their lack of fundamentals. You had players such as Michael Jordan (again) who entertained you with game winners, those funny looking shots that always went in, and who can forget those dunks!! Despite all of this, Michael Jordan was a workaholic and was the definition of fundamentally sound. Players were very entertaining but, they entertained in moderation. Nowadays you have And 1 taking over kids minds and it shows when they enter the league. Players don?t even go to college anymore. I am not in anyway knocking And 1, or players that come to the league from Highschool. I just think that too many players are victims of making the spectacular play over the safe play, and also some really need to go to college. I am aware of Highschool greats such as James, McGrady, Kobe, KG and the rest of them. The many rivalries during this time is also why I loved the 90?s. Who remembers all of those Knick Pacer matchups, or all of those Bulls Jazz games. These are definitely fan favorites and is the reason why the 90?s era was again one the best decade of basketball. Who didn?t love to see all of these games? There are not too many rivalries going on. The only one that I can think of is perhaps the Pistons and the Paers but, that?s about it. No more additional excitement in the games. As a fans perspective that is what makes games that much better. Again, there is a whole bunch of stuff that I?m leaving out in the greatest decade to be played. I do enjoy this era of the 21st century because I am a basketball fan. If I didn?t really like basketball, this would not be such an exciting era so far. The 90?s not only had great games, great teams and fun matchups, it also had exciting players who entertained and gave us some real surprises. Yes we do have some stars now but, I do not think they compare to most of the stars then. I think there will not be another 90?s probably because the mentality of people have changed and in my honest opinion there will be no next Jordan much less a Chicago Bulls dynasty. Players like Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony will turn out to be good players just like Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, and McGrady turned out to be. I do not feel in this lifetime at least, we will see another era similar to that which was shown in the 1990?s.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Bobcats:</div><div class="quote_post">I think the class of '03 will be the draft class everyone will talk about. It's got 5 potentiol future hall of famers: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Kirk Hinrich. Then you have the solid role players who could turn into superstars: Luke Ridnour, Chris Kaman, Mickael Pietrus. This will be a great era, but not the greatest.</div> Such a nice man. Thank you for mentioning Pietrus. Anyway, on to the debate. I think this will be considered a great era, but not the best. While we have Shaq, Kobe, AI, Amare, Lebron, Wade, Melo, Pierce, and all those other guys that are incredible, the 90's had guys like MJ, Barkley, Ewing, Pippen, Shaq, and other guys. I think if you look at the impact they had on the NBA it is even bigger. But I think the most impressive era was in the 60's- 70's. That era had guys like Moses Malone, Dr. J, Wilt, Kareem Adul-Jabar, Jerry West, Jerry West, and Pistol Pete just to name a few and those guys have really defined the position and in some ways that are rarely noticed. So that is my two cents
'03 doesn't beat '84, which had Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton as well as several other players who had long, solid careers
Or '96 with Iverson, Marbury, Ray Allen, Antoine Walker, Camby, Peja, Nash, Kittles (before injuries) Jermaine O'Neal, and Jerome Williams ,
