Answer, a players prime is about 4-6 years. Many players overlap in career, Id say a “generation” in NBA terms is about that maybe for some its longer
I suppose i could buy that. So how does thst fit with bill russell and... damn. Drawing a blank on his name and deserve the impending ridicule... Russell battled another center, considered one of the greatest, most of his career.
Yes... hanging my head in shame.... Anyhow, i think i would consider them both generational. But yet they, well one kinda dominated the other, but they both dominated the rest of the league for many years.
Yeah but thier dominance was for the bulk of both careers, created a decade or so of overlapping. Not just a few years. Symantics i suppose. But it does deserve some rough line to determine eligibility. Not sure there are really that many players that truly dominated the league for 3plus years alone.
I think that is why its interesting, it is some what subjective! Your list may have Russell min might be wilt and we may both have good points to make for how or why we choose them.
It's a question we've been debating here. I think most people would pick Wilt if it had to be one or the other. But I think, much like the case of Bird and Magic, their rivalry itself almost raised the level of each other. Steel sharpening steel.
Yep. I see it even more in my view, with duos paired up. Stockton malone duo. Would either of them had the numbers and careers they had if it werent for the other? I dont think either was generational, but i think Duos who make each other better, creating a dominance, should deserve some mention... And i suppose it just got it. Lol.
Duncan is also a great choice, IMO. And I agree that PER is not the best measure. It was just quick--I was too lazy to do a more exhaustive analysis. I have looked at the numbers more closely before, back when Kobe/Shaq debates were more common, but I didn't feel up to it just now. I will note, though, that a big failing of PER is that it overly awards players who shoot the ball a lot--Kobe shot the ball a lot.
With the way Lebron's late-stage career is going, I wonder if maybe he should be knocked down below Bird, Magic, and Kareem.
Yeah, this 27-8-8 season he's putting up is pretty disappointing. And he definitely doesn't compare to what Bird/Magic did at the same age. In fact, Magic had zero turnovers and didn't even miss a single shot when he was 34! Lebron's a bum compared to them!
