Jason, without taking any position on your discussion about past vs present hoops, I was interested to see Kobe give his list of the five best pro basketball players of all time:
Magic, Bird, Jordan, Kareem, Russell.
All players from a past era. Any thoughts on how they would stack up in the modern game?
Kobe’s list matches mine, at least for the next few years. I’m too young to have seen Kareem and Russell. However, knowing what I know about Russell based on the footage I’ve watched and everything I’ve read, he would have thrived in any era. He was the greatest teammate in the history of sports. No one possessed more versatility, mentally and physically, to do exactly what was needed to not only fit HIS role with the team, but to create the roles in which others would thrive. Watching Duncan’s amazing performance in these Playoffs further solidifies how great Russell was. As good as Duncan is, and as amazing as his run was, he couldn’t quite get it done against a heavily favored opponent. The fact that Russell ALWAYS got it done, even in the later years as a player-coach in series in which he was an underdog, is just amazing. He’s the only guy in Jordan’s league as a competitor, and frankly he’s probably better. He’s The Old Course of basketball players – often overlooked for a lack of flash and presumed to be antiquated, but full of sublime gifts that would continue to keep him relevant in a modern world.
Kareem is a little tougher. Obviously as a good athlete at that height, he was always going to be good. I worry that he wouldn’t have enough strength to dominate the modern game the way he did in the 70s, but he’d still be the best center in the league today I would guess. He’s the Firestone of basketball – long and skinny and tough but with defenses that, while still good, don’t hold up quite as well against the modern player as they did in his original era.
People like to knock Bird’s athleticism and suggest he’d be overmatched today. They forget that he was a poor athlete even by the standards of the 80s, but still dominated that decade. If Dirk can win an MVP and a Finals MVP, Bird could still be an absolute killer today. Also, modern coaching and analytics would benefit him more than any other player on this list. He’s the Merion of basketball – always underestimated and infinitely more confounding in practice than in theory.
Magic was such a complete player that he’d also be great in any era. He’d be the same matchup nightmare as a 6’9” point guard today that he was in the 80s and early 90s. If anything, he’d also benefit from the smaller direction the league has taken. You could surround him with shooters and a single big, much like Lebron, and he’d dominate. He’s the Pebble Beach of basketball – the iconography sometimes outgrows the pure genius of the entity itself, and we take his greatness for granted.
Of course, Michael basically created the modern era and played in it. He was an All-Star in his 40s against many guys who are still in the league. He’d easily be the best shooting guard in the league today. He’d also probably average 40 a game with the modern hand-checking rules. He was a severely underrated team player. As much credit as Lebron gets for “making his teammates better,” it was actually hard to prove that thesis until this year. So many supporting players had their best season playing alongside Jordan, while very few who have played alongside Lebron can say the same. And what always gets forgotten about Jordan is that he’s absolutely the best defensive guard of all-time. The guy that he matured into in the 90s would have been the best in the game in any generation, as he still featured excellent athleticism but knew how to restrain it. He’s the Pine Valley of basketball – great physical attributes coupled with an overall vision and comprehensive set of skills that makes him fearsome and awe-inducing at the same time, with the only potential knock against his greatness being that we never have really seen how he’d hold up against all-time best competition.
I think the league is deeper and smarter today than it’s ever been, but I really think all the guys above would have thrived in any era and many would have benefitted by playing for coaches using modern offensive and defensive theory. It’s scary to think about how much better Russell and Jordan in particular could have been with analytics-based defensive principles at their disposal, and likewise with Bird on the offensive end. Yikes.