1996 Seattle Supersonics vs. 2021 Utah Jazz

[SouBeachTalents]

The Sonics would get buried under endless threes.

They would have never seen anything like what the Jazz would do against them in terms of taking 43 threes per game and making 40% of them.

I think they would be literally stunned and get blown out. They would need more time than a series offers in order to figure out how to defeat that.

This is a good point. Do these teams from the past have any time to prepare or study film of their opponent? Forget the rule changes, if you just throw the '96 Sonics into the league today, they would be absolutely floored by how many 3's their opponent took, it'd be incomprehensible to them

[Xiao Yao You]

It's interesting you mention that. I remember Chris Carter having a debate with Nick Wright about MJs defense, hand checking, and LeBron. Nick Wright proceeded to claim that "LeBron would have been allowed to hand check, too!!!" CC responded by saying that MJ was a great defender because he was great defensively, not because of hand checking.

The same with GP. GP had great instincts and an overall defensive IQ. A guy like Derek Harper was great defensively because of hand checking. Harper used to squeeze the waist of those he was defending at times and was really annoying to have to deal with. I remember Matt Guokas talking about it in the 1994 finals where he identified Harper as one of those guys who had David Stern and the league talking about eliminating hand checking.

Harper was a great defender by being allowed to touch his opponents, but probably just a good defender without it. GP was just great, period.

Sure they would probably still be great but defensive players are at the mercy of offensive players today. He wouldn't be as effective. The rules don't allow it

[Callystarr]

Perkins, Payton, Schrempf, Hawkins, and McMillan could all shoot the 3. Why would would Utah win under the current rules, especially when Payton can neutralize Mitchell and Kemp on Gobert?

Payton .328
Schrempf .408
Hawkins .384
Perkins .355
McMillan .380
Askew .337
Kemp (garpbage)

An era where they only shot when they were WIDE Open against...

Mitchell .399
Oneale .414
Bogey .384
Conley .421
Ingles .491
Niang .395
Clarkson .352
Oni .388


Ummm...yeah definitely Utah

[Reggie43]

To those who think the Jazz would win how about we give the Sonics a season to familiarize with the rules and style of play before they battle in a playoff series, who wins then?

Or do you guys really think spamming pick and rolls, dribble drives, drive and kick etc enroute to threes is such an advanced tactic that nobody from past eras would figure it out lol.

Those Sonics would be handicapped defensively but it would still be the best defense the Jazz will face in the whole Nba anchored by arguably the goat perimeter defender in Payton, all defense guy in Nate Mcmillan, Hersey Hawkins and with Kemp protecting the paint.

[Xiao Yao You]

Payton .328
Schrempf .408
Hawkins .384
Perkins .355
McMillan .380
Askew .337
Kemp (garpbage)

An era where they only shot when they were WIDE Open against...

Mitchell .399
Oneale .414
Bogey .384
Conley .421
Ingles .491
Niang .395
Clarkson .352
Oni .388


Ummm...yeah definitely Utah

3 guys shoot it good. The others would be left wide open Ricky Rubio style. They might crash the offensive glass like teams did then and the Jazz would be able to run. They'd struggle in the half court without those 2nd chances and get killed in transition without them. They'd get some points in transition because the Jazz give that up anyway going for extras offensive boards themselves. Now the Sonics would have to chase guys around the perimeter like they've never done before. Kemp might do alright on Gobert at the rim actually. Payton and McMillan on Conley and Mitchell might be ok though they've never had to guard anyone pulling up for 3's from anywhere anytime or seen a Eurostep or step back or a crossover that would have been illegal then. Others would be open. Seattle would have to hope some guys are missing shots

[HoopsNY]

The Sonics would get buried under endless threes.

They would have never seen anything like what the Jazz would do against them in terms of taking 43 threes per game and making 40% of them.

I think they would be literally stunned and get blown out. They would need more time than a series offers in order to figure out how to defeat that.

They would need to advance through the league's 25 years of evolution over 7 games and I don't see that happening.

It's amazing how fans like yourself give no credit to teams in the 90s based on such logic. What makes you think that the Nets would drain threes, but Seattle wouldn't? Seattle shot 36% in 1996 from deep, albeit with a shortened line.

But here's the thing; in 1998, Seattle led the league in 3 point shooting at 40%, with the regular line. Here are some of the guys who were on the '96 team and their three point percentages in 1998.

1998 Sonics

Payton: 34%
Hawkins: 42%
Schrempf: 42%
McMillan: 44%
Perkins: 39%

So there's no reason to believe that the '96 team doesn't get to shoot threes at an insane rate when they literally shot at a similar clip just two seasons later.

What goes for one team, goes for the other. If you relax perimeter rules, then Seattle gets to benefit from it, also.

[HoopsNY]

Sure they would probably still be great but defensive players are at the mercy of offensive players today. He wouldn't be as effective. The rules don't allow it

So why has Kawhi been effective? GP's instincts are very much similar, as was his basketball IQ. Remember how GP would guard guys like Iverson in the late 90s? Or even Kobe? His instincts were unmatched. Quite frankly, there are very few that were as good with perimeter defense as he was. Kawhi is one of them.

Since GP's time, only Tony Allen and Kawhi remind me of him as far as defensive instincts and defensive IQ are concerned on the perimeter.

[Xiao Yao You]

It's amazing how fans like yourself give no credit to teams in the 90s based on such logic. What makes you think that the Nets would drain threes, but Seattle wouldn't? Seattle shot 36% in 1996 from deep, albeit with a shortened line.

But here's the thing; in 1998, Seattle led the league in 3 point shooting at 40%, with the regular line. Here are some of the guys who were on the '96 team and their three point percentages in 1998.

1998 Sonics

Payton: 34%
Hawkins: 42%
Schrempf: 42%
McMillan: 44%
Perkins: 39%

So there's no reason to believe that the '96 team doesn't get to shoot threes at an insane rate when they literally shot at a similar clip just two seasons later.

What goes for one team, goes for the other. If you relax perimeter rules, then Seattle gets to benefit from it, also.

36% would be inefficient by today's standards though. When they shot 40% they were no where near the volumome of attempts of today. Payton would be left alone like he was Ricky Rubio

[RRR3]

Toody would be helpless against Shawn Kemp.

[Xiao Yao You]

So why has Kawhi been effective? GP's instincts are very much similar, as was his basketball IQ. Remember how GP would guard guys like Iverson in the late 90s? Or even Kobe? His instincts were unmatched. Quite frankly, there are very few that were as good with perimeter defense as he was. Kawhi is one of them.

Since GP's time, only Tony Allen and Kawhi remind me of him as far as defensive instincts and defensive IQ are concerned on the perimeter.

He might still be a great defender but he would still be at a disadvantage like all defensive players are in today's game. He couldn't get up on someone. They'd throw their arms into him for a foul

[Xiao Yao You]

Toody would be helpless against Shawn Kemp.

Why is that? He wouldn't be shooting 3's. Rudy would be near the paint. Please explain your thinking if there is such a thing?

[RRR3]

Why is that? He wouldn't be shooting 3's. Rudy would be near the paint. Please explain your thinking if there is such a thing?

I’ve noticed Toody is helpless with all skilled big men.

[Xiao Yao You]

I’ve noticed Toody is helpless with all skilled big men.

but you notice a lot of things that aren't true. Maybe you should see a doctor about that? The Trump virus is supposed to give people head issues

[Xiao Yao You]

No sure I'd call Kemp that skilled. He was a great athlete

[HoopsNY]

36% would be inefficient by today's standards though. When they shot 40% they were no where near the volumome of attempts of today. Payton would be left alone like he was Ricky Rubio

Seattle shot .364% in 1996. The league average today is .367%. How is that "inefficient"? Furthermore, they shot 40% in 1998, which led the league, with no shortened line. Utah is 2nd in the league this year in three point shooting, but they were 2nd in the league last year, too. How did that fair them in the playoffs?

To make it seem like they would beat the Sonics off of the strength of that alone is quite odd, especially when Seattle has their own share of shooters.

As far as volume is concerned, History has shown us otherwise. Players shoot more threes as seasons went on and their three point percentages actually improved. It happened with Bird, MJ, Magic, etc. Why wouldn't it happen with the Sonics?

It happened with LeBron, Embiid, and even guys like Rondo. Rondo's first 9 seasons in the league, he averaged 0.8 attempts and shot 26%. The last 6 seasons, he's averaging 2.3 attempts and shooting 35%. Coincidence?