Who says we are having trouble letting our childhoods go? All I'm saying is that the great teams of the 80's and 90's could compete in today's era. Humans don't evolutionize in 30 years.
You young cats will be in our shoes soon enough when your kids and grandkids will be dismissing LBJ, Kobe, Wade, Howard, Durant etc as weak...IT WILL HAPPEN
If only they could digitize the players on the court somehow, capturing the physical stats of everything they do so in the future the data can be used for comparison, seems like it could be possible
Q:Do you feel pride in the fact that Magic and Larry brought back the rivalry between the Lakers and Celtics?
A:I always felt more kinship to my Philadelphia teams. As I became older I look less at teams and more at individuals. Bird and Magic were to me the two best of their era. If I had to pick a guy who could play in any era, right up there with anybody, it would be Larry Bird. I don't know if Magic could have done the same. When he looks one way and passes another way... well how long does it take to realize that when he's looking that way, he's passing the other way? He was so much bigger than most guards he was playing against. But he was great in his era, I just don't know how great he would have been in other eras. I believe Bird would have been just incredible.
Is it any worse than every new generations feeling that they're better than the older generations?
Nope. It's the same thing, but this particular thread was done in light of MJ's comments. Trust me, I have criticized the younger generation many times for their disrespect of past greats.
"Back in the day when I was a kid, I'm not a kid any more, but some days I sit and wish I was a kid again."
Anyway, everyone has a skewed view of their heyday. If we're discussing the NBA, it's extremely obvious just by hearing former players, current players, analysts, and fans all talk.
Everyone remembers the good times, and very seldom recall the bad times unless they're "haters."
For instance, people will always talk about MJ winning 3 titles, retiring, coming back & winning 3 more, but they don't discuss how he failed time and time again early on in his career until Pippen's role became bigger and Phil Jackson was hired. Those points are usually brought up by "haters."
It's very rarely mentioned that Jerry West lost all 6 Finals meetings against the Bill Russell & the Celtics, but West is still considered one of the best Finals performers.
Wilt Chamberlain averaged 50 ppg for a season, but didn't even get close to that during the Playoffs.
When Kobe retires, I bet his former teammates, competition, the media, the fans of the basketball world, etc., will all talk about his 81 point game, his 5 rings (as a Lakers fan, I hope for more before he's done), his one season MVP, his consecutive All-Star Game inclusions, his incredible game winning shots and his clutch ability in general, etc. I also bet not too many people will talk about him air balling 3-4 potential game winners in a game, him ball hogging last second shots even when he had 2-3 teammates wide open to take better shots, getting swept by the Mavericks in the 2011 Playoffs, and his Game 7 performance in the 2010 NBA Finals where he shot 6-24 from the field.
Though it is certainly normal to say "back in the day" when one gets older, it doesn't mean that things weren't necessarily better "back in the day". Example, does anyone think that the center position in the NBA compares to the centers of the past? Does anyone believe that Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, etc. compares to Michael Jackson, Prince, Stevie Wonder, etc? Does anyone believe that Fall Out Boy compares to Led Zeppelin, Guns n Roses, etc.? Does anyone think that 2 Chainz, Soldier Boy, etc. compares to Rakim, Biggie, etc?
So there can be a lot of merit to "back in my day things were better"
I vaguely remember Bill Walton (I think) telling a story about a conversation that took place back in 1996 between Wilt and MJ during the NBA at 50 celebration. Those two were having a "friendly" debate over who was greater, and Jodan mentioned something about him having a higher career scoring average that Wilt. Wilt replied with a "back in my day" comment by saying something like, "When I played they changed the rules to make it more difficult for me to score. They changed the rules to make it easier for you to score." I wish I could find the actual link or video.
Yeah at the 50 greatest players ceremony. He was right tho.
Though it is certainly normal to say "back in the day" when one gets older, it doesn't mean that things weren't necessarily better "back in the day". Example, does anyone think that the center position in the NBA compares to the centers of the past? Does anyone believe that Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, etc. compares to Michael Jackson, Prince, Stevie Wonder, etc? Does anyone believe that Fall Out Boy compares to Led Zeppelin, Guns n Roses, etc.? Does anyone think that 2 Chainz, Soldier Boy, etc. compares to Rakim, Biggie, etc?
So there can be a lot of merit to "back in my day things were better"
Comparing the best of the past to the worst of the present is not logically valid.
Q:Do you feel pride in the fact that Magic and Larry brought back the rivalry between the Lakers and Celtics?
A:I always felt more kinship to my Philadelphia teams. As I became older I look less at teams and more at individuals. Bird and Magic were to me the two best of their era. If I had to pick a guy who could play in any era, right up there with anybody, it would be Larry Bird. I don't know if Magic could have done the same. When he looks one way and passes another way... well how long does it take to realize that when he's looking that way, he's passing the other way? He was so much bigger than most guards he was playing against. But he was great in his era, I just don't know how great he would have been in other eras. I believe Bird would have been just incredible.
Its funny. The interviews you find about Larry and Magic always seem to favor Bird as the better player and talent, according to most players that actually watched and played with them. Though over the years due to Magic being in the spotlight, Bird being out of it, and this gross over-exaggeration on the importance of rings after MJ, somehow casual fans now consider Magic better.
I don't always agree with what Wilt says, though its good to see he was a good judge of talent, and like most people at the time of their playing days, saw Bird as the clearly superior player.
Wilt is a horrible example because that was just his personality. I've seen many players from the 60 talk about how much the offence evolved in just a few years. The league was stil in its early stages. But Wilt is a bad example. It still doesn't change the fact that the rules were change almost ten years ago to make it easier for perimeter players and their numbers going up as a result.
And the rules were changed for Wilt but that just meant that future centers were not going to be able to dominate like he did, but the league was going to get better cause it was young.
Its funny. The interviews you find about Larry and Magic always seem to favor Bird as the better player and talent, according to most players that actually watched and played with them. Though over the years due to Magic being in the spotlight, Bird being out of it, and this gross over-exaggeration on the importance of rings after MJ, somehow casual fans now consider Magic better.
I don't always agree with what Wilt says, though its good to see he was a good judge of talent, and like most people at the time of their playing days, saw Bird as the clearly superior player.
I didn't watch the 80s, but something that I talk about is how a few years ago in most top ten list that I saw here Bird was ahead of Magic, then a year or two later Magic was always ahead of Bird. That's why I never trust people's opinions on top ten list, because there's really no way to have an accurate one.
Re: The "Back in my Day" Phenomenon
