Myth or Not: Players today better than before???

[Leftimage]

Today is always better than yesterday. The same is true in every facet of society. When I hear a retired player attempting to diminish the stars of today, I automatically think to myself that person is either not intelligent or disillusioned.

It's important not to be arbitrary though.... would prime Jordan be the best player in today's league? Quite possibly. Was the league as a whole better in Jordan's era vs today? Absolutely not.

Improvements may not occur year over year, but decade over decade?

2000s > 1990s > 1980s > 1970s and so forth.

People may ''like'' the 90s or 80s style better, but each new generation is more talented than the last. The only problem is it can't be ''proven'', so dumb people will remain skeptical. Besides, this is America...1/3 people believe evolution is a myth for christ's sake.

[get these NETS]

dream team roster with starting 5 of magic jordan pippen barkley ewing

would serve ANY starting five of players before their era or after them

[NBASTATMAN]

I agree with everyone but Hakeem.

Hakeem isn't better than Kobe, Lebron, or Duncan.

[NBASTATMAN]

Depends on what position
and what skillset youre talking about

People back then were better rebounders,defenders,and
could play longer and had way better post moves qnd skills
and almost EVERYBODY had a decent to good mid range shot

people nowadays are better athletes,are faster,can shoot from
long range better and the defenses are more complex

Old----current

athleticism-current
defense---old
post skill--old
energy---old
long range shooting--current
mid range---old
big men----old
guards---current
man to man d---old
complex team d----current
energy---old
longevity---old
hustle----old
efficiency---current

[Poetry]

Today is always better than yesterday. The same is true in every facet of society.

Bunch of scrubs apparently...

[KyrieTheFuture]

Today is always better than yesterday. The same is true in every facet of society. When I hear a retired player attempting to diminish the stars of today, I automatically think to myself that person is either not intelligent or disillusioned.

It's important not to be arbitrary though.... would prime Jordan be the best player in today's league? Quite possibly. Was the league as a whole better in Jordan's era vs today? Absolutely not.

Improvements may not occur year over year, but decade over decade?

2000s > 1990s > 1980s > 1970s and so forth.

People may ''like'' the 90s or 80s style better, but each new generation is more talented than the last. The only problem is it can't be ''proven'', so dumb people will remain skeptical. Besides, this is America...1/3 people believe evolution is a myth for christ's sake.

This is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard in my life.

[Psileas]

Myth. These are humans no more than 2-3 generations apart. They are better prepared and have better technology at their disposal, but this doesn't make them better by default - in other words, they are not more talented, skilled and capable. Same goes for past eras compared to more modern ones.
Claiming otherwise is, honestly, not very far apart from the way racists think.

[Psileas]

Today is always better than yesterday. The same is true in every facet of society.

I guess you're talking about technology, but the bolded one is completely untrue. E.g, the societies in 1939-45 in almost every single country of the world were much worse than they used to be in the years before.

[CavaliersFTW]

The players today are more athletic, I don't think that's arguable. Better nutrition and training techniques as well as a better understanding of the human body overall.

In terms of skills, there are some players today with skills that would amaze players from back then. Players back then were more fundamentally sound though. Think about Jamal Crawford's sick ass crossovers back then... more skills doesn't necessarily mean a better player.

Basketball IQ is also questionable. Defenses are different and you need to be able to read that. Zone defenses help the defense adjust better to a lot of situations. It's different than playing man, which is also still played today. Players might seem dumber today, but also, defenses are able to adjust more now.

It would be a turnover and the crowd would boo the f*** outta him. You must understand rules were enforced differently back then. You had to dribble "palms down" - modern ball handlers appear "more skilled" due to today's incredibly slack ball handling rules, not necessarily due to any disparity in individual player skills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDRQ0FYhC0U

[TerranOP]

There is definitely more competition to get in the current NBA then there ever has been, but this has a more significant impact on the total pool than on the best players.

I'd say at the elite level, players aren't that much better or worse than they were before. It's the mid-low tier NBA players that are much improved these days when compared to those from decades ago.

[JMT]

It would be a turnover and the crowd would boo the f*** outta him. You must understand rules were enforced differently back then. You had to dribble "palms down" - modern ball handlers appear "more skilled" due to today's incredibly slack ball handling rules, not necessarily due to any disparity in individual player skills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDRQ0FYhC0U

It's AMAZING the things you can do with a basketball when permitted to run with and carry it.

[CavaliersFTW]

There is definitely more competition to get in the current NBA then there ever has been, but this has a more significant impact on the total pool than on the best players.

I'd say at the elite level, players aren't that much better or worse than they were before. It's the mid-low tier NBA players that are much improved these days when compared to those from decades ago.

Purely speculative, and IMO untrue. Footage of roleplayers and bench players from the past do not appear to be any worse at playing and understanding the game of basketball than roleplayers or benchplayers today.

[TerranOP]

Purely speculative, and IMO untrue. Footage of roleplayers and bench players from the past do not appear to be any worse at playing and understanding the game of basketball than roleplayers or benchplayers today.

It's definitely speculative on my part, but it makes logical sense. If it's getting more and more competitive to get to the NBA, players that would've made it 15 years ago are in the D-league now. It's not necessarily just due to understanding of the game, as physical limitations probably play a big part as well.

[CavaliersFTW]

It's definitely speculative on my part, but it makes logical sense. If it's getting more and more competitive to get to the NBA, players that would've made it 15 years ago are in the D-league now. It's not necessarily just due to understanding of the game, as physical limitations probably play a big part as well.

Since when has it gotten more competitive to get in the NBA? This entire speculative line of thought you have seems based on an assumption, no?

[Flash31]

I guess you're talking about technology, but the bolded one is completely untrue. E.g, the societies in 1939-45 in almost every single country of the world were much worse than they used to be in the years before.

Not really
really depends on sports here,Big emen bak then were FAR BETTER THAN Today

Wilt,Kareem,Russell,Thurmond,Bird,McHale,Parish,Sh aq,Ewing,Mourning,Hakeem,Barkley,Malone,Robinson

theyre more athletic nowadays but skill is skill,perimeter players are better today but big men were better than by far

look at other sports as well
Boxing for example

Ali,Leonard,Robinson,Frazier,Foreman,Tyson,Roy Jones,Holyfield,Lewis,Oscar,Marciano,Louis
the heavyweight division sucks though the smaller weights are better

Floyd,Canelo,Ward,Pacquiao,Marquez,Hatton,Mosley

baseball

Babe Ruth,Jackie Robinson,Pete Rose

soccer
Pele,Mradona,Zidane,Beckham,Henry,Ronaldo(NOT CHRISTIANO BRAZIL)

nfl
Marino,Favre,Perry,Lewis,Bo,Namath,Rice



and yes evry country back then was worse bc of the technology,and the modern age now is better,but even though athletes have a clear defined advantage over the old now,.

Sports are a skill for the most part,athletes nowadays are more athletic for the most part,but skill is skill,The greats back then would still be greats today.

Sports are more refined now but are more based on athleticism than skill,though if you are skilled you become one of the greats or play for a very long time over your contempararies,

Woods,Federer,Duncan,Kobe,Battier,cp3,nASH,aLLEN,F loyd,Holyfield,Manning

skill is skill,and the stars of the past paved the way for people of today,if they didnt the star s of the future would be better than the stars of today by a wide margin bc they have a blueprint.
And back then skill was the key,skill ruled,nowadays people can run off athleticism but it only lasts so long

McGrady,Carter,Griffin,Howard,Nadal,Pacquiao,