Load balancing and the softening up of the NBA helped extend his career. If he played in the 80's and 90's he'd be washed up by year 15.
Softening the NBA? It was way easier to win in the 80's and 90's than today. There were around 110 D1 colleges in the 80's there are now 350+ D1 programs. The NBA was 99%-93% American born in the 80 and 90's. Now its down to the low 70's. 3 of the top 5 players in the world are foreign. Jokic, Embiid, Giannis.
You clearly never watched the NBA in the 80's and 90's. YES, todays NBA is extremely soft. Back then there was no flopping. It's unbearable to watch a grown man get brushed and watch him slide half way down the court in dramatic fashion, pretending he is writhing in pain. YES absolutely soft.
Lakers fan so I bend the knee to The King too but don’t ever confuse todays NBA to that of the 80’s and early 90’s. Your point on expansion is valid but it remains the same today. The NBA has too many teams.
Mama there goes that man is and always will be Kobe Bryant. Don’t ever forget it.
Except the world plays basketball now and it didnt in the 80s. All those great players that never were.
More skilled and athletic? Reggie Miller, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, and Hakeem Olajuwon would all disagree
Why ? He was never " hyped " to the extent James has been since he was 15.
Agreed, the game is unwatchable. What’s considered a foul these days is outrageous, impossible to defend
I’m not sure he’s the best player from his generation. Steph Curry has a legit argument and has changed how the game is played dramatically.
Steph needed to add a top 10 alltime player to a 73 win team to beat LBJ. Warriors were 19-0 in Western Conf series until they met Lebron. Steph and the Warriors Dynasty are now 23-3 in the playoffs. Lebron gave them 2 of those L's. I think Steph is somewhere in the 9-15 range alltime, but he could never carry a team the way Lebron carried the Cavs back in the day.
What’s happened in the NBA is similar to NFL. We went from a bruising, physically demanding sport to a spread offense track meet where 7ft guys play on the perimeter, the paint is empty and nobody can play defense because a whistle is being blown ever 3.3 seconds. I love hoops, played my whole life and it’s really hard to wrap my head around how the game is officiated. Contact is now deemed a foul. Is why you see a team like the Lakers score 125 points.
You mean Kyrie, Wade, Bosh, AD? Lebron has always looked for the super team. Kevin Durant is not Top ever 10 haha and was a bad fit. Curry built a dynasty and won 3/4 without KD.
Hahaha. From top to bottom the players are much more skilled and athletic
Kd is no lower than top 15. And he was a great fit. As good a fit as you can possobly have. And KD won the 2 finals mvps when he was there, not Curry. Curry won 2 without Durant but still had 2 HOFers with him
It amazes me how people either lie or forget what 80's ball was actually like.
That one series statistic in no way impacts the argument of what is a foul today, was not a foul 25 years ago, nor should it be. Must have been some actual fouls and physicality!
Magic talked about how he worked on his FT's because he became a superstar and knew he was gonna go to the the line more because of his status. You couldnt breathe wrong on MJ in the 90's. Since the 80's the NBA has always called "soft/superstar" fouls. It's part of the game. The 2 superstars that have been punished or not benefited from superstar/soft call because of their freak size has been Shaq and LBJ.
People need to go back and actually watch the 80s games. It wasnt football out there and it wasn't as physical as people make it out to be.
Oh I watched, parents had season tickets to the Jazz in their prime. It’s more about the way the game is officiated, if you’ve ever played ball you would never expect to get 75% of the calls that happen in the NBA today- they simply are not fouls.
Its always helpful to watch a game from the past and then watch it now. When you're in the moment you think it's the greatest thing you ever seen. But in 30 years from now the players will be better than they are today. It's life it's evolution
Had Lebron got to play in that era he would of been even more dominant than he is today. The NBA would have had to change the ISO and side pick n roll rules. Under those rules defenders would have been at a severe disadvantage. Help side defenders would have had been stuck at the 3 point line and couldnt go below the free throw line. Lebron would have been rven more deadly on offense.
You're clueless. There is no debate. You take the original dream team and put them up against a dream team in todays era, and it wouldn't even be close. The original dream team would sweep a 7 game series.
I’ve never argued the skill level, simply the physicality and officiating. The game is much deeper too to bottom today, no doubt but the premier/Top 10-15 players in the league or highly comparable and I’d give the nod to the 90s starting 5 over todays.
crazy. Lebron is a great player, he's a HoFer for sure, but he would be less dominant in that era Rodman, would welcome him inside the paint. Lebron would be looking around in disbelief that a foul wasn't called. LeBron would be called for traveling 200x more than he is today. He wouldn't have the luxury of assembling a big 3 to win championships. I could go on and on.
