I live in Europe and watch the Euroleague and then NBA players come to play I can't watch (most of them can adapt in 5 to 4 months). Yes, players from the NBA are more athletic and have skill play one-on-one, but then they try that in the Euroleague they just fail because of defence.
It is absolutely disgusting. The new generation is making the game unwatchable to anyone who ever saw Kobe play. The players coming up are going to make it even worse. All they do is shoot 3s and take terrible shots. Jordan would have multiple 100 point games in today's NBA. Wilt might have scored 150.
@@timhall5382 Im 54 and used to love basketball. I did like LeBron the first few years he kept me watching then he started team jumping along with other superstars. That and the rules keeps me from watching now. I haven't watched an entire game in 3-4 years. NBA still has good ratings though.
mentality? right... not the fact that his father trained his brother since he could walk basketball, mj tried to keep up and get his dad attention, his brother made it in the highschool team and mj failed, twice, his brother was always the one who pushed mj to go beyond, that is why when the highschool coach told him he is not made for basketball he went home and cried. But, as his mentality was forming, he grew to fucking 1.96 and was an athletic freak in order to keep up with his 1.78 brother in training. being small you are fast as shit. and mj had to adjust to his brothers speed. his brother was more technical than he at the start. Then, when he joined the nba he could literally fly compared to the others. and the rest is history. his mentality comes from his father and brother. you are not born with that skillset.
Of course you’re not born with that mentality. A lot of It is learned. It’s up to the person to keep pushing. When you fail it’s all up to u to get back up.
That part! They seem to think that Jordan in an era where they shoot the 3 more, if he came up in this era wouldn't have that in his bag... Just down right foolish.
MJ would've retired in this era from sheer boredom. What made him great was the amazing talent and competition in his era which drove him. The rules then were that of a contest and not a horse race.
And even after all that Embiid has missed 10 games this season already, and has not even scored 1,200 points this season. He's not even scoring 23% of his teams total points this season, so the NBA is trying to push percentages to pretend lots of points are being scored by these "superstar scorers"!
Today's player are just better Nick Wright said it best, to paraphrase. "This idea that the nba in the 80's and 90's was like the Roman gladiators in the coliseum is idiotic. Nba in the 80's and 90's was slightly more physical with much worse athletes"
@@vicepresidentmikepence889With more skillful players. Look at Jokic and Doncic, are you telling me they are more athletic than those players in the 80's and 90's? Bird before his spine injuries, was sprinting down the court and jamming on top of people's heads. His fundamentals would put him 3 in the league today if not the best player in the league. This era needs the least amount of Athleticism, yet the players are WAY more athletic? Come on.
A Kobe vs MJ rivalry is desperately needed in this league. Two men who would take the game to heart and find ways to win with their team. This current NBA is lacking so many rivalries.
Yes, 100% correct. No way would Michael Jordan want to make 50 million a year, in today's nba. If Michael Jordan were young today, he would definitely prefer to be playing class A minor league baseball 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Actually I think he would and that it would be a massive benefit for the game and players. These guys today don’t know the level that can be achieved or what to push for. He would be the lead by example. Same way Kobe was. If they were in the league today I believe it would organically improve a lot of the players in the league especially on the defensive end. Because he’s going to be coming from both sides and guys want to be and emulate and compete with the best some would naturally rise to the occasion and then it would snowball. My belief.
Actually I think he would and that it would be a massive benefit for the game and players. These guys today don’t know the level that can be achieved or what to push for. He would be the lead by example. Same way Kobe was. If they were in the league today I believe it would organically improve a lot of the players in the league especially on the defensive end. Because he’s going to be coming from both sides and guys want to be and emulate and compete with the best some would naturally rise to the occasion and then it would snowball. My belief.
What happened to the game I grew up watching and loved? I never thought I see myself not watching basketball anymore and be completely bored of it. You could not get me away from the TV during the mid to late 2000s when the NBA was on
imagine a jordan that could do 4 steps to get to the basket.. that was allowed the traveling step back.... a jordan that you couldn't touch at all.... a jordan that had zero resistance, basically like a practice game. Imagine a jordan that could also carry the ball. Rules are not enforced. game with no rules is no game at all. this is why the game looks so bad now a days.
yes, 4 steps happens EVERY GAME now, used to rarely see people get away with 3, it was almost always called, even on the biggest stars. 4 is being generous, and more of an AVERAGE. Ive seen up to 11 on 2 occasions and MANY 6-7 step plays in recent years. STARTED with LeBagleessOne
I’ve come to realize that people who didn’t get the luxury and benefit of watching Mike live during the rise and domination. How far apart he was from the rest of the field. How he turned nike from a dying company into a phenom powerhouse company, how in the age of the infancy of the internet and newly established international TV programming and the nba being exposed and the explosion of popularity that was driven by MIKE! The absolute seas of people who waited outside to see him, again in an age with no social media and no camera phones, etc. How he carried himself as a person and didn’t get involved with a lot of personal trouble, didn’t get political, and stayed away from things that would potentially push ppl away from the game, and instead like gravity pulled everyone into the game. How he essentially built the foundation for all of the current day players to get these massive contracts. LBJ 100m contract on shoes entering the league. The plethora of endorsements and sponsorships and how to maximize those thru the contracts. How you couldn’t get tickets to see this guy play because it was the hottest thing on the planet. How watching him was so exciting and intense that you were on the edge of your seat knowing that if you move away something amazing could happen and you didn’t want to miss it. And while playing how he just absolutely dominated the floor on both ends. He was the best offensive player and defensive player on the floor almost every night he stepped foot on the court. His ability to adapt and evolve and develop his game along the years. Geez I could go on for days. But if you didn’t watch it, it’s impossible to understand and compare. They believe that these guys today are incredible (and they are) but they still just aren’t on mikes level as he was in a different stratosphere. And I watched all of them since 85-86. That’s when I really started to consume basketball with a passion. Kobe was the closest thing to MJ that I’ve seen and he’s not the same. That’s not to take anything from Kobe, he was just different than Mike. Sorry for the soapbox. I just looked down and didn’t realize I had climbed up on one. 😂
I read that all, and thank you for this. I know that the nba I’ve been consuming cosistently since 2016 isn’t the same as the nba I sonsined as a kid. Melo era in Denver. Can’t even imagine getting to watch the 80’d and 90’s
Jordan did what now? He's the GOAT and that's facts but Magic and Bird were the duo that saved the NBA not Jordan, MJ is the one that took the league international.
Jordan could literally average as much as he wanted in this era. He could either score or get fouled almost every time he touches the ball. I would guess he would average around 45 just from sheer boredom and wanting to also get other players involved.
I saw an Instagram reel breaking down the “genius” of Embiids 70 point game and its literally just clips of him jab stepping, defenders flinching every time he raises his arms, and hitting easy 12 footers. It’s embarrassing.
Yea today’s basketball culture is over-saturated with wannabe analysts bludgeoning us with their corny breakdowns and their exaggerated, quasi-deep explanations for what is typically a very basic move or rudimentary style of basketball.
Honestly, you can attend a good prep school, or college game & see better fundamentals. Or even highschool kids who can shoot a higher percentage from the free throw line. I was blessed to see BIRD play 85 times from my Dad’s floor seats as a kid. As well as MJ and Magic many times. It would be comical what they would do to players today. Not just playing against them, but trash talking, then backing it up. The league rules to day are cultivating EMO players who feel entitled every time they drive to the basket & shout “And one.” I would like to see they Refs call a tech when guys do it. One last point: has any one noticed that many players are so fundamentally unsound, that their coming into the league as good 3 point shooters, but are below average mid range shooters? This FACT alone tells u all you need to know about how dumbed down the rule changes have made the game. Adam Silver, should be ashamed of himself.
he aint a 6,5 or 6'6 dude . hes 7 ft tall. nobody that tall could do that in the 90s except Hakeem. Shaq is skilled but he aint shooting like embiid either.
I think starting to call travels, carries, double dribbles would start to help but it's hard at this point because that's literally how players learn to play basketball. But if you give that advantage to offense you gotta allow hand-checking, otherwise defending is damn near impossible.
Goat 🐐 Jordan would average 45 ppg on 55% fg in today's weak defensive era of no hand checking or physical play Michael Jordan 30 ppg on 50% fg in a much tougher era with hand checking and where you can punish the driver who gets to lane and put him on ground 5'9 Isaiah Thomas average 29 ppg in a season in today's none defensive era And people say slow guys from back in day cant play in today's so called more athletic game Nikola Jokic a slow guy not athletic and dominate today's game lol
Nick Wright said it best, to paraphrase. "This idea that the nba in the 80's and 90's was like the Roman gladiators in the coliseum is idiotic. Nba in the 80's and 90's was slightly more physical with much worse athletes"
@@vicepresidentmikepence889 I care what NBA players say and multiple ones said what I'm saying that Michael Jordan would average over 45 ppg in today's soft taco 🌮 era
@@vicepresidentmikepence889 How is that "said it best" when its completely idiotic? Nobody thinks it was anything like "Roman Gladiators" but hard fouls against players driving to the basket were VERY common, defense was MUCH tougher and allowed to do MUCH more. Also "much worse athletes" how? Right now 2 of the 5 best players aren't particularly athletic in general: Luka & Jokić yet they're absolutely dominating. How were players like Dominique Wilkins, Young Shaq, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler, and more, not athletic?
What’s crazy is I just learned that they were the same size. Booker is only a foot shorter and weights the same. I feel like Book seems so much smaller
What a dumbshit to say that Wilt is a mediocre player. A track&field champ, powerlifter and played PG for the Globetrotters even before joining the NBA and volleyball HoF after retirement. Go back to your dictionary and look up "mediocre."
Jokic's description of international ball is the absolute reverse of how it used to be. Used to be that FIBA ball was softer in most respects. Now it's the NBA that switched places for scoring, but also lacks mastery of fundamentals like at least FIBA had even when it wasn't as tough. I can't believe fans or the NBA think this is a good development. When you watch a Jimmyxroller or Thinking Basketball, start asking yourself if they're really questioning these things or if they think guys who can't set proper screens are really the pinnacle of basketball evolution. Hell, even Lebron gets away with travels and displacements all the time. Carry? Travel? These don't exist anymore as calls hardly.
thinking basketball is an NBA asset, and jimmy might be too. TB made a video about lebron's longevity and how good he is as an older player. i'm like, no way this guy is a professional film reviewer, and he doesn't notice lebron standing around, flopping, out of control drives, watching people drive right past him.
Doesn't matter because even today, Jordan's combine numbers would be the better than any other athlete since he left the league as a Champion not with Wizards even. If 21 Jordan entered the league he would be the most dominant athlete in the league and he would force teams to play defence because he would make them look stupid and if you look stupid for too long, then you will be released!
You're forgetting that while offensive ratings have gone up exponentially, so have defensive ratings (which is bad; a higher rating = opposing team scores more.) The net rating (oRTG - dRTG) has remained about the same. The highest net rating by a team, by an enormous margin, is unsurprisingly the 96' Bulls (second place is the 97' Bulls.) There's no magic in mathematics; if average scoring goes up, average allowed points also go up.
I'll fix that last part.. If average points allowed goes up, scoring goes up. DEFENSE was removed is the only reason for all the scoring today (And being allowed to break all the basic offensive rules like carry, dribbling and charging , shoving with off arm.)
Thank you so much for making this. I grew up in the 80s and 90s, and my God, do I miss that era of basketball. Today's game is just a tough watch for an old head. The NBA is putting out an inferior product, but until the bottom line starts to wobble from jaded fans, this is the state of play.
Love your vids man! Always a clear argument backed up by stats. I'm curious where you're able to get paint vs midrange stats like at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="392">6:32</a> in the vid.
I think a better metric would be to compare the defensive ratings from teams back in the 80-00s, I honestly think MJ would average 55+ a season. The worst defence back then could easily hold the new age offense to below 100, which would make MJ's numbers near 50%+ in today's game. not to mention his defensive numbers
Dang, really great video man. I wanna make a video on this topic, but part of me just wants to point people to your video, because you killed it here 😂👍
Lol, you just completely proved why today's nba is better than the Muggsy Bogues era. NO WAY WOULD MUGGSY BOGUES PLAY TODAY...I think I might start using that line "The Muggsy Bogues era"😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂
@@vicepresidentmikepence889 Muggsy made it to the NBA with tough giants ready to run him over. Yeah, I'll call it the Muggsy Bogues era if he played against these no defense softies today.
50 is a stretch but close to 40 is realistic. No touching, no hard fouls, and 3 second violation all equate to Jordan having a field day. Today’s game is essentially a Euroleague game in the late 90’s-early 2000’s. Too bad some of the Euro stars who played in the 90’s like Kukocic. T. Kukokic would kill it. He was 30 yrs too early.
@@J23LA24 We can all agree MJ would score higher but we don’t know the exact ant. That’s what some of these young fellows and even old time fans don’t understand. MJ scored 30pts/pg despite getting knocked down and held. Due to the lax rules, scoring is astronomically inflated. I don’t watch the games anymore. The ratings reflect that too. In the past 5 yrs or so, viewerships has been down. Back in the 90’s and thru the 2000’s, hitting 3’s were a big thing. Now it’s so easy hitting one. The defender backs up and gives the attacker a good 3 ft space. There’s no inside game anymore. As Shaq said it’s sissy ball now. Frankly, the game is boring.
It ironically works the same way as inflation does. Nobody thinks 100k is worth anywhere near as much as it did 4-5 years ago. Works similarly with how we have point/pace inflation in the modern era. When you have teams averaging 130 points, it's not hard to get people average 30 PPG. Think about it, here's the math: 30/130 = 23% vs. 30/97 = 31% 31% * 130 = 39 That's not even factoring in all the phantom/ghost calls the league has nowadays.
i remember that when the ‘92 dream team, commentators were talking about the difference of zone defense (international teams) vs man to man (team usa) and how team usa would have difficulties. the only issue i have with the comparison of eras or international play, is that the rules change that allow for offense to thrive is what has helped change the game. im used to seeing big men stay in the paint and BARELY launching 3’s regularly. but that is today’s nba.
Lebron saying that WHILE STILL PLAYING is crazy. And that was in 2017 when he was still 32/33 so still in his physical prime. The fact that he can still get buckets and be effective today proves it even more. Charles Barkley use to say this alot on TNT. But he said it about younger players still learning. And would say, when they learn how to fully play and not just rely on their ability, they will be dangerous. However, today players are learning. The ones that know are in their 30s, who have played for nearly 10 years. And to be honest they only know to a certain degree for the most part. Young players today aren't trained on fundamentals, its about how athletic you are, your "bag" or handles, and the 3. They aren't learning the triple threat position, they aren't learning how to be intentional with movement and maximizing the least amount of dribbles, they aren't learning the defensive positioning, they aren't learning how to attack good defense, turning your defender, attacking the front foot, NONE OF IT.... As a former BBall player it is sad. But, I don't know if we're going to ever get back to that. Have to take this game for what it is now or stop watching it.
People need to understand that when people talk about this kind of thing, specify if you mean putting them in a different era but with all their origins skills and knowledge of if the were to grow up in that era. If you say lebron would dominate the 90s do you mean lebron with current training and nutrition or if he was to grow up to play in the 90s. Cause that is a very very important distinction
In 2001, NBA implemented the zone defense, but the effectiveness of the that was halved due to the implementation of the defensive 3-second rule also, and as if that wasn't enough, they strengthened hand checking in 2004 and implemented the Gather-Step in 2009. Since the mid-2000s, the NBA has become an increasingly offense-oriented league.
Very, very, very insightful. Thank you for actually crunching some numbers and providing proof. I agree wholeheartedly with everything you've mentioned here.
Players are different because the WORLD is different! It will never go back to the way it was. Players with Kobe and MJ's mentality is NOT ALLOWED in today's NBA. Social Media is the biggest infection.
When Lebron, Jokic, Giannis, Luka, Draymond, Popovich all said that players in the league today are not as good fundamentally, or that it is easier to score with the NBA rules, then you know it has to be true to a certain degree.
1.) He already had amazing footwork and if he could Eurostep and Zero step his spacing would be off the charts. 2.) The inside paint is usually more open nowdays.
I'm glad I don't watch the NBA but for select highlights on YT. I'm MJ's age and had the blessing of watching a lot of games live in the 70's (parent's season tickets), so that's my point of reference for how the game should be played. Today's hoop sucks in comparison to the 70's-90's for real!
You are the voice of reason! I don't hate this NBA but I don't love it. As a guy who has been watching the NBA since the 80's I agree wholeheartedly with what you are saying. The league has is semi streetball now. It used to be a game of Chess as Pop said now its checkers. Its all about scoring you can travel without your passport if you end it with a highlight...And defence hahaha that shit dont exist
Professional athletes being more athletic on average but worse fundamentally isn’t even limited to just the NBA. The NFL has a huge problem with them because every time sees a freak athlete and goes “we can teach them how to play the game” and you see it in the product. Simple things like breaking down to make a tackle are damn near non existent in todays NFL
Ppl don’t understand how confidently good you need to be in order to ask your defender to pick a side (left or right?) for the fade away to be delivered.
Today's players also don't have any heart. They're not playing for the love of the game, they're in it for a paycheck and to be 'someone'. And Simmons is a PRIME example of what athletes have become.
In 1987, Michael Jordan put his stamp on the NBA. I remember he averaged a butt load, but I couldn't remember exactly. Nice, thank you for bringing back some old memories. Now I'm get older, my mind isn't as sharp as it used to be. BTW, anyone else remember the Nintendo game Jordan vs Bird?? I do and I remember going to Toy R US and buying it at $59.99. It was the worst waste of money I think I spent as a teen. Hell, double dribble was the king of basketball back then, along with Tecmo Bowl and Super Tecmo Bowl. Bo Jackson baby!!! That's all I have to say.
Jordan would literally have every player in the league SHOOK! Remember, Jordan’s literally your favorite basketball player’s, favorite basketball player!
I FULLY agree with your point of view. On a particular note I cannot understand how J.Brown from Boston is the highest paid player and the guy doesn't know how to bounce the ball with the left hand. That makes no sense to me, and there are A LOT of examples. How are players in the NBA that don't know or even have a good mechanic for shooting free-throws. I mean, Shaq was bad but at least a decent mechanic.
If we were able to transport prime Jordan into today's NBA he would absolutely average 50 and win 8-10 championships. On the other hand if Jordan was born in the same generation of the current player he would not but still most likely average 37 and have 6 titles.
So basically, Adam Silver has single handedly destroyed the art, not game of basketball. He was more focused on corporate sponsors than preserving what drew billions of fans to it since the 80's.
Jordan wouldn’t avg 50 because admiringly out of Jordan’s mouth he wouldn’t have been the same player under a zone. And they play zone defense now which he was HIGHLY against and even protested in 2001-2002 not to allow zones. Anybody saying he’d avg 50 is MEAT RIDING
It's not about a lack of effort on defense or a lack of defensive schemes. It's about a growing efficiency of 3 pointers and how much space that creates. There's just so much space inside, not to mention increased 3 point efficiency and frequency pushing up scores. You simply can't contain that. In the past, most teams would have 2 players who are there to play D and set screens. They'd almost never shoot. Nowadays almost every player can shoot for range if necessary. This narrative that defense is an afterthought is silly. The best defenders in the 90s could only do so much against the type of offensive skill nowadays. MJ would still be incredible though. And his defensive would still make a difference.
Absolutely agree with everything said. Now days, nothing but a year round all-star game. No defense, no discipline… etc. Even the “Little ones” in youth sports plays with more passion. College even, as of right now, is far for entertaining. Careful NBA with your product…. (Yaaaawwwn).
It's crazy to think that high octane run-n-gun Suns of the mid 2000s would be at the bottom today's league as far as offensive rating is concerned. But they were fun to watch because they were putting those numbers when they actually played defense.
Remember how nuts everyone went when Booker scored 70 in 2017? It wan't that long ago, but people went NUTS for the entire season after that. It singlehandedly made Booker a huge name and gave him the status as a star, even though his teams were trash. Now Embiid scores 70+, and it's the highlight of the night. Yea, it's still impressive, but not the legendary feat it was even just 5 years ago. As far as defense goes, it's not that defense has disappeared, it's that it's nearly impossible to be as effective on defense as it was 5 years ago, much less 20. It only looks like there's no defense when you literally cant play any REAL defense. Players flail wildly and go to the line if you even come CLOSE to touching them, you don't even have to touch them! Real defense is 'bad' defense, because it just sends them to the line. Combine that with the fact that space and pace breaking the game, of course offensive numbers are going to explode. There's still defense, the Timberwolves wouldn't be winning without it, it just doesn't look as imposing or effective as it used to because of what they are allowed and capable of doing. There's a simple solution though, increase the three point line to 25 ft, get rid of the corners, reevaluate how to call fouls and allow more contact, and fire 80% of the refs and bring in new ones from Europe. Problem solved.
Athleticism is the new "fundamental." as long as you can fly up and down the court you're good. But the lack of fundamental skills should not be ignored.
I was disappointed watching this year's all star game. The lack of defense made so boring. The same day (Monday for me living in the Philippines) I saw the 1987 all star game on RU-vid and I was fascinated by the intensity, the grid the players approached the game. The difference was compelling. I love the game of basketball and especially the NBA very much, but the lack of real defense makes me more and more lose interest. A high scoring game without proper defense is no fun anymore......
