The latest Kobe injury made me start thinking a bit. His career is likely finally about to be over. Kobe is one of the last hold-outs from the late 90's and very early 00's draftees that have come to define this league in the recent past. The NBA has had some trademark players for almost 15-20 years now. Some of them have recently retired while others continue to still play. All these players are reaching the ends of their careers. It's amazing some of them lasted this long. These players have been generational stars though. The list of hold-outs nearing the end includes: -Kobe -KG -Duncan -Nash -Nowitzki -Wade -Vinsanity -Pierce -Allen They'll join the list of their fellow stars from that era who "recently" retired: -Tracy McGrady -Allen Iverson -Shaq -Kidd -Billups -Webber <br> With these players no longer in the league soon enough. Basically all the players (minus a couple) who dominated the league from the late 90's up until now will be out of the league. The old guard is gone and a new one is emerging. These players were transcendent talents that really gave the NBA "big name players" in almost every market. Who will take their place? What are your opinions on the new generation of talents in the NBA? Do these guys have the raw "star power" that the old generation did? I'm not sure if anyone outside of Davis, Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Curry, and Wiggins has that sort of appeal. There's a long list of "stars" to replace.
Its Durant and LeBron's league for now. With Harden and Anthony Davis quickly rising to near superstar status. Curry could become such an offensive threat that he could be considered a superstar as well; Lillard could follow in the same vein. Rose, if he returns to form is a definite star. Rondo is a wash; no idea if he'll ever become the Rondo of old. CP3 is still alive, so is Blake Griffin. Let's not write off the possibility of a Bosh or Melo revival. They aren't washed up just yet and better teammates could revive their careers briefly. There are a lot of stars being eclipsed by their fellow star teammates right now. Late 90's and early 2000's era was great because there weren't really any superteams outside of the Spurs and the Lakers. CP3 - Hornets. Howard - Magic. T-Mac - Magic/Rockets. Francis - Rockets. Kobe/Shaq - Lakers. Duncan/Parker/Ginobili - Spurs. Wade - Heat. Bosh - Raptors. Dirk - Mavericks. Vince Young - Nets/Raptors. LeBron - Cavaliers. Durant/Westbrook/Harden - Thunder. Amar'e/Nash - Suns. KG - Timberwolves. Ray Allen - Bucks. Pierce - Celtics. Etc. For that small decade, teams were very spaced out in terms of talent.
Well the early 2000's was more like this: Baron Davis - Hornets Kidd - New Jersey Iverson - Philly Carter, later Bosh - Raptors Allen - Bucks Lebron - Cavs Wade - Miami Kobe/Shaq - Lakers Stackhouse, later Billups/Sheed/Hamilton - Pistons McGrady - Magic Webber - Kings Brand - Clippers J.O./Artest/Miller - Pacers KG - Wolves Nowitzki/Nash - Dallas Duncan/Robinson/Manu - Spurs Yao - Rockets The era was probably pretty weak in general. But it's crazy how much star appeal the big name players from that time had and the amount of time they have had it for.
While older, wouldn't include Wade. He was c/o 2003, part of the "new era" and maybe has some time left. Those others, the clock is definitely ticking. Yeah, no. Sorry, as good as these guys are today [or may become], don't think they hold a candle to the old guys. _________________________ 1995: Kevin Garnett 1996: Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal, 1997: Tim Duncan 1998: Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Al Harrington, Nazr Mohammed, Rashard Lewis 1999: Elton Brand, Andre Miller, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry, Andrei Kirilenko, Manu Ginobili 2000: Kenyon Martin, Mike Miller, Jamal Crawford, Hedo Turkoglu, 2001: Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol, Jason Richardson, Joe Johnson, Richard Jefferson, Zach Randolph, Brendan Haywood, Gerald Wallace, Sam Dalembert, Tony Parker, 2002: Mike Dunleavy, Drew Gooden, Nene, Amar'e Stoudemire, Caron Butler, Tayshaun Prince, John Salmons, Carlos Boozer, Matt Barnes, Rasual Butler, Luis Scola 2003: 'New era' 95-97: 2 years max 98-00: 2-3 years 01-02: Still some 'ball left [for some of those guys]
I wouldn't say Kobe is done for good though. But that whole era of players did last a decent 17-18 years, the guys that defined the 80s like Bird, Magic, Thomas, M. Malone, Wilkins, King really only had a big time hold on the league for about 12 ('79 to around '91). Guys from the late 80s early 90s like Jordan, Dream, Barkley, Stockton and Malone, Ewing etc. also had it for another 11 or 12, around '87 to I'd say '98. Then it's this era that's about to close. This era of players that we're currently in, at the pace that players seem to last in the league, will probably last another 17 or even up to 20 years since it started around 2010. Wall, Davis, Harden, Curry, Lillard etc will all be old farts about to retire I would say around '28 or '30.
NBA in the early 2000's were the best because that's when everybody was in their prime and when the All Star Games were fun to watch. IMO
I assume "everybody" means the guys the OP listed, right? Otherwise, every year, some stars are in their prime. But then you are basically claiming that this group of players are the best of NBA ever. I am sure a lot of old timers would disagree.
Everybody looks back on the past with rose-coloured glasses. Everyone will have a different era they think is the best, due to their own nostalgia. Honestly, this is a golden age of basketball - Let me rattle off some "stars" LeBron, Durant, Cp3, D12, Harden, Curry (will hold 3-pt records for sure - if nothing catastrophic happens), Davis, Wall, Cousins, Griffin, Lillard, Aldridge, Rose etc. I wouldn't say it's the best, but there are so many stacked teams that you don't know who will win on a given night, let alone a playoff series. Those previous eras were very star-driven, you could be a great team with one star player. Now the league has a lot more talent, and thus a team like the pelicans can't even crack the top 8, despite Davis playing like a ******* beast.
You're way off. The 80's and 90's had some great ball. Outside of LeBron, Durant, CP3 and Harden, everyone else is either overrated for their expected talent or not proven. Where are Hakeems, David Robinsons, Ewing, Shaqs, Duncans.
Maybe we have a shortage of big-men this generation, but the perimeter players haven't really taken that big of a step down. Davis, especially, is looking like he's going to become a superstar. Maybe Embiid becomes the next star lol.
I think it's a bit of a different situation. Those guys came in right after Jordan's era ended. There was this really large vacuum that needed to be filled not just in terms of talent, but also in the sense of transcending the game and becoming a cultural icon. None of those guys really did that, and only Shaq was able to really dominate on a Jordan like level. Instead, we had all of the guys mentioned above spread out all over the league. I didn't really notice it because I was about seven years old at the time, but in the early 2000s, almost every market had either a star or a young and upcoming guy. I think, if this next draft pans out, we'll see something similar.
I think the game in the last 4-5 years changed a lots than the 90's and early 00'. The pace is much faster, the game became more physical. Low post play and traditional center is a past tense. Teams will run more and shot more 3s. You will see more players with higher and crazier numbers this generation and probably the next 4-5 years. But on the same time, their career will be shorter than before. I don't know if this is a good idea but I think its much more difficult to build a dynasty under this type of playing style. I think having a good GM and coach will become more and more important in this league, you will need to constantly reload or rebuild fast to be competitive.
in terms of contact and fight, yes. in terms of physical spent on the floor, no. I don't have the numbers to support me, but I would believe the overall injuries in this era are much more than the previous.
