Bird used to get down and dirty and did whatever it took to win games. The way he positively impacted his team was amazing. As supremely talented as Durant is, when the going gets tough for him in the playoffs, I've seen him get reduced to a timid single-covered jump shooter that deferred a lot.
Its call changing of an Era. We have move from the Big Man era of Dream, Ewing, Robinson, Shaq, Zo and Mutombo. To the Big Man who are super mobile and have extended skill sets. Duncan, KG, Webber, Rasheed Wallace, Dirk. To the wing players who can guard them. Lebron, Durant, George, Melo PGs will always be stacked.
I think you misunderstood the premise of what I'm talking about. You're talking more from a basketball talent standpoint. I'm talking from star power. That era was full of the league trying to push the next Jordan on us. Hill, Stackhouse, Carter, A.I. (his killer crossover on Jordan was considered the "changing of the guard" in that era) Kobe, T-Mac, etc. The point is those players were huge draws. Let's not bring up LeBron and Durant as both were drafted a long time ago. KD was around when Seattle still had a franchise. He's not part of the current crop. Soon Lebron will be on the decline. Hell, some argued that started this season. Who will fill his shoes? The point is, when Jordan left, those guys I mentioned two paragraphs ago immediately came in and filled the void. And hell, it wasn't much later when Lebron/Melo/Wade showed up. When Dream/Ewing/Robinson left, Shaq/Yao/Duncan were immediately there. Barkley/Malone were gone but KG/Nowitzki became big instantly. Who in the current generation is going to instantly fill the void of star power from Kobe, Duncan, Nowitzki, KG, etc? Wiggins is the closest guy to the raw potential and hype those guys had. Maybe Embiid? Davis, Curry, and Harden for sure. Wall, I can see. Perhaps Paul George? Rose was supposed to be that guy, the star of the next generation, but never managed to stay healthy.
Crazy how Duncan is still performing at an all star level when just about everybody on that list (except Vince Carter) is basically a benchwarmer.
Some crazy stats. Makes you appreciate the guys much more,played half of their life in the world's best league.
Exactly, they are people in their late 50s - late 60s, who believe the golden age of basketball was in the mid 1960s to mid 70s with teams, like the Celtics, Knicks, and Lakers leading the way. Think of all the Hall of Fame players who were in the league at that time. Technically or subjectively speaking, are they wrong? That era had legendary talent in its league and was played at a unbelievable pace.
Wade is quite a bit younger than the rest of that group, and I'm not sure it makes any sense to include him while NOT including Lebron, Bosh or Carmelo, who were all drafted the same year. Also, I think Dirk and Duncan still have a couple pretty decent years left in the tank.
I had a book that I ordered from Scholastic when I was a kid called "The Next Generation". Looked like this: As you see on the cover, it came with a massive 6-foot wide by 3-foot tall poster with 20 NBA players on it who were considered the "next generation". The list of players: Bryant Reeves Kerry Kittles Jason Kidd Marcus Camby Allen Iverson Jerry Stackhouse Juwan Howard Kobe Bryant Kevin Garnett Ray Allen Tim Duncan Joe Smith Stephon Marbury Michael Finley Antonio McDyess Shareef Adbur-Rahim Antoine Walker Damon Stoudamire Rasheed Wallace Chris Webber How many of those guys are still playing? 4? Kobe, Ray Allen, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett? Stephon Marbury if you wanna count him playing in China... And Kobe has been hurt for like the past 2 years, Ray Allen decided not to play this year, although he was still available to play. So really, Duncan, Kobe, and Garnett are the only NBA players left.
