I don't know man.. the defenses these days can be vicious pick pockets when you take the ball to the rim. Hands have gotten so much better in the league. These guys are athletes these days and back then there were like 6 good athletes at the 2 guard. The reality of Jordan wasn't his highlights. People that didn't see hundreds of his games don't realize he was a real player with real deficiencies. He was lightning fast, he could jump out of the gym, he could guard a point guard better than anyone I've ever seen, he was tough as nails and a competitor. None of those things would go away, but today's guards are very different than the ones he faced. This is not an impressive list of competitors: https://www.ranker.com/list/best-90s-shooting-guards/ranker-nba Especially note that a lot of these guys that were decent were on terrible teams. Mitch Richmond only made the playoffs twice in the 90s. He also wasn't exactly great on defense. Jordan wouldn't be able to hand-check on defense (something that led to countless steals we seem to think would translate to today) and double-team rules have changed as well. He wasn't a particularly great passer so there would be some challenges in a changed game. Jordan's constant hooks he used to clear his way wouldn't be tolerated now. There's tons he got away with. Guards have gotten so much better across the board, but there's no Jordan out there these days. LeBron is the closest thing, but that dude can do way more than Jordan ever could.
Nash was the better shooter. He was a better passer, too. But overall, Harden is the superior talent. Harden could go down as the greatest combo G ever. SIL
Remember defenders wouldn't be able to do that to him either... The league was also way more physical when Jordan played. He would average 10 FTA per game without breaking a sweat. I just disagree with your assessment that guards have gotten "so much better across the board." More athletic maybe, but skills wise I would have to disagree. You are talking about the greatest basketball player of all time, and acting like he couldn't dominate in today's league? Would Dominique struggle, would Barkley? Clyde was never a knock down shooter. Would he have a hard time against these athletic freaks of today? I think not. You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but if you really think Jordan would struggle in today's game I don't really see the point of discussing it.
Just to drive home the point... You continue to point to the increased athleticism of the NBA in today's game, but yet you somehow forget how much of an all time freak Jordan was as a pure athlete. He has one of the highest vertical jumps ever recorded in any sport. 48 inches. That's FOUR FEET. Bigger hands than Kawhi Leonard, incredible instincts, durability, strength, etc, etc... I would also add that post defense in today's league is MUCH, MUCH worse. The guards may be quicker and faster, but the bigs are nothing compared to the behemoths that patrolled the lane in the 80's and 90's. If you went in there with weak sauce back you would end up on your back. The proverbial "playoff foul" was a year round thing.
Nash was extremely overated...The only reason why he was ever that good was because of stourdamire and his overall better teammates. Harden can do with or without good teammates.
Not sure if Nash is overrated. But to say that he was ever that good was because of Stoudemire is the extreme form of underrating him. Do you know that after Amare left Phoenix, the 36 years old Nash still averaged more than 11 assists per game, shooting 40% from 3p, playing with the likes of Channing Frye, Jason Richardson, 38-year-old Grant Hill and Gortat? I'm not saying Nash was better than Harden. But no need to step on Steve Nash to pop up Harden. It's an insult to both guys.
Yes they are. Seriously, you have the f-ing internet. Just look it up instead of uselessly arguing with me. https://foxsportsradio.iheart.com/a...486404/the-largest-hands-in-the-nba-12467252/ http://fadeawayworld.com/2017/07/10/ranking-the-largest-hands-in-nba-history/
Considering MDA himself mentioned that he has never coached a player of Hardens skill level then the answer is yes
Nash was a flashier passer but not better or that much better. Nash had a better floater but he was not a better mid range shooter then Harden.
Thing is Basketball is played with 5. And the other 4 have to perform greatly to really contend perennially. The Synergy between the Main Guy and the Others have to be at Alltime Great Status too. 1 Guy Great, Other guys Just Good Is Still Falling Short. Steve Nash and MDA maximized what was there. Duncan and Pop were better.
Thing is you say his defenders got better so why not say Jordan could get even better today too? By getting better I dun mean to say more ships or more scoring. Hakeem could even tutor him today. Jordan getting used to the Game of Today is a real possibility and thrive in it. Think of the possibilities, him developing a better passing game already. The tools of Today and Future! There is always the risk of him getting weaker but I believe in parallel dimensions. There are better versions and worse versions. Food for thought. I know you are a creative, imaginative mind yourself.
Both those lists have different measurements for Kawee. One omits Shaq, which clearly TNT can debunk And to think Shaqs just a quarter inch bigger lol. Shaqs hands are far thicker, too. Credibility of those lists are shot. Noah Vonlehs on another had him over 12 around draft time. Next time don't use the ****ing internet, scrub. It's fake news and inconsistent reporting. SIL
You're right I should have personally measured both Jordan and Kawhi's hands to be 100 percent sure. Show me the list that says Kawhi's are bigger than Jordan's. Either way they are almost as big, the same, or slightly bigger so the bottom line is they are pretty damn big. Did you feel like arguing just for the sake of being annoying?
That's a great point. Jordan could adjust for the times. He might be like LeBron and get his eFG up to today's standards. His lifetime .509 might be more like LeBron's .537. I was mostly talking about the Jordan we knew in today's changed game. And I'd admit that I'm being inflexible about him making adjustments. One thing I know wouldn't change though. Jordan picking the pocket of these guys in the halfcourt and going down the other way for a spectacular slam. He'd do that over and over in any generation (minus the years the "dunk" wasn't allowed). He just would have laid it up off the backboard.
If you think Harden's defense is bad, you should watch film of Nash. Nash makes Harden look like Kawhi Leonard.
We would have needed a Jordan in this era, a Hakeem, a Shaq. Couple of pure passers like Nash, Stockton.
Agreed. MJ has become very glorified and the masses thereafter have blindly embraced it. I'm not a Jordan hater by any stretch. He did win 6 rings via 2 3-peats....so that does carry some real weight in determining GOAT. However, forgive me here, but I will use our very own Hakeem as an example here. Hakeem was great as well.....VERY GREAT. He "only" won 2 rings later in his career, albeit via back-to-back (which carries respect) as well. I think objectively, how can one say without question Jordan was better than Kobe (at their best) or Lebron or whoever. What's something Jordan can do that Kobe wouldn't.....hypothetically speaking (No smartass responses please).
