I was just looking at the NBA preseason power rankings. And like the top ten teams seemed like they just had RIDICULOUS talent. Every teams seemed like it had a big four. A good bench. I was just like in awe of how many awesome players there were. It just seemed like every team was so awesome, they deserved to win the championship. Just look at the point guards. Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Tony Parker, Damian lillard, kyrie irving, Stephen Curry, westbrook... etc. So I started thinking. Is there just more talent in the league these days? Has the talent just concentrated to such a ridiculous amount in about ten teams? Or... is it just media exposure? I mean. In the nineties and into the... early 2000's only a few teams really got that much media exposure. Bulls, Lakers, Knicks. And then a few stars like Reggie Miller, Yao Ming... etc. These days... take a team like the Bucks. The Greek Freak really hasn't done anything. Jabari Parker really hasn't done anything. But in my mind they seem like a good team. Or the Timberwolves! Lavine! Rubio! Wiggins! Bennett (I think he will be a lot better this year)! Young! Dieng! (that guy is seriously going to be awesome) Pek! That team seems awesome to me cause of they hype machine I have been expose to for years with wiggins. But... ... twenty years ago? Before the internet and all this media exposure, I probably wouldn't have thought twice about anyone on the timberwolves. So what do you guys think? Is there an insane level of talent in about ten or twelve teams this year, or is all the media exposure just making it seem like it? I mean, the thing is, when you compare the crappiest NBA player to regular mortals, they are so far beyond us, that with media exposure they all seem incredible.
Nah, more talent. And more hunger as well with increased salaries and media exposure. 90s was much more top heavy.
I'd say there's less talent now but more "stars". Teams used to have more double digit scorers. Center was deeper. New rules have neutered the post making the game easier for perimeter players but you'd never hear about a guy like Klay Thompson being in contention for the top SG in the league (he wouldn't be top ten 20 years ago).
All things being equal, there should be more talent because the sport and the talent pool is global now and the wages better than in the 80's. Both of those should serve to increase the supply of talent to the NBA. If you put all the international players on one team, you'd populate 2 full teams (the number of expansion teams we've had since the 80's) of just international players. Plus the AAU, love it or hate it, and more recently the D-League, have added depth to the US talent pool.
Agree also with Ziggy -- the hand check rules make offensive players look better. I'd also add that the clarity and emphasis on positional roles (e.g., 3 and D specialists) helps make rosters more coherent and make certain players stand out who'd otherwise go unnoticed.
I don't think the Timberwolves or the Bucks seem like good teams at all... And I think one reason why it seems like there are more good players today is that we are smarter about the game now. Now, it's not only the +20 ppg scorers who get attention. A guy like Omer Asik gets recognition for defense and rebounding. Nobody cares that he only scores 10 points a game if he's lucky. We now recognize the specialists like "3 and D" players who add positive value to a team like Courtney Lee. Now, not only do superstar players get recognized for their ability... but solid role players get praise, too. In fact, some "superstars" have gotten negative attention for their play when in the past that would seem absurd. Players like Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant have been called "chuckers". Some say they score a lot of points, but don't do it efficiently. Whether or not that is true is beside the point... it shows that people are starting to look at basketball players as more than just how good their superficial stats are, and are actually looking at how efficient they are and how they may help the team. I think we've become smarter at evaluating players and recognizing the value of those who used to go unnoticed.
