Anyone else notice this trend?

[1987_Lakers]

When a young All-Star or Superstar is in their prime, some people make threads comparing their peak to past players, and 70-80% of the posters always take the past players. It isn't until the current superstar player who is aging and almost retiring that people step back and realize how good their career was.

Example: James Harden right now is having a ridiculous season, I would say you can put him in the same sentence as a peak Clyde Drexler, but alot of people would have a hard time accepting that.

Or when Steve Nash was winning MVPs, most wouldn't dare put him on the same level as say John Stockton, now that Nash is retired people have no problem making that comparison.

Why is that?

I remember I made a thread around 2009 or 2010 comparing current LeBron James to a peak Dr. J and I was shocked to see how many people took Dr. J, now most people accept that LeBron is on a higher level.

[oarabbus]

Absolutely true. People don't like to accept that what they're seeing now can really be true greatness for some strange reason. When did AI put up a string of triple double like Westbrook is right now? But if you ask people then "AI Was on another level".

[dubeta]

Nostalgia at its finest.

Trust me when LeBron retires people will finally realize he's much better than that guy who's 1-9.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Some revisionist going on. Guys like LeBron and Kobe had heards of basketball fans claiming they were either GOAT or that older players were inferior due to a "weaker league". :oldlol:

[VengefulAngel]

When a young All-Star or Superstar is in their prime, some people make threads comparing their peak to past players, and 70-80% of the posters always take the past players. It isn't until the current superstar player who is aging and almost retiring that people step back and realize how good their career was.

Example: James Harden right now is having a ridiculous season, I would say you can put him in the same sentence as a peak Clyde Drexler, but alot of people would have a hard time accepting that.

Or when Steve Nash was winning MVPs, most wouldn't dare put him on the same level as say John Stockton, now that Nash is retired people have no problem making that comparison.

Why is that?


I remember I made a thread around 2009 or 2010 comparing current LeBron James to a peak Dr. J and I was shocked to see how many people took Dr. J, now most people accept that LeBron is on a higher level.

Perhaps it's due to the fact that we can judge past players on their entire careers and judge factors such as longevity. With players who are still playing we can't determine how their game will translate as they age. Plus, cross generational comparisons aren't an exact science, almost impossible to determine how certain player's would play in different eras.

[1987_Lakers]

Some revisionist going on. Guys like LeBron and Kobe had heards of basketball fans claiming they were either GOAT or that older players were inferior due to a "weaker league". :oldlol:

In general I have never heard anyone call LeBron & Kobe the GOAT and I've only heard the 60's being called a weak era consistently. You have alot of posters who believe the NBA was at its best in the 80's & 90's.

[G0ATbe]

Old guys just don't like the idea of people they grew up watching being surpassed. Same case with Jordan fans when it comes to Kobe.

[SouBeachTalents]

In general I have never heard anyone call LeBron & Kobe the GOAT and I've only heard the 60's being called a weak era consistently. You have alot of posters who believe the NBA was at its best in the 80's & 90's.

Lol, now you've got two people saying that in this thread

[Done_And_Done]

Nostalgia at its finest.

Trust me when LeBron retires people will finally realize he's much better than that guy who's 1-9.

Keep dreaming funboy

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

In general I have never heard anyone call LeBron & Kobe the GOAT and I've only heard the 60's being called a weak era consistently. You have alot of posters who believe the NBA was at its best in the 80's & 90's.
I'm gonna call bullshit. I was around in 2009, and this forum was littered with Kobe/LeBron=GOAT talk.

I'm out in LA, and post 81, there were diehard morons who swore up and down Kobe was better than Jordan.

[navy]

Lol, now you've got two people saying that in this thread
Trolls. :confusedshrug:

[1987_Lakers]

Trolls. :confusedshrug:

Exactly.

People are always dumb enough to take them seriously.

[JimmyMcAdocious]

I'm gonna call bullshit. I was around in 2009, and this forum was littered with Kobe/LeBron=GOAT talk.

I'm out in LA, and post 81, there were diehard morons who swore up and down Kobe was better than Jordan.

It always amazes me how stupid most people are in regards to basketball knowledge outside. Most of the time I watch a game at a bar or something, or talk to some random person about the NBA and it's LeBron this, Lakers that. They probably can't even name all the teams in the NBA, or connect their conference affiliation, or they can't place a random player with a team, or don't even know any of the role players or basic NBA rules.

What the **** are you watching when the game is on? Blankly staring into the tv? Doesn't make sense.

[warriorfan]

2/5

[MEB2kDeez]

Yeah it's nostalgia, also then it's too late to appreciate the greatness that was in the making.

[theaussieguy]

Absolutely true. People don't like to accept that what they're seeing now can really be true greatness for some strange reason. When did AI put up a string of triple double like Westbrook is right now? But if you ask people then "AI Was on another level".

AI was on another level....tell me when Westbrook leads a scrub team to the phucking nba finals.

Also keep in mind AI had a legit 40+ inch vert and Westbrook has a lowly 36.5

[ILLsmak]

When a young All-Star or Superstar is in their prime, some people make threads comparing their peak to past players, and 70-80% of the posters always take the past players. It isn't until the current superstar player who is aging and almost retiring that people step back and realize how good their career was.

Example: James Harden right now is having a ridiculous season, I would say you can put him in the same sentence as a peak Clyde Drexler, but alot of people would have a hard time accepting that.

Or when Steve Nash was winning MVPs, most wouldn't dare put him on the same level as say John Stockton, now that Nash is retired people have no problem making that comparison.

Why is that?

I remember I made a thread around 2009 or 2010 comparing current LeBron James to a peak Dr. J and I was shocked to see how many people took Dr. J, now most people accept that LeBron is on a higher level.

The only one I see an issue with is Dr J. I think some people might have been trolling.

Steve Nash and James Harden just aren't as good as those other two, in my eyes. I feel I'm not really nostalgia-biased. However, I would say it's hard to not weigh the career or someone who is, say, first all time in assists and steals plus multiple finals trips... more than someone who you are watching play.

Cuz I mean it can always be D Rose... or Grant Hill. Someone's career has to be over before you can compare them to someone else. That's why I'm still not gonna say Bron is better than Bird. I wanna see the end result.

I think even in 09 most of us knew Bron was a top 10 or 15 player of all time.

Harden has to do something in the playoffs before he can be compared to Clyde. He doesn't have to win a ring, but he has to have some good moments on his own team... he hasn't yet, IMO.

-Smak

[20Four]

Nostalgia at its finest.

Trust me when LeBron retires people will finally realize he's much better than that guy who's 1-9.
No they wont, they will remember him for colluding with wade and not winning siht on his own, then going 2/5 lmao

Nikka is scared to go to the west, his mom did and said it was hard so he said "**** it, I aint doin that shit"

http://i.imgur.com/nTZRlF0.gif

[Legends66NBA7]

It's a 2 way street, IMO.

I've seen people say Wilt wouldn't be anything more than an average or below average center( I reremember Erik Dampier... in person debate too), let alone player. Kobe and LeBron have gotten GOAT talks at bars I've been too. How Magic and Bird wouldn't be as good today because of ________ reason and current player is better. It goes on and on.

That's in person, though. On here, it's mixed.

[Psileas]

People are in general biased towards the era of their youth. You're not going to see many fans who will not rank very high lots of players who dominated when the said fans were between 10 and 20 or many fans who are not going to claim that they feel lucky because they managed to watch their era's legends live.
Btw, you have to be either lying or very elitist in your readings to claim that you've never seen people seriously consider Kobe the GOAT. I'm not saying their opinions really matter (to be honest, very few people's opinions should really matter, regardless of their picks), but in any casual poll on the GOAT, especially polls when the choices are already presented, Kobe is often the 2nd most popular choice.
Of course, these stupid polls don't represent the consensus, since they are overcrowded with 10-20 year olds, but the trend is that Kobe is considered, without trolling intentions, the GOAT in the eyes of plenty.

[You Cant Ban Me]

steve nash is not close to john stockton OP you stupid bch he played both sides of the ball....(thinks to self.. wow OP got me in here defending the white man wtf am i doing with my life.)Magic was better than them both of them tho. (thinks to self nice way to save yourself!)

[AussieG]

Old guys just don't like the idea of people they grew up watching being surpassed. Same case with Jordan fans when it comes to Kobe.

I'm not a Jordan fan, nor a Kobe fan.. I can sort of judge it by who I hated my teams playing against the most. Who you feared the most.

In all of my time watching basketball no one has surpassed Jordan. Can't comment on earlier eras.

[SHAQisGOAT]

How about the trend of vastly overhyping a current player just because he's presently balling at a high level? How about the trend of ignorant people downgrading a past player for an agenda sake, just trolling or not knowing what they're saying?

When LeBron, for example, was at his very best I said it was a top2 peak for a SF (only Bird getting the edge over him)...

Regarding Harden... He's been playing extremely well, won't ever deny stuff like that, but if you'd take him right now over peak Drexler then you've never seen Glyde at his best, you really don't know what you're talking about.

[warriorfan]

AI was on another level....tell me when Westbrook leads a scrub team to the phucking nba finals.

Also keep in mind AI had a legit 40+ inch vert and Westbrook has a lowly 36.5


Put prime Allen Iverson in today's soft no handcheck NBA where you literally can't lay a finger on a dude with out drawing a foul. He would put up 35+ PPG easily. These kids have no idea.

[CarlosBoozer]

I would never doubt that Ai could potentially put up 35ppg, but he would have to be in a horrible team for that to happen in today's league, the new generation of basketball is teamball and less hero ball. Any half decent coach now would try to change Ai's gamestyle rather than let him chuck whenever he wants.

[warriorfan]

I would never doubt that Ai could potentially put up 35ppg, but he would have to be in a horrible team for that to happen in today's league, the new generation of basketball is teamball and less hero ball. Any half decent coach now would try to change Ai's gamestyle rather than let him chuck whenever he wants.



Russell Westbrook.

[SpanishACB]

When a young All-Star or Superstar is in their prime, some people make threads comparing their peak to past players, and 70-80% of the posters always take the past players. It isn't until the current superstar player who is aging and almost retiring that people step back and realize how good their career was.

Example: James Harden right now is having a ridiculous season, I would say you can put him in the same sentence as a peak Clyde Drexler, but alot of people would have a hard time accepting that.

Or when Steve Nash was winning MVPs, most wouldn't dare put him on the same level as say John Stockton, now that Nash is retired people have no problem making that comparison.

Why is that?

I remember I made a thread around 2009 or 2010 comparing current LeBron James to a peak Dr. J and I was shocked to see how many people took Dr. J, now most people accept that LeBron is on a higher level.

tell us all about your discovery of nostalgia