How much will 80s/90s big men dominate today

[juju151111]

Duncan way out of his prime at 36-39 was the best player in the playoffs for the spurs. How much would a prime Duncan,hakeem,Robinson, Malone etc...

[Nastradamus]

They'd be a little less good than they were, but still very good. Length and zone defense helps defend bigs a little better these days. Tough to get the space to sky hook on someone for example.

[Showtime80']

Jesus Christ here comes the stupid almighty modern pseudo zone defense argument! Like the original poster said, an old Duncan was still giving clinics in the low post and high post game in this pathetic league, can you imagine the offensive juggernauts from the 80's and 90's IN THEIR PRIME!?! Hell, Dwight Howard one of the most limited offensive centers EVER made the Finals with a very mediocre team in 2009 for God's sake!

Guess where Shaq, Kareem, Mutombo, Sampson, Robinson, Olajuwon, Ewing and Mourning became superstars before the NBA? NCAA BASKETBALL!!! Where they played REAL ZONES instead of this made up scheme the NBA came up with and did it WITHOUT A 22 FEET 3 point line to space the floor for them!!! Like Jerry Tarkanian said back in the early 90's, "Zone defense is a LAZY MAN DEFENSE, players get too comfortable guarding SPACES instead of following their man"

The present centers just ARE NOT AS GOOD as they were in the 80's or 90's, deal with it! A big reason why the quality of play has plummeted with teams shooting 25+ 3's a night!

[juju151111]

Jesus Christ here comes the stupid almighty modern pseudo zone defense argument! Like the original poster said, an old Duncan was still giving clinics in the low post and high post game in this pathetic league, can you imagine the offensive juggernauts from the 80's and 90's IN THEIR PRIME!?! Hell, Dwight Howard one of the most limited offensive centers EVER made the Finals with a very mediocre team in 2009 for God's sake!

Guess where Shaq, Kareem, Mutombo, Sampson, Robinson, Olajuwon, Ewing and Mourning became superstars before the NBA? NCAA BASKETBALL!!! Where they played REAL ZONES instead of this made up scheme the NBA came up with and did it WITHOUT A 22 FEET 3 point line to space the floor for them!!! Like Jerry Tarkanian said back in the early 90's, "Zone defense is a LAZY MAN DEFENSE, players get too comfortable guarding SPACES instead of following their man"

The present centers just ARE NOT AS GOOD as they were in the 80's or 90's, deal with it! A big reason why the quality of play has plummeted with teams shooting 25+ 3's a night!
Pretty much and the only ones i seen with talent similar to past bigs were Greg oden,Embiid etc..., but they all get injured. Karl towns and Jalil looks promising.

[Quickening]

Duncan way out of his prime at 36-39 was the best player in the playoffs for the spurs. How much would a prime Duncan,hakeem,Robinson, Malone etc...

All those guys you mentioned were average similar numbers or better than Duncan in their mid to late 30s... why you acting like it's suddenly easier for centres to score.

They would probably average slightly less than what they did in their primes looking at the stats across the eras.

[juju151111]

All those guys you mentioned were average similar numbers or better than Duncan in their mid to late 30s... why you acting like it's suddenly easier for centres to score.

They would probably average slightly less than what they did in their primes looking at the stats across the eras.
Of course it is. They isnt any competition. They are not averging slightly less

[SilkkTheShocker]

Hakeem lost in the first round like 9 times. Malone would
Never lead a team to the finals in this era. Prime Dwight alone was better than prime Ewing.

[Bigsmoke]

they would dominate in the paint more but do more on defense.

[BlkMambaGOAT]

Enough for Lebron to hop on their teams

And their schlongs

[FKAri]

Some would do better. Most would do worse. What's asked of big men today is quite different from 30 years ago.

[bdreason]

Obviously they would still be great players, but modern coaches simply don't play primarily through the post, because modern rules favor playing from the outside - in, as opposed to playing from the inside - out. Modern defensive rules make it easier to defend the post, and more difficult to defend the perimeter.

Would players like Hakeem, Ewing, and Robinson still be great? Of course. But they would be utilized differently. Teams would not just come down and throw the ball into the low post. These guys would spend a lot more time playing from the high post, and being used in the P&R/P&P. Their ability to adapt to this style of play would ultimately determine how effective they are in the modern league compared to the 90's.