Would Damian Lillard be the best point guard in the 90's?

[Im Still Ballin]

Was thinking about this while on the toilet...

With how stacked this era is regarding PGs, would he be the best if he played in the 90's?

I have him 4th best of this era, behind Curry, CP3 and Westbrook.


His competition would be (off the top of my head) Payton and Stockton.



I'm not sure what the answer is... Maybe? IDK.

Thoughts?

[BigShotBob]

He'd be top 4 or 5 behind GP, KJ, Stockton, and Tim Hardaway.

[warriorfan]

Was thinking about this while on the toilet...

With how stacked this era is regarding PGs, would he be the best if he played in the 90's?

I have him 4th best of this era, behind Curry, CP3 and Westbrook.


His competition would be (off the top of my head) Payton and Stockton.



I'm not sure what the answer is... Maybe? IDK.

Thoughts?

Him, Payton, and Stockton are on the same tier. Lillard is the best shooter and most prolific scorer out of the bunch but we could expect that to get scaled back some playing in the 90’s. Obviously Lillard would be the worst defender but according to some numbers, point guard defense is not very valuable in the big picture. Today I think that might be a little different due to the emphasis on perimeter play, but in the 90’s most of the defense was done down. He would be among the top pg’s in the league. May have a few seasons as the best.

[Whoah10115]

He's better than Hardaway. Hardaway used to tear up the Knicks, and should likely be in Hall, but he's not better than Lillard.

Agree on top 4...tho had Penny stayed healthy he could well be the 2nd best ever.

Actually, don't forget Kidd. Kidd got better and better, but he was great.

Dame is better than Westbrook. Poop Westbrook. Dame showed him who was better, again, in the playoffs.

[Im Still Ballin]

He'd be top 4 or 5 behind GP, KJ, Stockton, and Tim Hardaway.

:roll:

[BigShotBob]

He's better than Hardaway. Hardaway used to tear up the Knicks, and should likely be in Hall, but he's not better than Lillard.

Agree on top 4...tho had Penny stayed healthy he could well be the 2nd best ever.

Actually, don't forget Kidd. Kidd got better and better, but he was great.

Dame is better than Westbrook. Poop Westbrook. Dame showed him who was better, again, in the playoffs.

Hardaway was a monster. Tough with tight handles and could finish with the best of them.

Penny is more mid 90's and Kidd is more late 90's and didn't really hit his stride until the early 2000's.

I'm thinking more if Lillard was dropped off in '90 as a rookie how would he be ranked by the end of the decade.

Consensus would be Stockton, GP, KJ, Penny, and then Dame by the end of the decade but Tim Hardaway is definitely in that conversation.

I want to put Mark Price up there too but nobody here knows how good he really was.

[LoneyROY7]

Imagine writing in a public forum that Tim Hardaway was better than Damian Lillard.

No seriously, IMAGINE that.

https://media1.giphy.com/media/mcH0upG1TeEak/200.gif

[Whoah10115]

Imagine writing in a public forum that Tim Hardaway was better than Damian Lillard.

No seriously, IMAGINE that.

https://media1.giphy.com/media/mcH0upG1TeEak/200.gif

You're not coming off well here.

And I agree with you.

[Whoah10115]

Hardaway was a monster. Tough with tight handles and could finish with the best of them.

Penny is more mid 90's and Kidd is more late 90's and didn't really hit his stride until the early 2000's.

I'm thinking more if Lillard was dropped off in '90 as a rookie how would he be ranked by the end of the decade.

Consensus would be Stockton, GP, KJ, Penny, and then Dame by the end of the decade but Tim Hardaway is definitely in that conversation.

I want to put Mark Price up there too but nobody here knows how good he really was.

More than tight handles. He's in shortlist territory. And as I said, probable hall-of-famer. But would take Lillard.

[Bronbron23]

Imagine writing in a public forum that Tim Hardaway was better than Damian Lillard.

No seriously, IMAGINE that.

https://media1.giphy.com/media/mcH0upG1TeEak/200.gif

Really isnt that far fetched. Id say dame is a bit better but its closer than u think. Wasnt much difference scoring wise. Both shot the 3ball well and both finished well. Dame only scores more because of the era and he shoots more threes. Dame is a bit better Athletically speaking also. Hardaway was a better passer and defender though.

[LoneyROY7]

Really isnt that far fetched. Id say dame is a bit better but its closer than u think. Wasnt much difference scoring wise. Both shot the 3ball well and both finished well. Dame only scores more because of the era and he shoots more threes. Dame is a bit better Athletically speaking also. Hardaway was a better passer and defender though.

:oldlol::oldlol::oldlol:

"Only scores more because of the era".

Yeah, it has nothing to do with having an immensely better jumpshot with literally twice the range. Nothing at all. ISH old heads are so f*cking cringey it's sad man.

[Whoah10115]

:oldlol::oldlol::oldlol:

"Only scores more because of the era".

Yeah, it has nothing to do with having an immensely better jumpshot with literally twice the range. Nothing at all. ISH old heads are so f*cking cringey it's sad man.

Do you have any clue how old he is?

Lillard is a better shooter and scorer, but yes the era helps.

Hardaway a better passer and defender tho, also true. Tho Lillard has improved.

You genuinely don't have a clue what you're talking about. And posting with such indignation. That's cringey.

[Whoah10115]

Lillard is smarter than Hardaway, and more methodical. Hardaway was playground style, and earlier in his career had great offensive talent around him. Later on he relied on shooting too much.

Dame more range cuz Dame is all-time range. But Hardaway had a ton of range, and fell back on it too much. That goea a long way for Lillard, because he's a duper smart and mature player.

[LoneyROY7]

Do you have any clue how old he is?

Lillard is a better shooter and scorer, but yes the era helps.

Hardaway a better passer and defender tho, also true. Tho Lillard has improved.

You genuinely don't have a clue what you're talking about. And posting with such indignation. That's cringey.

I see your reading comprehension is just as poor as the other thread. Look at the post I quoted. "Only scores more because of the era."

"Only"

Is that the same as "the era helps"? Do you get it? Do you need me to guide you further?

[Whoah10115]

I see your reading comprehension is just as poor as the other thread. Look at the post I quoted. "Only scores more because of the era."

"Only"

Is that the same as "the era helps"? Do you get it? Do you need me to guide you further?

I think you like to what you think you can criticize, rather than have a discussion.

Yes, your reading comprehension is winning.

[Manny98]

So would half of the starting point guards we have today

[Bronbron23]

:oldlol::oldlol::oldlol:

"Only scores more because of the era".

Yeah, it has nothing to do with having an immensely better jumpshot with literally twice the range. Nothing at all. ISH old heads are so f*cking cringey it's sad man.

Yeah dummy the era. The nba put rules in to make it easier for perimeter players to score. This isnt even arguable its in the nba's mandate but somehow idiots like you either cant read or just choose to ignore it. Also they shoot more threes in this era. If dame was in the 90's hed shoot less and if tim was playing now hed shoot more. They pretty much had identical efficiency from 3 the only difference is dame shoots twice as many.

So really dame is only a better scorer by a basket or so but tim is still a better defender and passer. If thats not close i dont what is.

[Reggie43]

Comparing guards across eras wont really go well because people still deny the impact the modern rules has on todays players espeacially guards.

[HBK_Kliq_2]

I would put him ahead of Kevin Johnson and Penny Hardaway. I wouldn't put him ahead of Stockton or Payton yet due to the massive playmaking/defense gap. So 3rd best overall

1. John Stockton
2. Gary Payton
3. Damian Lillard
4. Kevin Johnson
5. Penny Hardaway

[Rico2016]

It's a little unfair to compare talent across different eras since we are in the Goldem Era, the most talentes era of all time. This Golden Era of basketball is unfair to other eras but anyway here it goes.

Scottie Pippen was a solid top 5 player in the 90s but now I'm told he is less than DeMar DeRozan so that tells you how weak the players were in the 90s.

Dame would be the #1 PG in the 90s. In the 2010's he is top 10 at best.

[BigShotBob]

I would put him ahead of Kevin Johnson and Penny Hardaway. I wouldn't put him ahead of Stockton or Payton yet due to the massive playmaking/defense gap. So 3rd best overall

1. John Stockton
2. Gary Payton
3. Damian Lillard
4. Kevin Johnson
5. Penny Hardaway

Wouldn't put Lillard in front of KJ. KJ averaged 20-10 almost more times than Magic Johnson and Lillard hasn't even done it once.

Putting him in front of Penny is quite the stretch too since Penny was a better ball handler, passer, and finisher.

[light]

Wouldn't put Lillard in front of KJ. KJ averaged 20-10 almost more times than Magic Johnson and Lillard hasn't even done it once.

Putting him in front of Penny is quite the stretch too since Penny was a better ball handler, passer, and finisher.

Penny and KJ couldn't shoot and Lillard's 29/8/4 26.2 PER from this year is superior to anything those two have ever done.

Hardaway and Johnson are a tier below.

Honestly, if I'm starting a franchise I'd take Lillard over GP and Stockton too. Lillard, being a guy that can score 60 or drop 50 in a playoff game, is a different kind of franchise player.

[Whoah10115]

Penny and KJ couldn't shoot and Lillard's 29/8/4 26.2 PER from this year is superior to anything those two have ever done.

Hardaway and Johnson are a tier below.

Honestly, if I'm starting a franchise I'd take Lillard over GP and Stockton too. Lillard, being a guy that can score 60 or drop 50 in a playoff game, is a different kind of franchise player.

All incorrect.

Penny at his best is a better player than my guy Lillard. That's not a question. But like someone said above, you have no sense for rule changes.

Penny was 3rd in MVP voting and healthy, at PG, was gonna do it for a decade.

[jayfan]

:oldlol::oldlol::oldlol:

"Only scores more because of the era".

Yeah, it has nothing to do with having an immensely better jumpshot with literally twice the range. Nothing at all. ISH old heads are so f*cking cringey it's sad man.

:facepalm Oh, the irony.



.

[Bronbron23]

It's a little unfair to compare talent across different eras since we are in the Goldem Era, the most talentes era of all time. This Golden Era of basketball is unfair to other eras but anyway here it goes.

Scottie Pippen was a solid top 5 player in the 90s but now I'm told he is less than DeMar DeRozan so that tells you how weak the players were in the 90s.

Dame would be the #1 PG in the 90s. In the 2010's he is top 10 at best.

Golden era? How? Bigs and the shooting gaurd position is easily the worst its ever been. Who are the top players right now? Bron, greek, kawhi, steph, harden, luka and ad? How is that better than early mid 80's? There was magic, bird, mj, barkley, hakeem, malone and thomas. Give me that second group all day long

[Im so nba'd out]

nah

magic and isiah played in the 90s

then you got penny,stockton, and kevin johnson (might be = or better than KJ) over him.

Dame is prolly the 4th best pg today behind Curry,Kyrie, and Simmons.

[Real14]

Lillard probably would be worse because they actually played defense in the 90s.

[Nowitness]

Can barely make the playoffs whilst having a top 5 SG in his backcourt to carry the playmaking load.

Even if it were late 90s where they were two elite PGs Lame would be behind GP, Stockton, Tim Hardaway and maybe even 1999 versions of J-Kidd and Starbury.

[Axe]

Lillard, the type of player who's tried to become a big scoring machine in the recent days, yet barely won...

[BigShotBob]

Lillard, the type of player who's tried to become a big scoring machine in the recent days, yet barely won...

This era literally makes it easier for him yet he's a sub-par finisher.

And then when I told these kids about Mark Price well.....they just don't have a clue how good he was. Easily top 10 PGs of the 90's and would be top 6 or 7 today. Maybe even top 5 at his peak.

[999Guy]

Offensively? Sure.

Overall it’s still Stockton.

[FromDowntown]

Imagine writing in a public forum that Tim Hardaway was better than Damian Lillard.

No seriously, IMAGINE that.

https://media1.giphy.com/media/mcH0upG1TeEak/200.gif


:roll:

The things people say :oldlol:

[Gohan]

:oldlol::oldlol::oldlol:

"Only scores more because of the era".

Yeah, it has nothing to do with having an immensely better jumpshot with literally twice the range. Nothing at all. ISH old heads are so f*cking cringey it's sad man.


Sounds like you’re close minded because you’re a harden fan. Don’t feel bad though he would of won a couple of scoring titles in the 90s though

[NBASTATMAN]

He'd be top 4 or 5 behind GP, KJ, Stockton, and Tim Hardaway.

GTFO of here.. GP was a great defender but he couldnt shoot worth a lick, KJ isnt even close to Lillard and neither is Tim Hardaway.. The only pt guards as good as Damon is now would be ISIAHH and Magic.. Stockton was great but he was not much of a scorer.. Damon would shit on those players in the 90'S.. People make a big deal of the 90's yet a CBA player in STARKS was MJ's main competition.. LOL WHAT A JOKE

[jayfan]

Hell no.

[goozeman]

Lillard would be a star in the 90's, but he is not better than the top tier guys from that era. The first guy that comes to mind as a comparison is Kevin Johnson, but I think Johnson is probably more athletic. Lillard is a score-first PG in a post-defense era, so to me it is hard to compare offensive numbers. Defense was way more physical in the 90's, and physical defense hurts little guys the most. No doubt Lillard is a serious threat as a scorer and right there with all those guys though. But Lillard is clearly not a better defender or passer than guys like Payton, Stockton, Johnson, etc. Better than Isiah Thomas? Don't think so. Magic only played near his peak briefly during the 90's, but you should have a look at some of the advanced numbers he put up during that time -- they are off the charts. Magic was way better than Lillard or any other PG for that matter. So, no, Lillard would not be the best PG of the 90's. He'd be in discussion as one of the top guys of that era.