Was the NBA truly better back then or are we all just nostalgic?

[Westbrook0]

Any time I see old clips, I tend to think, "Man, the NBA was so amazing those days, I miss those days."

Do you all feel the same way? At first I think, "Nah, that's just me being nostalgic. There is as much talent in the NBA currently as there has been in a long time."

Then I realize that the NBA back in the 80s and 90s undeniably had a different flare than today's game. There were true rivalries - good guys and bad guys. Teams and players disliked each other. There were storylines. There were fights and rough plays. Today, guys wear hipster clothes and opponents hang out together after the games. There is a true difference in culture.

I used to think I was just being nostalgic for the past, but I really do think there is a difference between how the NBA "felt" back then and how it feels now.

Thoughts?

[bdreason]

The NBA is in a golden age, and this is coming from someone who was raised on 90's ball.

The 90's gets a lot of hype because the NBA really went global with the exposure from the Olympic games and the major influx of sponsor money. The league itself was in a transition period, where the legend of the 80's were fading out and the expansion of the league diluted the overall talent base. Don't get me wrong, there were still a lot of great players (especially Bigs) in the 90's, and the game was played with more intensity and grit... but I would say the league is in a better state today than at any time in the 90's. There's so much basketball talent coming from so many places around the World nowadays. What really impresses me is the recent movement back towards real, team-oriented offense/defense... even if it means softer rules and way too much 3-point chucking.

[ShawkFactory]

You say "we all"...but it's impossible to be nostalgic about something that you weren't alive for. Like...by definition

[FKAri]

There were a lot of star bogs in the 90's but the average talent level of the league is higher than it has ever been.

[Nuff Said]

I miss the trash talking. The game was way more fun with overconfident players who not only wanted to win but wanted to beat everyone in the process, sort of like how great boxers prove themselves. Just look at the dream team documentary and how competitive they were just in practices. The flopping is also really bad nowadays to a point where some games just aren't even watchable.

[Nastradamus]

There are plusses and minuses. The talent depth is much greater, even with expansion. Some of the rosters at the top are as stacked as some of those Laker/Celtics teams even with it being a capped era. That's insane. The real difference is the 4th-10th guys on your average roster. The international guys and the kids coming out 2-3 years earlier, plus the expansion of the game for youths throughout the country has brought a ton of extra talent to the game. Money is really the main draw too.

The things we lack today are the physicality. Its still a very physical game, but you don't see the goonish stuff any more, or fights. Not sure that's a bad thing, but its good theater for casual fans.

We also lack fundamentals. They aren't terrible, and there are a lot of good fundamental players, but due to kids skipping college and playing AAU, fundamentals have definitely taken a hit. Other than shooting and defense, SOMETIMES, its very difficult to improve skills as an NBA player. It requires a ton of work to maintain the skills you have and stay in shape and there are few practices during the year. Throw in the travel and trying to see your family once in a while and adding new skills is very difficult. Perfecting an NBA skill can take 10 years of work

[SamuraiSWISH]

90s was the greatest mix of physicality, athleticism, skill, player intelligence, toughness, size, defense, and offense. More diverse skill sets and looks. HS players, 1 and dones, ISO centric games, lack of refinement and skill, homoginazation of team playing styles, lack of quality big men, AAU cookie cutter players, influx of Euro trend. It heavily diluted the game. 1999 to 2007 wasn't very good. It picked up a lot starting in 2008.

[Kblaze8855]

Depends what you mean by better. The games today are getting back to being as entertaining as they were. Great eras of PG play have something to do with it. But whatever the reason we had a real down time far as the entertainment values. Go watch some of the Nets/Pistons or Pacers/whoever series from the early 2000s....jesus. And the Spurs back then were great...but far from as entertaining as they would become.

If you mean better as in...which teams would win? The games are played so differently its hard to say.


Generally people talking up the past(as in...80s to late 90s) make more sense to me but thats because they saw both that time...and today. So many people hating on the 80s/90s didnt even see it...so naturally their hate is less reasonable. They just have less valid opinions on the subject. If ive seen then and now....and you have only seen now...im not caring what you think about the comparison of then vs now. You think anyone from the 50s gives a shit what I think about Guy Rodgers?


Its hard to separate emotions from such a thing..nostalgia is real but at times the past just did so some thing better. Frosted Flakes really were sweeter when I was a kid. They just were....

[KNOW1EDGE]

The talent nowadays is better than its ever been in human history, problem is all the rule changes and officiating has taken the physicality and the emotion out of the game. You can't touch anyone without a foul call and showing any emotion whatsoever gets you a technical foul.

[GIF REACTION]

The 90's was the steroid era

It was that pocket in history where anabolics and peptides/hormones came into mainstream sports and was widely used, before the public awareness and scrutiny that has since arrived.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

The talent nowadays is better than its ever been in human history, problem is all the rule changes and officiating has taken the physicality and the emotion out of the game. You can't touch anyone without a foul call and showing any emotion whatsoever gets you a technical foul.

Agreed. Overall there's more talent, but the superstars then (mid 80s and early 90s) were better IMO.

LeBron and a healthy Durant along w/ a few others are the exception...but still.

[RidonKs]

if somebody asked this question in 1991, everybody be like NAAA it was actually better
if somebody asked this question in 1997, everybody be like y'all are just bein nostalgic
if somebody asked this question in 2003, everybody be like NAAA it was actually better
if somebody asked this question in 2009, everybody be like NAAA it was actually better
since somebody asked this question in 2015, everybody be like y'all are just bein nostalgic
when somebody asks this question in 2021, everybody be like y'all are just bein nostalgic
when somebody asks this question in 2027, everybody be like NAAA it was actually better

[ArbitraryWater]

Yeah, better has definitions... if we're talking top talent individually, 1990's win... but right now, the stars are sorted in a way that there's as many title contenders as never before.

LeBron/KD/Davis = all time top tier players IMO
then CP3/Dwight (00s+10s)/Curry/Russ/BG/Harden, all top 30-40 caliber

entertainment? so many definitions
level of ball? like Swish said, down from 99-07, picked up in 08...

competition? Best its ever been... (best conference/era ever perhaps), recovered from the thin level at the top from 2008-2010.

I mean, the parity was great in the 70's, but that was an all around weak era.

[DonDadda59]

The 90's was the steroid era

It was that pocket in history where anabolics and peptides/hormones came into mainstream sports and was widely used, before the public awareness and scrutiny that has since arrived.

Funny that the NBA never had a big steroid controversy like the NFL or obviously the MLB did. There's been a few guys popped here and there for HGH or even anabolic roids, but nothing widespread. There's no question that during the late 80s-early 00s, players started putting much more of an emphasis on building muscle as the game became more and more physical. You can see the difference in players physiques on tape/pictures. I have no doubt some or a lot of that was aided by steroids, HGH, etc.

Prime Suspects right here:







Some of the stars today could use some enhancement drugs. Frail ass nigguhs look like a soft wind could blow them away

[GIF REACTION]

Funny that the NBA never had a big steroid controversy like the NFL or obviously the MLB did. There's been a few guys popped here and there for HGH or even anabolic roids, but nothing widespread. There's no question that during the late 80s-early 00s, players started putting much more of an emphasis on building muscle as the game became more and more physical. You can see the difference in players physiques on tape/pictures. I have no doubt some or a lot of that was aided by steroids, HGH, etc.

Prime Suspects right here:







Some of the stars today could use some enhancement drugs. Frail ass nigguhs look like a soft wind could blow them away

definitely true

Players today are visibly smaller in muscle