How good was Michael Jordan's era?

[vapor&dust]

First of all when comparing eras you also have to compare how the game was played.
For the sake of argument let's say they didn't play good defense in the 80s. That's laughable but let's imagine they didn't. You know how they made up for it? By fucking close lining your ass if you drove to the hoop. Basketball in the 80s almost resembled MMA grappling.

Before there was bounty gate in the NFL fucking Chuck Daly practically put out a hit on Jordan. Jordan's Bulls lost to the Pistons I think 6 straight years before breaking through to go on their run of championships. LeBum would have demanded a trade to an easier conference after 3 years and would have committed suicide after 6 if he had to face that.

Dennis Rodman defended Shaq as well as anyone ever did. If he can defend Shaq he sure as fuck can defend anyone today. You know who was on the Detroit Pistons Bad Boy teams? Rodman.

If soft Steph Curry can be a superstar in today's league Jordan absolutely would. You got guys like 6'8" 230-250 lb LeBum playing like he's 5'8". Lane wide open. Would definitely get a foul called if anyone looked at him as he drove. What does he do? Pass it to some guy on the perimeter to shoot a 3. It's a fucking joke. When he's not doing that he's flopping and dropping like a fucking sniper shot him and the refs play along and call a foul even though they know what the fuck's going on.

 

[reflector]

I think that Jordan dominated in a very tough era of basketball. I would say that both Bird and Magic are top ten all time NBA players, and Jordan was better than both of them.

 

[Prex32]

only those who watched back then can judge and compare
there definitely isn't anybody like him. one that reminded of him was kobe.
players today can have good statistics, but they aren't dominators and not as mentally strong as him
i also think the defense back then was much harder, todays game is maybe faster because the defense is weaker and passing around is easier
he was also the definition of a team leader

 

[heloder]

I think that Jordan dominated in a very tough era of basketball. I would say that both Bird and Magic are top ten all time NBA players, and Jordan was better than both of them.

Magic, Bird, Malone, Stockton, Barkley, Shaq, Hakeem, Robinson, Kobe, Duncan, Iverson, Dirk, Garnett, Ewing, Wilkins, Kidd, Clyde, Pippen, Rodman, Payton, Reggie, Kemp, Vince, Dikembe, McHale, Worthy, Isiah, Dumars, Lambeer, and the rest of the Bad Boys.

Jordan played in the best era of basketball.

 

[Bamboozled]

only those who watched back then can judge and compare
there definitely isn't anybody like him. one that reminded of him was kobe.
players today can have good statistics, but they aren't dominators and not as mentally strong as him
i also think the defense back then was much harder, todays game is maybe faster because the defense is weaker and passing around is easier
he was also the definition of a team leader

Defense is objectively better but the way teams spread the floor makes scoring much easier. The game has changed.

Kobe was the definition of lead by example. The amount of times that dude left it all out there being down by 15+ at the end of the game because he refused to quit was insane. Phil Jackson had to keep Kobe off the court because he wouldn't quit. No other player I've ever seen was like that.

 

[CodCommando]

Yes
He played in a weak expansion era, where team defense was against the rules.

He played in a low paced era in the 90s which makes his numbers impressive

He played in a high pace era in the 80s which made him less of an offensive threat than James har_en, but he was a great defender

Things change, and the NBA has changed. Because of him. We now have more talent than ever. Because of him

If Jordan was dumped into todays game, he would be Demar DeRozan.

If Jordan grew up and trained like today's athletes, he would be Demar DeRozan..

People don't seem to grasp the fact that the GOAT playing in an era when basketball was niche, the talent level was low, would have trouble with 100x the level of people playing worldwide.

You can rule an era of a niche sport, doesn't make you LeBron in an era, of a worldwide sport

Since when the fuck was Basketball a niche sport. I live in the fucking UK and when Space Jam came out, it took over the fucking world.

 

[Prex32]

Defense is objectively better but the way teams spread the floor makes scoring much easier. The game has changed.

Kobe was the definition of lead by example. The amount of times that dude left it all out there being down by 15+ at the end of the game because he refused to quit was insane. Phil Jackson had to keep Kobe off the court because he wouldn't quit. No other player I've ever seen was like that.

yeah, but defense one on one? i remember hand checks, pushes, body checks, intimidation, much more was allowed...some playoffs were just insane

 

[Bamboozled]

yeah, but defense one on one? i remember hand checks, pushes, body checks, intimidation, much more was allowed...some playoffs were just insane

None of that shit was as hard as they make you believe it was. There are countless breakdowns from people on youtube showing how overrated that stuff was. It happens today, but the league is a spread offense with guys throwing up 3s. Inside is just as physical but the volume of shooting 3s means less contact inside. Very few guys dominate the paint anymore because it's not necessary. Those legendary defenses would be shot out of the fucking building because they still allowed 105+ points when the game was more inside. They'd allow 150+ in todays.

Also team defense is allowed now. It wasn't then. The Jordan rules created an ISO game.

 

[Bamboozled]

Like always this thread is full of delusional people who think everything is better now. I’m a Mavs fan and watch Luka get to the basket anytime he wants night after night, yet Jordan wouldn’t be able to handle the superior athletes that play now lol?

Every possession is the same - one guy is camping out in the corner to draw a defender there, there’s usually someone else in the other corner or maybe 5-10 feet from it to draw out another defender. There’s nothing but open space, MJ would’ve scored 40+ a night on like 60% shooting - he scored basically all of his points inside of 18 feet when all 5 defenders were within 15-16 feet of the basket, he’d be even better now haha

I also don’t think he had to put the effort into being his best back then either, there’s no doubt the league is deeper today with the influx of foreign born talent, but there are tons of stories about MJ staying out all night at the casino or playing golf/drinking all day before big games and still dominating

I just read one from Jeremy Roenick - they played 18 holes and he took a couple thousand off of him, Jordan talked him into 18 more to try and win his money back, they drank the whole way around and Roenick won another couple thousand. He said MJ was pretty drunk at this point and bet him double or nothing that he’d score at least 30 and they’d win by 20, he thought it was a shoe in based on what they’d been doing all day but Jordan scored like 45 and the game was basically over at halftime

Luka > Jordan at literally every facet of the game and if you can't see it you're high or mentally disabled.

Everything is better, the game is worse, but the skillsets and talent pool is much broader than it's ever been.

 

[Bamboozled]

How old are you? When was help defense against the rules? When was team defense against the rules?

2001 — Illegal defense eliminated and zone defense allowed. Defensive 3-second rule prohibits defensive player from being in lane without guarding offensive player

Literally this

now shut the fuck up

I enjoy hearing older people talk about things I don't have an emotional attachment to. I don't want to hear about it like its hockey where the grit the grime of the 1950s was a pure league.

 

[Prex32]

None of that shit was as hard as they make you believe it was. There are countless breakdowns from people on youtube showing how overrated that stuff was. It happens today, but the league is a spread offense with guys throwing up 3s. Inside is just as physical but the volume of shooting 3s means less contact inside. Very few guys dominate the paint anymore because it's not necessary. Those legendary defenses would be shot out of the fucking building because they still allowed 105+ points when the game was more inside. They'd allow 150+ in todays.

Also team defense is allowed now. It wasn't then. The Jordan rules created an ISO game.

lol at todays defense. ejected for looking wrong at somebody...

 

[Bamboozled]

lol at todays defense. ejected for looking wrong at somebody...

You're resorting to hyperbole. Concession noted.

 

[vapor&dust]

There's an argument that there was no team or zone defense back then. Technically it wasn't allowed but as with a lot of things it wasn't so black and white and what refs allowed varied especially during playoffs. So this idea that Jordan was playing 1-1 and that's the reason for all the points he scored is a myth, especially in the 80s.

Also you could argue, as Charles Barkley did, that zone defenses just protect weak defenders.

 

[paratiddies]

Luka > Jordan at literally every facet of the game and if you can't see it you're high or mentally disabled.

Everything is better, the game is worse, but the skillsets and talent pool is much broader than it's ever been.

I’ve been a Mavs fan since the late 80’s, Dirk is my favorite athlete of all time and if Luka spends 10+ years here he’ll probably pass Dirk for me - aside from passing/creating for others he is in no way better than Jordan and other than 3 pt shooting has absolutely no chance to be better at anything else. Just stop, some of y’all get dumber with every post

 

[robertcop2]

Yes
He played in a weak expansion era, where team defense was against the rules.

He played in a low paced era in the 90s which makes his numbers impressive

He played in a high pace era in the 80s which made him less of an offensive threat than James har_en, but he was a great defender

Things change, and the NBA has changed. Because of him. We now have more talent than ever. Because of him

If Jordan was dumped into todays game, he would be Demar DeRozan.

If Jordan grew up and trained like today's athletes, he would be Demar DeRozan..

People don't seem to grasp the fact that the GOAT playing in an era when basketball was niche, the talent level was low, would have trouble with 100x the level of people playing worldwide.

You can rule an era of a niche sport, doesn't make you LeBron in an era, of a worldwide sport

I love when dumbfuck millenials talk out of their assess... It's hilarious.

So MJs era had a low talent level? Compared to what? And how do you make that comparison? Enlighten us. Shows us how you are right and every single NBA analyst and player that consider MJ the GOAT are wrong.

It was the Dream Team led by Jordan, and the Chicago Bulls in the NBA, that made basketball a global game. They were light-years ahead of everyone. He is the reason you have Luka Doncic and Giannis nowadays. Also the reason for Kobe, Lebron, and everyone of their contemporaries having engaged in the game.

MJ dominated basketball so much and prevented so many amazing players from shinning and becoming champions and MVPs that stupid dumbfucks think that era was weak. MJ took over in a center dominated era, took over from Magic and Bird, and is literally the reason basketball evolved from a game made for giant men to a skills-tailored game.

BTW, this current era you praise so much is fucking unbearable. Blatant traveling, zero defense and 70 3 pointers per game. It's a dumbfuck game made for a dumbfuck audience. It’s not even basketball anymore. No wonder the ratings are so bad, it's unwatchable.

 

[robertcop2]

Weak era, some great individual players but shitty defenses and shitty teams with mediocre coaching.

If you think George Mikan would be good in the 90s is basically the equivalent of Jordan being good today.



But Jordan apparently was so competitive every thing was serious.

Jordan fuckbois have zero logic.

Here comes the tormented bullied roller-skating dumbass Brontard from the 90s... Your life would have been so much easier had you enjoyed the greatness of MJ.

 

[robertcop2]

Yeah, players must have been better 30 years ago. I mean, fuck, everything we know about advancement.. everything must have been better during my time

If you weren't a dumb millenial, you'd think of many things that have gotten worse over the years.

And your last phrase, oh the irony in that is amazing, lmao.

 

[SiKnSiN]

The talent depth is far greater now, but his era isn't as disconnected to today's era as some in this thread like to pretend.

 

[robertcop2]

None of that shit was as hard as they make you believe it was. There are countless breakdowns from people on youtube showing how overrated that stuff was. It happens today, but the league is a spread offense with guys throwing up 3s. Inside is just as physical but the volume of shooting 3s means less contact inside. Very few guys dominate the paint anymore because it's not necessary. Those legendary defenses would be shot out of the fucking building because they still allowed 105+ points when the game was more inside. They'd allow 150+ in todays.

Also team defense is allowed now. It wasn't then. The Jordan rules created an ISO game.

Dozens of dumbfuck youtubers that, like you, want to contradict what professional analysts and former and current players say about MJ being the GOAT. Brontards are the experts... LMAO.

So hilariously arrogant and stupid.

 

[Fizzee Water]

The thing about guys like Jordan and Kobe is that they were unmatched competitors and A+++ athletes.

They were special people. People like that will succeed and dominate whatever position they are in. If Jordan was born twenty years later he would have risen to the talent of the league and dominated regardless.