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My thread on GOATs:
- Most people will claim the era in which their childhood was the best era of basketball because of fond-memory bias.
- Everything is relative. As time goes on, there will always be more and more resources and research; therefore the overall athlete
- Most people will claim the era in which their childhood was the best era of basketball because of fond-memory bias.
- Everything is relative. As time goes on, there will always be more and more resources and research; therefore the overall athlete
will always get better & better. Your average NBA player is more athletic today than he was in the 90s. And your average NBA player in 2040 will be more athletic than today’s athlete. The discussion should be relative to the athlete of his time, not present day.
- Social media
- Social media
also has to be taken into account. Twitter wasn’t a thing in the 90s. Technology in general was in its developing stages. Technology = Exposure. Today’s fan has likely watched thousands of hours of LBJ/Kobe throughout his life and probably no more than a dozen hours of MJ.
- The overall game of basketball has adapted. The 3-point line became a rule in College/NBA in 1980. MJ’s UNC career started in 1981. He had one year to adapt. Kobe, Steph, LeBron had their entire life. MJ didn’t grow up shooting 3’s in the driveway like a 21st century kid does.
As time passes, guys naturally became better & better 3-point shooters up until today where we’re likely at the peak. That needs to be taken into account. When Jordan scored 34 ppg in his entire playoff career (only one to ever be in the 30s) he did it off 2-pt FGs predominantly.
- The game is called differently. You stick a 2020 player into the 90s, and he struggles to get to the line at the rate he does today. You stick a 90s player into the 2020 NBA, he struggles to defend. It’s apples and oranges.
- League & Team Management was different. As we all
- League & Team Management was different. As we all
saw in Episodes 1 & 2 last night, the owners were in control—not the players. Today, LeBron, Steph, KD, these guys drive the league, salaries, etc. That effects the game. It effects when guys enter the league. It effects rosters and it limits frustrations.
- MJ began his career
- MJ began his career
at age 21. LeBron and Kobe had a 3-year head start at obtaining legit stats. On the other hand, it’s impressive that Kobe and LBJ did it as an 18-year old. But who’s to say MJ wouldn’t have done it even better if the NBA operated like today’s taking guys out of HS/1-and-done?
In conclusion, Kobe, LeBron and MJ are all 
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🐐" title="Goat" aria-label="Emoji: Goat">s. Arguing one over the other is a dog chasing his tail.
Now if you had a gun to my head and told me I had to pick one, I’d say MJ dominated his era better than anyone else.
And if I had to pick one player for one game to win: Kobe
Now if you had a gun to my head and told me I had to pick one, I’d say MJ dominated his era better than anyone else.
And if I had to pick one player for one game to win: Kobe
