38 year old Michael Jordan pre-injury (46 games) in the 2001/02 season
(points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks)
25.1 - 6.2 - 5.3 - 1.5 - 0.5 on 42%
30 year old LeBron James in the 2014/15 season
(points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks)
25.3 - 6.0 - 7.4 - 1.6 - 0.7 on 49%
Besides FG% and apg, old Jordan before injury and LeBron at age 30 numbers were nearly identical, and Jordan did not play under the 04/05 rule changes like LeBron. How is that possible if the new era and defense is so much tougher?
Jordan's numbers were also improving as the season went on.
In his last 20 games up to the injury he averaged 27.5 - 6.4 - 5.2 - 1.3 - 0.5 on 44% In his last 10 games up to the injury he averaged 29.7 - 6.6 - 6.1 - 1.2 - 0.3 on 47%
It's also worth nothing that 17 of Jordan's 46 games (37% of them) came against top 10 defenses in points allowed. Despite a large proportion of those 46 games coming against top 10 defenses, he still put up those big numbers while not being healthy in the first place.
To see more details about Jordan's Wizard years, check Section 20.
There is a big misconception amongst Lebron/Kobe, or other fanboys of 2000s players, who say that the post-Jordan era of the 2000s is so advanced, and the players are so much better and harder to score against. They say that Jordan's era is weak, and almost none of the players from that era would do well in the post-Jordan era. They say that today's players are "too big, too strong, too fast, more advanced, and more skilled" so the 80s/90s players would be left behind.
If this is true, then players from the weak and soft Jordan era should have found it much harder to score under the new rules of the "tough," "advanced," and "athletically superior" post-Jordan era. Let's see what actually happened.
98-99 season
- The last season before removal of hand checking in its entirety.
99-00 season (first major steps toward handchecking removal)
To show the impact of this rules, let's look at the 2004 Pistons and Spurs
Now let's see how individual players stats were affected by these rule changes. Lebron/Kobe/2000s etc fanboys claim that Jordan played an era of bums and weak competition, so if the players of Jordan's era are so weak, they should have a decrease in production going up against the "advanced" era that came after Jordan - or so Lebron/Kobe/2000s fanboys claim
1) Gary Payton
In his prime, 1995-1999
6th season - 19.3 ppg + 7.5 apg (Age 27) - won DPOY, led 1996 Sonics to the Finals where they won 2 games against the 72-10 Bulls.
7th season - 21.8 ppg + 7.1 apg (Age 28)
8th season - 19.2 ppg + 8.3 apg (Age 29)
9th season - 21.7 ppg + 8.7 apg (Age 30)
a past prime Payton for 4 years post 98-99 rule changes had
10th season - 24.2 ppg + 8.9 apg (age 31) - 99-00 season - first season without handchecking)
11th season - 23.1 ppg + 8.1 apg (Age 32)
12th season - 22.1 ppg + 9.0 apg (Age 33)
13th season - 20.4 ppg + 8.3 apg (Age 34)
Payton's FG% increased every year from his 9th season to his 12th season, with only a 1.3% decrease in his 13th season.
NBA players' primes end at about age 30, yet Payton even at age 31-34 overall put up better scoring AND assist numbers than he did from age 27 to age 30. How is that possible if the post-Jordan era is supposed to be more advanced? If the Jordan era is weak, then Payton should have been scoring and assisting even more when he playing in that soft and weak league, but he actually had more success against the "advanced" era of "bigger, stronger, faster, and more athletic players" of the 2000s.
Payton had FOUR straight seasons of averaging 20+ pts a game after the post-Jordan rule change in 99-00, but he NEVER had back to back seasons of 20+ during the so-called "weak" 90s. Payton's scoring from age 31-33 (after the post-Jordan rule changes) was higher than his three best scoring totals that he put up at age 26, 28, and 30 (during Jordan's era of defense).
No one can even try and attempt to say that a 34 year old Payton losing in the first round with the Bucks can be better than 1996 Payton, who won Def Player Of the Year and led Seattle to the Finals and 2 wins over the 72-10 Chicago Bulls, while simultaneously doing the best defensive performance on Jordan in an NBA Finals series.
Gary Payton isn't even an athletic specimen. He was only 6-3, 180 lbs, but his production actually increased against the "athletic, advanced, more skilled" players of the post-Jordan era compared to his numbers in Jordan's "weak/soft' era. Now, Lebron/Kobe/2000s fanboys are going to say "oh this is only one example." So let's look at some more.
2) Allen Iverson
In 98-99, WON the scoring title with only 26.8 ppg
Iverson the next year in 99-00 (after rule changes) had 28.4 ppg, but did NOT win the scoring title. That's the definition of inflated numbers and weak defense.
Here is another interesting note. Iverson's assists decreased every year from his rookie season to his third season.
1st season - 23.5 ppg + 7.5 apg
2nd season - 22.0 ppg + 6.2 apg
3rd season - 26.8 ppg + 4.6 apg (98-99)
then came the rule changes. You might expect that with more scoring, Iverson's assists would decrease. Let's see if that trend stays the same as we enter the "advanced and athletically superior" 2000s era
4th season - 28.4 ppg + 4.7 apg (99-00)
5th season - 31.1 ppg + 4.6 apg
so for now, Iverson's assists are the same as they were in the last season of 90s rules, but his scoring keeps increasing. Why is that the case if the new defenses and players are tougher and better?
6th season - 31.4 ppg + 5.5 apg.
7th season - 27.3 ppg + 5.5 apg - this is still higher than his ppg + apg in his last year in the 90s
8th season - 30.7 ppg + 7.9 apg
9th season - 33.0 ppg + 7.4 apg
So under the the new defenses in 2000s that are supposed to be so much tougher and advanced, Iverson's assists increase every year after decreasing every year in the 90s, even WITH his scoring increasing on top of that.
3) Shaq
We will not examine apg in detail for players like Shaq, since passing is not a big part of their game. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that Shaq's apg from 99/00 to 02/03 (8th to 11th season) was between 3.0 and 3.8 apg. His previous high was 3.1 apg in 96/97 (his 5th season)
2nd season - 29.3 ppg
3rd season - 29.3 ppg
now his numbers start decreasing
4th season - 26.6 ppg
5th season - 26.2 ppg
6th season - 28.3 ppg
7th season - 26.3 ppg (98-99 - last season of handchecking)
From his 2nd and 3rd season to his 7th season, Shaq's ppg decreased by a whole 3 pts. His production decreased almost every single year heading into the post-Jordan era
After removal of 98-99 handcheck rules
8th season - 29.7 ppg (1999-00) (career high ppg + apg)
Shaq's numbers would decrease after this, but that coincided with Kobe continuing to be a bigger scoring option. And even then, these scoring numbers were all higher than the numbers he put up in his 4th 5th and 7th seasons under the 90s rules.
9th season - 28.7 ppg
10th season - 27.2 ppg
11th season - 27.5 ppg
Immediately after the post-Jordan rule changes, Shaq surpassed the BEST scoring total that he put up FIVE years earlier even after his numbers decreased all but one year since then. DEFINITION of inflated. How did Shaq magically and immediately have his best scoring season after such a sharp decline in his scoring every single year at the end of the Jordan era?
Here's some more interesting numbers. Shaq went
4) Chris Webber
In his first 6 seasons, never reached 22 ppg for a full season.
2nd season - 20.1 ppg
3rd season - 23.7 ppg (but he only played 15 games due to injury)
4th season - 20.1 ppg
5th season - 21.9 ppg
6th season - 20.0 ppg (98-99 season)
Then after the post-Jordan rule changes...
7th season - 24.5 ppg after the removal of handchecking (1999-00).
8th season - 27 ppg
9th season - 24.5 ppg
10th season - 23 ppg
Webber averaged 23+ for four straight seasons in the "advanced/more skilled" post-Jordan era of defense, after NEVER averaging 22 pts for a full season in 6 years against the "weak" Jordan era defenses.
It is also interesting to note that Webber's highest apg season was in 02/03. Between 99/00 to 04/05, his 7th and 12th season, he averaged 4.7 apg combined over those seasons. He had never averaged 4.7 apg since his 2nd (4.7 apg) and 3rd (5.0 apg) seasons, but remember that his 3rd season ended after only 15 games.
5) Grant Hill
Never reached 21.5 ppg in his first 5 seasons
3rd season - 21.4 ppg
4th season - 21.1 ppg
5th season - 21.1 ppg (98-99 season)
Suddenly, after the removal of hand checking in 99-00
6th season - he magically averaged 25.8 pts, and his apg only decreased by 0.5 from the year before. He scored almost 5 ppg less in the "weak, unathletic" era of Jordan compared to the "advanced" 2000s era. Unfortunately, Grant Hill had serious injuries plaguing him for the rest of his career after this season
6) Penny Hardaway
Due to injuries, his scoring output decreased every year from his 3rd season (95-96) to his 6th season (98-99)
3rd season - 21.7 ppg + 7.1 apg
4th season - 20.5 ppg + 5.6 apg (played only 59 games)
5th season - 16.4 ppg + 3.6 apg (played only 19 games)
6th season - 15.8 ppg + 5.3 apg (first full season since his 3rd year)
7th season - In the 99-00 season after handchecking was removed, his scoring output magically increased from
15.8 ppg on 42% shooting to 16.9 ppg on 47%, and he even maintained his assist output of 5.3 apg from his 6th season. This is even after his performance was steadily decreasing every year due to injuries.
The soft defensive rules in the post-MJ era were so weak that even an injury-crippled shell of Penny Hardaway did better under the new rules. There's no way around it. The new "advanced" era of the 2000s not only offset Penny's consistent and rapid scoring decline each season, but they actually increased his scoring on top of that, and they were unable to decrease his apg output from the year before. His scoring only started declining in the 2000s again, because he only played 4 games in his 8th season due to injury.
7) Jamal Mashburn
He was plagued with injuries, so let's see how he did in the "weak" Jordan era and if he struggled against the "advanced" post-Jordan
2nd season - 24.1 ppg + 3.7 apg
3rd season - 23.4 ppg + 2.8 apg (18 games due to injury)
after injuries, his production fell horribly
4th season - 13.4 ppg + 3.5 apg (as a full time starter with the Heat in 32 games)
5th season - 15.1 ppg + 3.0 apg (48 games)
6th season - 14.8 ppg + 3.1 apg (23 games, 98-99)
now in the era of "advanced/more skilled" players, his numbers magically started increasing again after the rule changes, despite horrible regression in scoring due to injuries.
7th season - 17.5 ppg + 3.9 apg (76 games, 99-00 season )
8th season - 20.1 ppg + 5.4 apg (76 games,)
9th season - 21.5 ppg + 4.3 apg (45 games)
10th season - 21.6 ppg + 5.6 apg (82 games)
Even after his numbers steadily decreased every year since his 2nd season due to injury, they magically had a resurgence that not only offset his scoring decrease, but turned around and increased his scoring in the "advanced" post-Jordan era under the new rules.
His scoring might not have reached the scoring average he had in his 2nd and 3rd year, but for him to once again be averaging 20+ pts a game after his numbers steadily decreased every year due, and after multiple injuries, shows how weak the post-Jordan era actually was. And on top of that, his assists took a big jump, even AFTER his injury. Just like with Penny, the rule changes of the "advanced 2000s era" not only offset his consistent decline in production, but they started to increase it.
8) Allan Houston
3rd season - 19.7 ppg - he would never reach this mark for the rest of the 90s
4th season - 14.8 ppg
5th season - 18.4 ppg
6th season - 16.3 ppg (98-99)
now with the 99-00 season rule changes, he magically increased his scoring
7th season - 19.7 ppg (99-00)
8th season - 18.7 ppg
9th season - 20.4 ppg
10th season - 22.5 ppg
11th season - 18.5 ppg (03-04)
There was no difference between Houston's combined apg output from his 3rd to 6th season (2.6 apg) compared to his 7th to 11th season (2.5 apg).
Houston never reached 18.5 pts a game since his 3rd season. Somehow, 4 years later after the rule changes he immediately jumped from 16.3 ppg in his last season before the rule changes to between 18.5 and 22.5 a game for 5 straight seasons. I thought the newer post-Jordan era players were so "advanced and highly skilled," so why is Houston doing so much better against the post-Jordan competition?
9) Sam Cassell
5th season - 19.6 ppg + 8.0 apg at age 28 (his career high in both up to that point)
6th season - only played 8 games of the 98-99 season due to injury, so his numbers should be expected to decrease after that
after rule changes in the post-Jordan era
7th season - 18.6 ppg + 9.0 apg (99-00 season)
8th season - 18.2 ppg + 7.6 apg
9th season - 19.7 ppg + 6.7 apg (age 32)
10th season - 19.8 ppg + 5.8 apg (age 33)
11th season - 19.8 ppg + 7.3 apg (age 34) (03-04 season)
So even after injuries, and even past his prime from age 32-34 in 3 straight seasons, Cassell put up practically the same scoring output that was his previous career high 4 years earlier, in his prime at age 28. His apg at age 34 was only 0.7 apg less than when he was in his prime at age 28, even after he was playing in the "advanced" 2000s era on top of recovering from injury.
Also, his apg in his first season after injury (9.0) was higher than his previous high of 8.0 apg under the "weak and inferior" defense of Jordan's day..
It's highly suspicious that a 32-34 year old Cassell after injuries was scoring just as much as a 28 year old injury-free Cassell, and his apg was initially higher. He might not have surpassed his original output by much, but why is the "advanced" era of the 2000s allowing him at age 34, post-injury, and past his prime to put up the same exact production he did in the "weak" Jordan era when he was in his prime?
If 2000s defense and players are so much better, they should have never allowed a 34 year old post-injury Cassell to play just as well agains them as he did against the "weak and soft" defenses of the 90s. Like Penny and Mashburn, the 2000s defenses and players were of such low quality that they offset and decrease in production due to injury, and in some cases increased it - as seen by Cassell's initial apg increase.
10) Nick Van Exel
5th season - 13.8 ppg + 6.9 apg
6th season (98-99) - 16.5 ppg + 7.4 apg
after rule changes entering the post-Jordan era
7th season - 16.1 ppg + 9.0 apg - his scoring decrease was negligible, and his assists more than made up for that
8th season - 17.7 ppg + 8.5 apg
9th season - 21.1 ppg + 8.1 apg as a starter in 44 games for the Nuggets before being traded and coming off the bench for Dallas (01-02 season)
So his apg was much higher under the 2000s rules, and after one year of only a 0.4 ppg scoring decrease, his scoring started to increase again.
11) Ray Allen
2nd season - 19.5 ppg + 4.3 apg
3rd season - 17.1 ppg + 3.6 apg (but he played 6 less mpg than his previous season, so his stats should be expected to decrease)
immediately after rule changes in 99-00
Allen played less minutes per game in these following seasons than he did in his 2nd season (19.5 ppg 4.3 apg), so he should be scoring less, right? After all, he's playing less minutes, and he's playing in the "athletically superior and advanced" 2000s era
4th season - 22.1 ppg + 3.8 apg (99-00)
5th season - 22.0 ppg + 4.6 apg
6th season - 21.8 ppg + 3.9 apg
7th season - 22.5 ppg + 4.4 apg (02-03)
after being traded to Seattle in his 7th season and playing more minutes, he averaged
24.5 ppg + 5.6 apg with the Sonics
Ray Allen was still not in his prime after his 4th season, so you would expect his numbers to increase. However, he still had a very large and sudden increase in production. If the new defenses are so much better, they shouldn't have let him score so much. The fact that they did shows that the post-Jordan era wasn't so hard to score in.
12) Eddie Jones
3rd season - 17.2 ppg
4th season - 16.9 ppg
5th season - 15.6 ppg - there was almost no difference in his mpg during these seasons
then came the rule changes
6th season - 20.1 ppg (99-00)
7th season - 17.4 ppg
8th season - 18.3 ppg
9th season - 18.5 ppg
10th season - 17.3 ppg (03-04)
He averaged 3.3 apg combined from his 3rd to his 5th season, and 3.4 apg from his 6th to his 10th season after the rule changes, so that wasn't much of a difference, but his scoring still increased. After he couldn't get more than 17.2 pts in his first 5 seasons once, he magically averaged 17.3 to 20.1 pts for his next 5 seasons after the post-Jordan rule changes.
13) Glenn Robinson
His 4th season (97/98) was the best of his career offensively, but he only played 56 games due to injury
4th season - 23.4 ppg + 2.8 apg (56 games)
5th season - 18.4 ppg + 2.1 apg (47 games) his minutes decreased by 7 mpg and on top of his injury, his stats should have decreased
Even after injury, he started playing well again against the "advanced" 2000s defenses and players
6th season - 20.9 ppg + 2.3 apg (99-00 season with rule changes)
7th season - 22.0 ppg + 3.3 apg
8th season - 20.7 ppg + 2.5 apg
9th season - 20.8 ppg + 3.0 apg
Despite being injured, in his 7th season he came very close to the best production he had in the 90s during his 4th season, and his assists in his 7th and 9th season were higher than in his 4th, despite playing against the "advanced" 2000s defenses. If modern defense was so much tougher, they should have been able to do a better job of containing a post-injury version of a player that competed in the "weak" 90s era.
14) John Stockton
By the time the rule changes came around, Stockton was a senior citizen.
15th season - 11.1 ppg + 7.5 apg (Age 36 - 98-99 season)
then rule changes were introduced
16th season - 12.1 ppg + 8.6 apg (Age 37)
17th season - 11.5 ppg + 8.7 apg (Age 38)
18th season - 13.4 ppg + 8.2 apg (Age 39)
19th season - 10.8 ppg + 7.7 apg (Age 40)
Stockton's FG% increased every season from his 15th season to his 18th season.
It was not until his 4th season after the rule changes at age 40 that Stockton regressed to the same production as his last season under the rule changes at age 36, and his apg was higher in every season post-rule changes than in 98/99 before the rule changes took place.
Now people are going to say, "Well, thats not much of a difference over those first 3 years." First of all, if the 2000s players and defenses are "more advanced and complex," then Stockton should be nowhere near the old production that he put up at age 36, let alone increasing it. The new 2000s era was so weak that they not only offset the decline in production of a senior citizen Stockton, but it actually enhanced it.
Secondly, this is a 37-40 year old Stockton. Are you telling me that the "advanced, athletically superior era" of the 2000s is so great that they do worse against a 37-40 year old Stockton compared to a 36 year old Stockton? It is highly suspicious that a 40 year old man is putting up the same production that he was 4 years earlier against the supposedly "weak and soft" 90s defenses.
15) Karl Malone
14th season - 23.8 ppg + 4.1 apg (98-99 MVP season, Age 35)
then rule changes happened
15th season - 25.5 ppg + 3.7 apg (Age 36)
even at age 36, in a season that he didn't win MVP, his scoring and efficiency were higher than he was at age 35 and won the MVP
16th season - 23.2 ppg + 4.5 apg (Age 37) - That's only 0.6 pts less than his 98/99 MVP season before the rule changes. On top of that, his apg in this season were higher than the apg he put up the in his MVP season during 98/99, in the "weak" era of 90s defense.
Even at age 37 and far past his prime, he hardly experienced a decrease in his production going against the "advanced and athletically superior" defenders of the 2000s. The 2000s "advanced, athletically superior" era is so weak that a 37 year old past prime Karl Malone has practically the same scoring and efficiency that he did 2 years earlier in his MVP season, and with even more apg.
Oh and by the way, Tim Duncan had a 1-4 playoff record against Karl Malone only one year before Duncan won the Finals MVP in 1999. I guess Duncan's first ring isn't worth much according to Lebron/Kobe/2000s fanboys because he already lost to the "weak" Jordan era competition of Malone just one year before his first ring. How can Duncan be the product of a more advanced era when his first championship was only one year after Jordan's last, especially when the Knicks team he beat was a shell of the Knicks teams that Jordan faced?
16) Derrick Coleman
Derrick Coleman's numbers were decreasing every year from 96/97 to 98/99 because of injury.
7th season - 18.1 ppg + 3.4 apg (96/97)
8th season - 17.6 ppg + 2.5 apg
9th season - 13.1 ppg + 2.1 apg (98/99 - last season of real defense)
then the rule changes stopped the decrease and started to increase his numbers on top of that
10th season - 16.7 ppg + 2.4 apg (99/00)
He got injured again though, and never got back to his old level of play.
17) Antoine Walker
3rd season - 18.7 ppg + 3.1 apg (98/99 - last season of real defense)
Then the rule changes immediately inflated his numbers
4th season - 20.5 ppg + 3.7 apg
5th season - 23.4 ppg + 5.5 apg
6th season - 22.1 ppg + 5.0 apg
18) Jalen Rose
6th season - 18.2 ppg + 4.0 apg (99/00 season - first post-Jordan rule changes)
7th season - 20.5 ppg + 6.0 apg
8th season - 20.4 ppg + 4.3 apg
9th season - 20.4 ppg + 4.3 apg
10th season - 22.1 ppg + 4.8 apg
34, 35, and 36 year old Reggie Miller also exposed the bum defenses of the post-Jordan era in the 2000, 2001 and 2002 playoffs. There's a reason he couldn't make the Finals in the 90s even with a Pacers team with great interior defense with prime and/or healthy Smits, Antonio and Dale Davis, and Derrick McKey, but still made it to the 2000 Finals with no Antonio Davis (replaced by Austin Croshere), Smits in the last year of his career, and with Derrick McKey also at the tail end of his. In the 99/00, 00/01, and 01/02 seasons, a multitude of rule changes were added that would eventually lead to the complete removal of handchecking and defensive contact in 04/05, as well as the defensive 3 seconds rule to open up the lane in 01/02.
Reggie Miller (Age 34) had a real bad game in Game 1 against the Lakers of 7 points on 1/16 shooting in the 2000 Finals, and after that point he dropped 28 ppg on 48% in Games 2-6 vs the Lakers (Number 1 Defensive Rating) and outplayed Kobe offensively in every game that Kobe played aside from Game 1, including Reggie dropping 35 in Game 4. In his 4 full games of play, Kobe averaged 19 ppg on 37% against the weak and washed up 2000 Pacers team in the Finals.
Reggie Miller (Age 35) dropped 31.3 ppg on 46% on the 2001 Sixers team with a top 5 defense, and Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown that coached the 2004 Pistons defense. This Sixers team made the Finals during the 2001 playoffs. The new and weaker defensive rules enabled 35 year old Miller to also drop his career playoff high 41 points on the top 5 defense Sixers in Game 2.
Reggie Miller (Age 36) in the 2002 playoffs dropped 23.6 ppg on 51% against the Nets team (Number 1 Defensive Rating) that made the Finals in 2002, and pushed them to 5 games no less (when a first-round series was best of 5). This Nets team would go on to lock down Paul Pierce to 36% shooting in the ECF, after he averaged 26 ppg on 44% for the 2001/02 season
A 34, 35, 36 year old washed up Reggie Miller lit up 3 playoffs teams in 3 consecutive years, all of whom made the Finals and had at least a top 5 defense, thanks to weakened rule changes. Despite only averaging above 23 ppg once in his entire career, all the way back in 1989/90, he averaged over 23 ppg in three straight playoff series against three top 5 defenses in the post-Jordan era, thanks to the weakened rule changes. Not only that, but he was able to make the Finals for the only time in his career thanks to the watered down bum competition that came after Jordan's era, even though his 2000 Pacers team was far weaker than it was in the 90s.
In fact, Reggie Miller outplayed Allen Iverson in the 1999 and 2000 ECSF, and was almost even in 2001 during Allen Iverson's MVP season, as you can see in the photo. Iverson shot much less efficiently in the first 2 meetings, with much more bricklaying, which is the only reason he scored more.
New defensive rules are a joke, no doubt about it. Modern defense turned MJ into the oldest player to score 40 and 50 points in a game, and Karl Malone into the oldest player to have a triple double. And they didn't even have the benefit of the 2004/05 rule changes which further opened up scoring.
Shaq, Chris Webber and Payton all immediately averaged their career highs in ppg and apg after the rule changes took place, despite playing several years in the Jordan era to develop before hand.
Malone and Stockton also increased their ppg and apg after 98/99 (before post-Jordan rule changes) once the rule changes took place, despite entering their late 30s. Many other players such as Nick Van Exel, Allan Houston, Eddie Jones, Sam Cassell, Jamal Mashburn, Grant Hill, etc. also averaged their career highs in ppg and/or apg once the rule changes took place. It's not a coincidence that all these players, prime or not, increased their numbers in the same exact same time period as the rule changes.
These examples prove beyond doubt that the Jordan era was 1000x harder to score in, since almost every player from the early to mid 90s scored less in the Jordan era compared to the post-Jordan era. It might be hard to accept or believe, but it is undeniable that today's stars like Curry, Harden, Aldridge, Lebron, Carmelo, Wade, Durant, Westbrook, etc. have fake and padded stats when compared to the 80s/90s players. Seeing as a multitude of 90s players, several of them past their prime, increased their ppg apg in the 2000s, it's obvious that 30 ppg or 10 apg in the 2000s is not worth 30 ppg or 10 apg in the 80s/90s.
If the players of Jordan's era were so weak, why did they do better against the "advanced" competition of the post-Jordan era? Also, keep in mind that all of the aforementioned rule changes didn't happen at once. They slowly implemented the rule changes over the course of 5 years from 99/00 to 04/05, so the 80s/90s players we showed didn't even have the full impact and benefit of the overall rule changes to enhance their scoring and assisting like the post-2005 players do, such as Durant, Wade, Lebron, etc.
In the vast majority of all cases, the only players from Jordan's era that experienced scoring decreases in the post 2000s era were players like Pippen, Olajuwon, Kemp, Coleman, Alonzo, etc. who were already a shell of themselves, injured, or both. By the time all of the watered down rules were implemented in 2005, almost every player from Jordan's day was past their prime like Payton, Houston, Tim Hardaway, Eddie Jones, Glenn Robinson, Shaq, retired like Barkley, Malone, Olajuwon, Stockton, or injured beyond recognition like Mashburn, Grant Hill, and Penny.
Even some of the players that experienced scoring increases in the early 2000s were ALREADY past their prime - like Payton, Penny, Mashburn, Malone, Stockton, Cassell, etc - and even that didn't slow them down against the so-called "advanced" defenses of the 2000s. Imagine if they had the benefit of all the 2000s rule changes at once, like Lebron/Kobe/Durant/Wade etc have had since 2005. It may be hard to swallow for their biggest fans, but it's undeniable that the modern players like Lebron/Kobe/Durant/Wade etc. have inflated and padded stats.
Because the last of the 2000s rule changes weren't implemented until after Jordan's era players were complete shells of their former selves, the increases in individual players' scoring that we observed above was only a mere glimpse of how weak the 2000s defenses are, especially the late 2000s. The scoring increases shown above don't even begin to describe how easily prime versions of those players would have scored after ALL 2000s rule changes were implemented. Their numbers would have increased far more than what we already saw in the above examples, especially if they were in their primes.
Now, I know what people are going to say. "Hey, if modern teams are playing weak defense under the new rules, then that means the 80s/90s teams like the Knicks and Pacers will play weak defense, and players like Jordan, Rodman, and Payton won't be able to guard today's stars." That is another misconception. This will also be addressed later on.
So what did we learn? The 90s players had a much easier time scoring in the 2000s era, even when a large chunk of them were already past their prime. On top of that, none of them were around long enough to benefit from last of the anti-defensive rules changes in 04/05. Clearly the quality of players was much higher in the 90s, or else they wouldn't have performed better against the "advanced" 2000s defenses.
Jordan's stats are actaully deflated compared to other stars, because he played with the fewest possessions possible during his 6 championships.
1) Joe Johnson on the anti-handchecking rule - "It benefits me," said Joe Johnson. "It definitely changes the game because it gives every guy that extra step. "If we could hand check now, the game would be totally different." "If they couldn't hand check back in the day, there are some guys that would have been even better than they were. It would have been nuts for some of the big-time scorers and perimeter players from the 1980s and 1990s. Can you imagine what Jordan would have done in a league where you couldn't hand check?"
2) Phil Jackson - "Michael would average 45 with these rules."
- Remember that Phil Jackson has also coached Kobe and Shaq to all of their Finals MVPs, so he has seen both sides.
3) Larry Brown - "You can't even touch a guy now." I always tease Michael, if he played today, he'd average 50."
- Brown coached the 2004 and 2005 Pistons defense that shut down Kobe and Duncan to 38% and 42% shooting in the Finals, respectively.
4) Clyde Drexler on how his numbers would be today - "Oh, tremendously better, from shooting percentage to points per game everything would be up, and our old teams would score a lot more points, and that is saying something because we could score a lot back then. I do think there should be an asterisk next to some of these scoring leaders, because it is much different trying to score with a forearm in your face. It is harder to score with that resistance. You had to turn your back on guys defending you back in the day with all the hand checking that was going on. For guys who penetrate these days, it's hunting season."
5) Scottie Pippen - "The defensive rules, the hand checking, the ability to make contact on a guy in certain areas .... [have] all been taken away from the game. If Kobe could get 81, I think Michael could get 100 in today's game."
- Notice how Pippen contradicted himself. He said Lebron may be the best player ever, but he had also said that Jordan would score 100 in today's league - basically stating that today's (Lebron's) league is far weaker than Jordan's. Pippen wisely retracted his statements on Lebron after the 2011 Finals.
6) Craig Hodges, Lakers assistant for their last 2 championships - "M.J., all day. There's no comparison. M.J. could score 100 points in this era. You can't hand-check now. Imagine that trying to guard M.J. It would be crazy."
7) Rick Barry, 1975 Finals MVP on past players under modern rules - "They'd score a lot more." Tex Winter (assistant coach during the Lakers 3peat) echoed these sentiments - "Players today can get to the basket individually much easier."
8) Joe Dumars, 1989 Finals MVP, first laughed, "It would have been virtually impossible to defend Michael Jordan based on the way the game's being called right now."
- Joe Dumars as President of Basketball Operations for the Pistons was largely responsible for building the dominating Pistons defense of the 2000s that shut down Kobe to 38% in the Finals and made Tim Duncan have his worst FG% in an NBA Finals.
9) Dominique Wilkins - "The power forward position had the license to kick your butt and the game was very physical. I think the physical aspect of the game, some of it has been taken away with the rule changes." "If you're asking me what would I have done [today], well, put it this way, if you couldn't touch me, instead of averaging 25 or 30, I'd probably average 40."
10) Kobe Bryant on 80/90s basketball - "The truth is, it makes the game [where] players have to be more skillful. Nowadays, literally anybody can get out there and get to the basket and you can't touch anybody. Back then, if guys put their hands on you, you had to have the skill to be able to go both ways, change direction, post up, you had to have a mid-range game because you didn't want to go all the way to the basket because you would get knocked ass over tea kettle. So I think playing the game back then required MUCH MORE SKILL."
11) Dennis Rodman on Lebron in 80s/90s - "It's really not a comparison. If LeBron was playing in the late '80s and early '90s, he would be just an average player," (bit of an exaggeration)
Rodman said a 28-year-old Jordan would average at least 40 points a game in today's NBA."I'm just sick and tired of people comparing (James) to Michael Jordan." "It's a whole different era, man." Rodman said Jordan thrived despite playing in a more physical era in the NBA. "LeBron came into the age of the game at a perfect time. Michael came into the game when back then you could hit people, knock him down, shoot a free throw and get back up," Rodman said. "And LeBron can't do that. All they do today is (complain) about a foul. All they do is (complain)."
12) Gary Payton on Lebron in 80s/90s - "You can't guard him now because it seems like you can't put your hands on him. You know what I'm saying?" Payton said during the All-Star break. "With LeBron, if somebody can hand check him and muscle him, it's a lot different when somebody can hand-check you and control you and be stronger than you on the block or whatever and not let you go anywhere. It's a little bit different, as being free and being a freak of nature and his body that he has right now, nobody can guard him, you know what I'm saying? So right now, if he could come back in our era and we could hand check him and guard him and bigger guys get on him and when he gets to the bucket we hit him and knock him like (Bill) Laimbeer, like the Boston Celtic days, it'd be a little bit different. I guarantee you it would be. But he's still great, he's still a great basketball player and like I said he's playing in a great era because he can get to the bucket whenever he feels like it."
- And seeing as a 35 year old washed up past prime Gary Payton at 6-3 180 schooled Rookie of the Year 6-8 240 Lebron on defense, WITHOUT the benefit of the 80s/90s rules, its safe to assume he knows what he's talking about
13) Magic Johnson - “If I played in this era, it would be over,” said Johnson. “See right now, there is no hand check. Back in my day, you could hand check. You could hard foul.“ Could you imagine Michael Jordan with no hand checking? Larry Bird?”
14) Gary Payton again - Payton cited the younger generation, the NBA lockout in 1999, and rule changes as contributing factors to how the point guard position and style of play has changed from his own era. “It’s the way our kids are brought up,” Payton said. “You guys have to understand, basketball has changed."
“They had to build it up after the first strike. Basketball was down a little bit. David Stern did a great job of bringing basketball back because he knew kids wanted to see run-and-gun. They didn’t want to see defense like the Knicks were doing. Slowing the ball down, setting up defenses and stuff like that and running plays. Kids weren’t doing that in the playgrounds. So we sped the game up, and that’s what the kids liked. They liked to see dunking, they like to see running, they liked to see scoring and that’s just the way it went.”
15) Ron Artest, 2004 DPOY, on who is the hardest to guard out of Kobe, Lebron, or Jordan
"Jordan, definitely. Jordan's the toughest because he's strong as Lebron, he shoots just as good as Reggie Miller from the midrange... and he's a killer out there on the court"
Keep in mind Artest only faced a washed up 38-40 year old Jordan.
"I don't know if there's any kings, you know. That's something y'all (the media) labeled him"
19) Dominique Wilkins on Lebron in the 80s/90s - "He's King James in this era, right? In our era he'd just been LeBron"
20) Charles Oakley - "It was a different era, though. Defense was different. I mean, even though (Jordan) got a lot of points, he worked for them... (Today's game) is way softer."
21) Tracy McGrady - "The league is so young and they have no skills. They have athleticism but no skills. Half these guys wouldn't be able to play in the league when I first came into it (1997/98)."
22) Tom Thibodeau, when asked to compare his 2008 Celtics defense to other defenses he helped mold, said this - "Right now, I'd say the (90s) New York teams were much more physical because at that time you were allowed to play much more physical and we had greater size."
23) Hakeem Olajuwon - “When people start comparing (James) with Jordan, then that’s not a fair comparison. Jordan was a far more superior player in a very tough league, he was very creative. That’s not taking away anything from LeBron, because he is a great player, but it is not a fair comparison because Jordan is a far superior player.”
24) Lebron James - "Hopefully the league can figure out one way where it can go back to the '80s where you had three or four All-Stars, three or four superstars, three or four Hall of Famers on the same team," James said. "The league was great. It wasn't as watered down as it is [now]."
Asked if the Pistons will be allowed to play the same kind of physical defense, (Chauncey) Billups said: "No way. They put in all those rules, like the hand check, after we won the championship two years ago playing defense. Nobody wanted to see a defensive team in the Finals and winning. It's not as explosive. It's not as fun to watch. I don't like watching it either. I'm not mad at 'em.
More
SECTION 3 - Jordan's "Weak" Defensive Competition Compared to Lebron/Kobe's "Advanced" Competition
- Proving the vast superiority of individual defenders of Jordan's era compared to the 2000s
- Handchecking had been slowed down to a small degree in the late 90s, but not anywhere close to the massive change that was introduced starting in 99/00.
- "In the backcourt, there is no contact with hands and forearms by defenders. In the frontcourt, there is no contact with hands and forearms by defenders except below the free throw line extended in which case the defender may only use his forearm."
- So by this point, handchecking is for all intents and purposed removed - "There is no contact with hands" and "the defender may only use his forearm." below the FT line extended.
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| Luckily for today's players, they don't have to deal with this. |
00-01 season - new rules that further decreased amount of contact allowed by a defender
- "No contact with either hands or forearms by defenders except in the frontcourt below the free throw line extended in which case the defender may use his forearm only."
- "Neither the offensive player nor the defender will be allowed to dislodge or displace a player who has legally obtained a position"
- Notice how this rule restricts offensive players' options as well. Even then, we will still see that offensively, the players of the 90s still did better under the new rules even with this restriction.
- Others are going to attempt to use this offensive restriction as "proof" that if physical beasts like Lebron were allowed to play physical on offense in the 80s/90s, that they would dominate. That will be disproved later on.
- "Defender may not use his forearm, shoulder, hip or hand to reroute or hold-up an offensive player going from point A to Point B or one who is attempting to come around a legal screen set by another offensive player."
- "Slowing or impeding the progress of the screener by grabbing, clutching, holding “chucking” or “wrapping up” is prohibited."
- "On the weakside, defenders must remain on the weakside outside the paint unless (i) they are double-teaming the ball, (ii) picking up a free cutter or (iii) closely guarding an offensive player."
- A new defensive three-second rule will prohibit a defensive player from remaining in the lane for more than three consecutive seconds without closely guarding an offensive player.
- Some people mistakenly assume that this is the first season that zone was introduced, but that is another myth that we will eventually disprove.
- This rule makes it much easier to drive in the lane, because bigs can no longer camp out in the lane and deter drives to the basket like they did in the 80s and 90s
- "New rules were introduced to curtail hand-checking, clarify blocking fouls and call defensive three seconds to open up the game."
To show the impact of this rules, let's look at the 2004 Pistons and Spurs
- In the 2003/04 season, the Spurs and Pistons allowed 83.4 ppg on defense. They were the top 2 teams in the league in points allowed
- Right after 2004/05 rule changes, they were still the top 2 in points allowed, but the Spurs allowed 88.4 ppg and the Pistons allowed 89.5 ppg.
- Now these points allowed might be lower than several teams in Jordan's era, but we see that this difference is more attributed to the decrease in offensive skil in addition to defensive. As proof, several players from the 80s/90s era of defense even after their prime locked down the top superstars of the 2000s WITHOUT the 80s/90s rules.
Here is one more thing to note before we continue.
- In 1998/99, the last season of real defense, only 3 players averaged over 23 ppg.
- After the 1999/00 rule changes to weaken defense, 9 players averaged over 23 ppg.
- In 1998/99, the last season of real defense, only 5 players averaged 8+ apg.
- After the 1999/00 rule changes to weaken defense, 9 players averaged 8+ apg
- In 1998/99, the last season of real defense, only 7 players averaged over 50% FG
- After the 1999/00 rule changes to weak defense, 15 players averaged over 50% FG
- The only players that averaged 50% FG in 98/99 were power forwards or centers.
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| Bird would have loved to play in a league where defenders couldn't control his movement with handchecking |
1) Gary Payton
In his prime, 1995-1999
6th season - 19.3 ppg + 7.5 apg (Age 27) - won DPOY, led 1996 Sonics to the Finals where they won 2 games against the 72-10 Bulls.
7th season - 21.8 ppg + 7.1 apg (Age 28)
8th season - 19.2 ppg + 8.3 apg (Age 29)
9th season - 21.7 ppg + 8.7 apg (Age 30)
a past prime Payton for 4 years post 98-99 rule changes had
10th season - 24.2 ppg + 8.9 apg (age 31) - 99-00 season - first season without handchecking)
11th season - 23.1 ppg + 8.1 apg (Age 32)
12th season - 22.1 ppg + 9.0 apg (Age 33)
13th season - 20.4 ppg + 8.3 apg (Age 34)
Payton's FG% increased every year from his 9th season to his 12th season, with only a 1.3% decrease in his 13th season.
NBA players' primes end at about age 30, yet Payton even at age 31-34 overall put up better scoring AND assist numbers than he did from age 27 to age 30. How is that possible if the post-Jordan era is supposed to be more advanced? If the Jordan era is weak, then Payton should have been scoring and assisting even more when he playing in that soft and weak league, but he actually had more success against the "advanced" era of "bigger, stronger, faster, and more athletic players" of the 2000s.
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| How did a 34 year old Payton play better than a 29 year old Payton? Simple. The 2000s defenses were weak |
No one can even try and attempt to say that a 34 year old Payton losing in the first round with the Bucks can be better than 1996 Payton, who won Def Player Of the Year and led Seattle to the Finals and 2 wins over the 72-10 Chicago Bulls, while simultaneously doing the best defensive performance on Jordan in an NBA Finals series.
Gary Payton isn't even an athletic specimen. He was only 6-3, 180 lbs, but his production actually increased against the "athletic, advanced, more skilled" players of the post-Jordan era compared to his numbers in Jordan's "weak/soft' era. Now, Lebron/Kobe/2000s fanboys are going to say "oh this is only one example." So let's look at some more.
2) Allen Iverson
In 98-99, WON the scoring title with only 26.8 ppg
Iverson the next year in 99-00 (after rule changes) had 28.4 ppg, but did NOT win the scoring title. That's the definition of inflated numbers and weak defense.
Here is another interesting note. Iverson's assists decreased every year from his rookie season to his third season.
1st season - 23.5 ppg + 7.5 apg
2nd season - 22.0 ppg + 6.2 apg
3rd season - 26.8 ppg + 4.6 apg (98-99)
then came the rule changes. You might expect that with more scoring, Iverson's assists would decrease. Let's see if that trend stays the same as we enter the "advanced and athletically superior" 2000s era
4th season - 28.4 ppg + 4.7 apg (99-00)
5th season - 31.1 ppg + 4.6 apg
so for now, Iverson's assists are the same as they were in the last season of 90s rules, but his scoring keeps increasing. Why is that the case if the new defenses and players are tougher and better?
6th season - 31.4 ppg + 5.5 apg.
7th season - 27.3 ppg + 5.5 apg - this is still higher than his ppg + apg in his last year in the 90s
8th season - 30.7 ppg + 7.9 apg
9th season - 33.0 ppg + 7.4 apg
So under the the new defenses in 2000s that are supposed to be so much tougher and advanced, Iverson's assists increase every year after decreasing every year in the 90s, even WITH his scoring increasing on top of that.
3) Shaq
We will not examine apg in detail for players like Shaq, since passing is not a big part of their game. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that Shaq's apg from 99/00 to 02/03 (8th to 11th season) was between 3.0 and 3.8 apg. His previous high was 3.1 apg in 96/97 (his 5th season)
2nd season - 29.3 ppg
3rd season - 29.3 ppg
now his numbers start decreasing
4th season - 26.6 ppg
5th season - 26.2 ppg
6th season - 28.3 ppg
7th season - 26.3 ppg (98-99 - last season of handchecking)
From his 2nd and 3rd season to his 7th season, Shaq's ppg decreased by a whole 3 pts. His production decreased almost every single year heading into the post-Jordan era
After removal of 98-99 handcheck rules
8th season - 29.7 ppg (1999-00) (career high ppg + apg)
Shaq's numbers would decrease after this, but that coincided with Kobe continuing to be a bigger scoring option. And even then, these scoring numbers were all higher than the numbers he put up in his 4th 5th and 7th seasons under the 90s rules.
9th season - 28.7 ppg
10th season - 27.2 ppg
11th season - 27.5 ppg
Immediately after the post-Jordan rule changes, Shaq surpassed the BEST scoring total that he put up FIVE years earlier even after his numbers decreased all but one year since then. DEFINITION of inflated. How did Shaq magically and immediately have his best scoring season after such a sharp decline in his scoring every single year at the end of the Jordan era?
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| The 7-1 320+ lb Shaq had more problems in the 90s than he did in the 2000s |
- 1-8 in the playoffs against Stockton/Malone's Jazz - the same Jazz that Jordan beat back to back to win his last 2 titles
- 0-4 against Jordan/Pippen/Rodman Bulls - Shaq only beat the 95 Bulls 4-2 with a Jordan who only played 17 reg season games and who hadn't obtained Dennis Rodman
- And had an 0-4 record against prime Hakeem's Rockets in the playoffs.
4) Chris Webber
In his first 6 seasons, never reached 22 ppg for a full season.
2nd season - 20.1 ppg
3rd season - 23.7 ppg (but he only played 15 games due to injury)
4th season - 20.1 ppg
5th season - 21.9 ppg
6th season - 20.0 ppg (98-99 season)
Then after the post-Jordan rule changes...
7th season - 24.5 ppg after the removal of handchecking (1999-00).
8th season - 27 ppg
9th season - 24.5 ppg
10th season - 23 ppg
Webber averaged 23+ for four straight seasons in the "advanced/more skilled" post-Jordan era of defense, after NEVER averaging 22 pts for a full season in 6 years against the "weak" Jordan era defenses.
It is also interesting to note that Webber's highest apg season was in 02/03. Between 99/00 to 04/05, his 7th and 12th season, he averaged 4.7 apg combined over those seasons. He had never averaged 4.7 apg since his 2nd (4.7 apg) and 3rd (5.0 apg) seasons, but remember that his 3rd season ended after only 15 games.
5) Grant Hill
Never reached 21.5 ppg in his first 5 seasons
3rd season - 21.4 ppg
4th season - 21.1 ppg
5th season - 21.1 ppg (98-99 season)
Suddenly, after the removal of hand checking in 99-00
6th season - he magically averaged 25.8 pts, and his apg only decreased by 0.5 from the year before. He scored almost 5 ppg less in the "weak, unathletic" era of Jordan compared to the "advanced" 2000s era. Unfortunately, Grant Hill had serious injuries plaguing him for the rest of his career after this season
6) Penny Hardaway
Due to injuries, his scoring output decreased every year from his 3rd season (95-96) to his 6th season (98-99)
3rd season - 21.7 ppg + 7.1 apg
4th season - 20.5 ppg + 5.6 apg (played only 59 games)
5th season - 16.4 ppg + 3.6 apg (played only 19 games)
6th season - 15.8 ppg + 5.3 apg (first full season since his 3rd year)
7th season - In the 99-00 season after handchecking was removed, his scoring output magically increased from
15.8 ppg on 42% shooting to 16.9 ppg on 47%, and he even maintained his assist output of 5.3 apg from his 6th season. This is even after his performance was steadily decreasing every year due to injuries.
The soft defensive rules in the post-MJ era were so weak that even an injury-crippled shell of Penny Hardaway did better under the new rules. There's no way around it. The new "advanced" era of the 2000s not only offset Penny's consistent and rapid scoring decline each season, but they actually increased his scoring on top of that, and they were unable to decrease his apg output from the year before. His scoring only started declining in the 2000s again, because he only played 4 games in his 8th season due to injury.
7) Jamal Mashburn
He was plagued with injuries, so let's see how he did in the "weak" Jordan era and if he struggled against the "advanced" post-Jordan
2nd season - 24.1 ppg + 3.7 apg
3rd season - 23.4 ppg + 2.8 apg (18 games due to injury)
after injuries, his production fell horribly
4th season - 13.4 ppg + 3.5 apg (as a full time starter with the Heat in 32 games)
5th season - 15.1 ppg + 3.0 apg (48 games)
6th season - 14.8 ppg + 3.1 apg (23 games, 98-99)
now in the era of "advanced/more skilled" players, his numbers magically started increasing again after the rule changes, despite horrible regression in scoring due to injuries.
7th season - 17.5 ppg + 3.9 apg (76 games, 99-00 season )
8th season - 20.1 ppg + 5.4 apg (76 games,)
9th season - 21.5 ppg + 4.3 apg (45 games)
10th season - 21.6 ppg + 5.6 apg (82 games)
Even after his numbers steadily decreased every year since his 2nd season due to injury, they magically had a resurgence that not only offset his scoring decrease, but turned around and increased his scoring in the "advanced" post-Jordan era under the new rules.
His scoring might not have reached the scoring average he had in his 2nd and 3rd year, but for him to once again be averaging 20+ pts a game after his numbers steadily decreased every year due, and after multiple injuries, shows how weak the post-Jordan era actually was. And on top of that, his assists took a big jump, even AFTER his injury. Just like with Penny, the rule changes of the "advanced 2000s era" not only offset his consistent decline in production, but they started to increase it.
8) Allan Houston
3rd season - 19.7 ppg - he would never reach this mark for the rest of the 90s
4th season - 14.8 ppg
5th season - 18.4 ppg
6th season - 16.3 ppg (98-99)
now with the 99-00 season rule changes, he magically increased his scoring
7th season - 19.7 ppg (99-00)
8th season - 18.7 ppg
9th season - 20.4 ppg
10th season - 22.5 ppg
11th season - 18.5 ppg (03-04)
There was no difference between Houston's combined apg output from his 3rd to 6th season (2.6 apg) compared to his 7th to 11th season (2.5 apg).
Houston never reached 18.5 pts a game since his 3rd season. Somehow, 4 years later after the rule changes he immediately jumped from 16.3 ppg in his last season before the rule changes to between 18.5 and 22.5 a game for 5 straight seasons. I thought the newer post-Jordan era players were so "advanced and highly skilled," so why is Houston doing so much better against the post-Jordan competition?
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| The same year Duncan won his first championship, Houston, a player from the "weak" Jordan era, helped take an 8 seed Knicks team with no Ewing to the Finals |
9) Sam Cassell
5th season - 19.6 ppg + 8.0 apg at age 28 (his career high in both up to that point)
6th season - only played 8 games of the 98-99 season due to injury, so his numbers should be expected to decrease after that
after rule changes in the post-Jordan era
7th season - 18.6 ppg + 9.0 apg (99-00 season)
8th season - 18.2 ppg + 7.6 apg
9th season - 19.7 ppg + 6.7 apg (age 32)
10th season - 19.8 ppg + 5.8 apg (age 33)
11th season - 19.8 ppg + 7.3 apg (age 34) (03-04 season)
So even after injuries, and even past his prime from age 32-34 in 3 straight seasons, Cassell put up practically the same scoring output that was his previous career high 4 years earlier, in his prime at age 28. His apg at age 34 was only 0.7 apg less than when he was in his prime at age 28, even after he was playing in the "advanced" 2000s era on top of recovering from injury.
Also, his apg in his first season after injury (9.0) was higher than his previous high of 8.0 apg under the "weak and inferior" defense of Jordan's day..
It's highly suspicious that a 32-34 year old Cassell after injuries was scoring just as much as a 28 year old injury-free Cassell, and his apg was initially higher. He might not have surpassed his original output by much, but why is the "advanced" era of the 2000s allowing him at age 34, post-injury, and past his prime to put up the same exact production he did in the "weak" Jordan era when he was in his prime?
If 2000s defense and players are so much better, they should have never allowed a 34 year old post-injury Cassell to play just as well agains them as he did against the "weak and soft" defenses of the 90s. Like Penny and Mashburn, the 2000s defenses and players were of such low quality that they offset and decrease in production due to injury, and in some cases increased it - as seen by Cassell's initial apg increase.
10) Nick Van Exel
5th season - 13.8 ppg + 6.9 apg
6th season (98-99) - 16.5 ppg + 7.4 apg
after rule changes entering the post-Jordan era
7th season - 16.1 ppg + 9.0 apg - his scoring decrease was negligible, and his assists more than made up for that
8th season - 17.7 ppg + 8.5 apg
9th season - 21.1 ppg + 8.1 apg as a starter in 44 games for the Nuggets before being traded and coming off the bench for Dallas (01-02 season)
So his apg was much higher under the 2000s rules, and after one year of only a 0.4 ppg scoring decrease, his scoring started to increase again.
11) Ray Allen
2nd season - 19.5 ppg + 4.3 apg
3rd season - 17.1 ppg + 3.6 apg (but he played 6 less mpg than his previous season, so his stats should be expected to decrease)
immediately after rule changes in 99-00
Allen played less minutes per game in these following seasons than he did in his 2nd season (19.5 ppg 4.3 apg), so he should be scoring less, right? After all, he's playing less minutes, and he's playing in the "athletically superior and advanced" 2000s era
4th season - 22.1 ppg + 3.8 apg (99-00)
5th season - 22.0 ppg + 4.6 apg
6th season - 21.8 ppg + 3.9 apg
7th season - 22.5 ppg + 4.4 apg (02-03)
after being traded to Seattle in his 7th season and playing more minutes, he averaged
24.5 ppg + 5.6 apg with the Sonics
Ray Allen was still not in his prime after his 4th season, so you would expect his numbers to increase. However, he still had a very large and sudden increase in production. If the new defenses are so much better, they shouldn't have let him score so much. The fact that they did shows that the post-Jordan era wasn't so hard to score in.
12) Eddie Jones
3rd season - 17.2 ppg
4th season - 16.9 ppg
5th season - 15.6 ppg - there was almost no difference in his mpg during these seasons
then came the rule changes
6th season - 20.1 ppg (99-00)
7th season - 17.4 ppg
8th season - 18.3 ppg
9th season - 18.5 ppg
10th season - 17.3 ppg (03-04)
He averaged 3.3 apg combined from his 3rd to his 5th season, and 3.4 apg from his 6th to his 10th season after the rule changes, so that wasn't much of a difference, but his scoring still increased. After he couldn't get more than 17.2 pts in his first 5 seasons once, he magically averaged 17.3 to 20.1 pts for his next 5 seasons after the post-Jordan rule changes.
13) Glenn Robinson
His 4th season (97/98) was the best of his career offensively, but he only played 56 games due to injury
4th season - 23.4 ppg + 2.8 apg (56 games)
5th season - 18.4 ppg + 2.1 apg (47 games) his minutes decreased by 7 mpg and on top of his injury, his stats should have decreased
Even after injury, he started playing well again against the "advanced" 2000s defenses and players
6th season - 20.9 ppg + 2.3 apg (99-00 season with rule changes)
7th season - 22.0 ppg + 3.3 apg
8th season - 20.7 ppg + 2.5 apg
9th season - 20.8 ppg + 3.0 apg
Despite being injured, in his 7th season he came very close to the best production he had in the 90s during his 4th season, and his assists in his 7th and 9th season were higher than in his 4th, despite playing against the "advanced" 2000s defenses. If modern defense was so much tougher, they should have been able to do a better job of containing a post-injury version of a player that competed in the "weak" 90s era.
14) John Stockton
By the time the rule changes came around, Stockton was a senior citizen.
15th season - 11.1 ppg + 7.5 apg (Age 36 - 98-99 season)
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| The "advanced and athletic" 2000s players couldn't even slow down a short old white guy like Stockton |
16th season - 12.1 ppg + 8.6 apg (Age 37)
17th season - 11.5 ppg + 8.7 apg (Age 38)
18th season - 13.4 ppg + 8.2 apg (Age 39)
19th season - 10.8 ppg + 7.7 apg (Age 40)
Stockton's FG% increased every season from his 15th season to his 18th season.
It was not until his 4th season after the rule changes at age 40 that Stockton regressed to the same production as his last season under the rule changes at age 36, and his apg was higher in every season post-rule changes than in 98/99 before the rule changes took place.
Now people are going to say, "Well, thats not much of a difference over those first 3 years." First of all, if the 2000s players and defenses are "more advanced and complex," then Stockton should be nowhere near the old production that he put up at age 36, let alone increasing it. The new 2000s era was so weak that they not only offset the decline in production of a senior citizen Stockton, but it actually enhanced it.
Secondly, this is a 37-40 year old Stockton. Are you telling me that the "advanced, athletically superior era" of the 2000s is so great that they do worse against a 37-40 year old Stockton compared to a 36 year old Stockton? It is highly suspicious that a 40 year old man is putting up the same production that he was 4 years earlier against the supposedly "weak and soft" 90s defenses.
15) Karl Malone
14th season - 23.8 ppg + 4.1 apg (98-99 MVP season, Age 35)
then rule changes happened
15th season - 25.5 ppg + 3.7 apg (Age 36)
even at age 36, in a season that he didn't win MVP, his scoring and efficiency were higher than he was at age 35 and won the MVP
16th season - 23.2 ppg + 4.5 apg (Age 37) - That's only 0.6 pts less than his 98/99 MVP season before the rule changes. On top of that, his apg in this season were higher than the apg he put up the in his MVP season during 98/99, in the "weak" era of 90s defense.
Even at age 37 and far past his prime, he hardly experienced a decrease in his production going against the "advanced and athletically superior" defenders of the 2000s. The 2000s "advanced, athletically superior" era is so weak that a 37 year old past prime Karl Malone has practically the same scoring and efficiency that he did 2 years earlier in his MVP season, and with even more apg.
Oh and by the way, Tim Duncan had a 1-4 playoff record against Karl Malone only one year before Duncan won the Finals MVP in 1999. I guess Duncan's first ring isn't worth much according to Lebron/Kobe/2000s fanboys because he already lost to the "weak" Jordan era competition of Malone just one year before his first ring. How can Duncan be the product of a more advanced era when his first championship was only one year after Jordan's last, especially when the Knicks team he beat was a shell of the Knicks teams that Jordan faced?
16) Derrick Coleman
Derrick Coleman's numbers were decreasing every year from 96/97 to 98/99 because of injury.
7th season - 18.1 ppg + 3.4 apg (96/97)
8th season - 17.6 ppg + 2.5 apg
9th season - 13.1 ppg + 2.1 apg (98/99 - last season of real defense)
then the rule changes stopped the decrease and started to increase his numbers on top of that
10th season - 16.7 ppg + 2.4 apg (99/00)
He got injured again though, and never got back to his old level of play.
17) Antoine Walker
3rd season - 18.7 ppg + 3.1 apg (98/99 - last season of real defense)
Then the rule changes immediately inflated his numbers
4th season - 20.5 ppg + 3.7 apg
5th season - 23.4 ppg + 5.5 apg
6th season - 22.1 ppg + 5.0 apg
18) Jalen Rose
6th season - 18.2 ppg + 4.0 apg (99/00 season - first post-Jordan rule changes)
7th season - 20.5 ppg + 6.0 apg
8th season - 20.4 ppg + 4.3 apg
9th season - 20.4 ppg + 4.3 apg
10th season - 22.1 ppg + 4.8 apg
34, 35, and 36 year old Reggie Miller also exposed the bum defenses of the post-Jordan era in the 2000, 2001 and 2002 playoffs. There's a reason he couldn't make the Finals in the 90s even with a Pacers team with great interior defense with prime and/or healthy Smits, Antonio and Dale Davis, and Derrick McKey, but still made it to the 2000 Finals with no Antonio Davis (replaced by Austin Croshere), Smits in the last year of his career, and with Derrick McKey also at the tail end of his. In the 99/00, 00/01, and 01/02 seasons, a multitude of rule changes were added that would eventually lead to the complete removal of handchecking and defensive contact in 04/05, as well as the defensive 3 seconds rule to open up the lane in 01/02.
Reggie Miller (Age 34) had a real bad game in Game 1 against the Lakers of 7 points on 1/16 shooting in the 2000 Finals, and after that point he dropped 28 ppg on 48% in Games 2-6 vs the Lakers (Number 1 Defensive Rating) and outplayed Kobe offensively in every game that Kobe played aside from Game 1, including Reggie dropping 35 in Game 4. In his 4 full games of play, Kobe averaged 19 ppg on 37% against the weak and washed up 2000 Pacers team in the Finals.
Reggie Miller (Age 35) dropped 31.3 ppg on 46% on the 2001 Sixers team with a top 5 defense, and Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown that coached the 2004 Pistons defense. This Sixers team made the Finals during the 2001 playoffs. The new and weaker defensive rules enabled 35 year old Miller to also drop his career playoff high 41 points on the top 5 defense Sixers in Game 2.
Reggie Miller (Age 36) in the 2002 playoffs dropped 23.6 ppg on 51% against the Nets team (Number 1 Defensive Rating) that made the Finals in 2002, and pushed them to 5 games no less (when a first-round series was best of 5). This Nets team would go on to lock down Paul Pierce to 36% shooting in the ECF, after he averaged 26 ppg on 44% for the 2001/02 season
A 34, 35, 36 year old washed up Reggie Miller lit up 3 playoffs teams in 3 consecutive years, all of whom made the Finals and had at least a top 5 defense, thanks to weakened rule changes. Despite only averaging above 23 ppg once in his entire career, all the way back in 1989/90, he averaged over 23 ppg in three straight playoff series against three top 5 defenses in the post-Jordan era, thanks to the weakened rule changes. Not only that, but he was able to make the Finals for the only time in his career thanks to the watered down bum competition that came after Jordan's era, even though his 2000 Pacers team was far weaker than it was in the 90s.
In fact, Reggie Miller outplayed Allen Iverson in the 1999 and 2000 ECSF, and was almost even in 2001 during Allen Iverson's MVP season, as you can see in the photo. Iverson shot much less efficiently in the first 2 meetings, with much more bricklaying, which is the only reason he scored more.
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| Way after his prime was over, Reggie torched the weak defenses of the post-Jordan era thanks to watered down rule changes |
Shaq, Chris Webber and Payton all immediately averaged their career highs in ppg and apg after the rule changes took place, despite playing several years in the Jordan era to develop before hand.
Malone and Stockton also increased their ppg and apg after 98/99 (before post-Jordan rule changes) once the rule changes took place, despite entering their late 30s. Many other players such as Nick Van Exel, Allan Houston, Eddie Jones, Sam Cassell, Jamal Mashburn, Grant Hill, etc. also averaged their career highs in ppg and/or apg once the rule changes took place. It's not a coincidence that all these players, prime or not, increased their numbers in the same exact same time period as the rule changes.
These examples prove beyond doubt that the Jordan era was 1000x harder to score in, since almost every player from the early to mid 90s scored less in the Jordan era compared to the post-Jordan era. It might be hard to accept or believe, but it is undeniable that today's stars like Curry, Harden, Aldridge, Lebron, Carmelo, Wade, Durant, Westbrook, etc. have fake and padded stats when compared to the 80s/90s players. Seeing as a multitude of 90s players, several of them past their prime, increased their ppg apg in the 2000s, it's obvious that 30 ppg or 10 apg in the 2000s is not worth 30 ppg or 10 apg in the 80s/90s.
If the players of Jordan's era were so weak, why did they do better against the "advanced" competition of the post-Jordan era? Also, keep in mind that all of the aforementioned rule changes didn't happen at once. They slowly implemented the rule changes over the course of 5 years from 99/00 to 04/05, so the 80s/90s players we showed didn't even have the full impact and benefit of the overall rule changes to enhance their scoring and assisting like the post-2005 players do, such as Durant, Wade, Lebron, etc.
In the vast majority of all cases, the only players from Jordan's era that experienced scoring decreases in the post 2000s era were players like Pippen, Olajuwon, Kemp, Coleman, Alonzo, etc. who were already a shell of themselves, injured, or both. By the time all of the watered down rules were implemented in 2005, almost every player from Jordan's day was past their prime like Payton, Houston, Tim Hardaway, Eddie Jones, Glenn Robinson, Shaq, retired like Barkley, Malone, Olajuwon, Stockton, or injured beyond recognition like Mashburn, Grant Hill, and Penny.
Even some of the players that experienced scoring increases in the early 2000s were ALREADY past their prime - like Payton, Penny, Mashburn, Malone, Stockton, Cassell, etc - and even that didn't slow them down against the so-called "advanced" defenses of the 2000s. Imagine if they had the benefit of all the 2000s rule changes at once, like Lebron/Kobe/Durant/Wade etc have had since 2005. It may be hard to swallow for their biggest fans, but it's undeniable that the modern players like Lebron/Kobe/Durant/Wade etc. have inflated and padded stats.
Because the last of the 2000s rule changes weren't implemented until after Jordan's era players were complete shells of their former selves, the increases in individual players' scoring that we observed above was only a mere glimpse of how weak the 2000s defenses are, especially the late 2000s. The scoring increases shown above don't even begin to describe how easily prime versions of those players would have scored after ALL 2000s rule changes were implemented. Their numbers would have increased far more than what we already saw in the above examples, especially if they were in their primes.
Now, I know what people are going to say. "Hey, if modern teams are playing weak defense under the new rules, then that means the 80s/90s teams like the Knicks and Pacers will play weak defense, and players like Jordan, Rodman, and Payton won't be able to guard today's stars." That is another misconception. This will also be addressed later on.
So what did we learn? The 90s players had a much easier time scoring in the 2000s era, even when a large chunk of them were already past their prime. On top of that, none of them were around long enough to benefit from last of the anti-defensive rules changes in 04/05. Clearly the quality of players was much higher in the 90s, or else they wouldn't have performed better against the "advanced" 2000s defenses.
Jordan's stats are actaully deflated compared to other stars, because he played with the fewest possessions possible during his 6 championships.
Championship Teams with a Sub-90 Pace in the Playoffs
17. 1994 Rockets - 89.9
16. 2010 Lakers - 89.6
15. 1992 Bulls - 89.0
T-13. 1989 Pistons - 88.9
T-13. 2007 Spurs - 88.9
12. 1993 Bulls - 88.5
11. 1991 Bulls - 88.1
10. 2012 Heat - 88.0
T-8. 2013 Heat - 87.3
T-8. 2005 Spurs - 87.3
7. 1996 Bulls - 86.8
6. 2011 Mavericks - 86.6
5. 2004 Pistons - 86.1
4. 2008 Celtics - 85.9
3. 1997 Bulls - 85.5
2. 1999 Spurs - 85.4
1. 1998 Bulls - 84.1
Amongst championship teams
Bulls have
- 6 of the top 15 slowest playoff paces
- 3 of the top 7 slowest playoff paces
- 2 of the top 3 slowest playoff paces
- the slowest playoff pace
Spurs have
- 2 of the top 8 slowest playoff paces
- the 2nd-slowest playoff pace
Bulls (6 times), Spurs (3 times), Heat (2 times), and Pistons (2 times) are the only championship teams with multiple sub-90 playoff paces. Though the Pistons were 15 years apart. No Title teams with a sub-90 Playoff Pace prior to 1989.
The fact that Jordan put up his amazing stats during his championship runs with the fewest possessions possible clearly shows how much more dominant he would be in any other era.
To end, let's take a look at what the experts have to say. This includes players and coaches who have competed in the 2000s.17. 1994 Rockets - 89.9
16. 2010 Lakers - 89.6
15. 1992 Bulls - 89.0
T-13. 1989 Pistons - 88.9
T-13. 2007 Spurs - 88.9
12. 1993 Bulls - 88.5
11. 1991 Bulls - 88.1
10. 2012 Heat - 88.0
T-8. 2013 Heat - 87.3
T-8. 2005 Spurs - 87.3
7. 1996 Bulls - 86.8
6. 2011 Mavericks - 86.6
5. 2004 Pistons - 86.1
4. 2008 Celtics - 85.9
3. 1997 Bulls - 85.5
2. 1999 Spurs - 85.4
1. 1998 Bulls - 84.1
Amongst championship teams
Bulls have
- 6 of the top 15 slowest playoff paces
- 3 of the top 7 slowest playoff paces
- 2 of the top 3 slowest playoff paces
- the slowest playoff pace
Spurs have
- 2 of the top 8 slowest playoff paces
- the 2nd-slowest playoff pace
Bulls (6 times), Spurs (3 times), Heat (2 times), and Pistons (2 times) are the only championship teams with multiple sub-90 playoff paces. Though the Pistons were 15 years apart. No Title teams with a sub-90 Playoff Pace prior to 1989.
The fact that Jordan put up his amazing stats during his championship runs with the fewest possessions possible clearly shows how much more dominant he would be in any other era.
1) Joe Johnson on the anti-handchecking rule - "It benefits me," said Joe Johnson. "It definitely changes the game because it gives every guy that extra step. "If we could hand check now, the game would be totally different." "If they couldn't hand check back in the day, there are some guys that would have been even better than they were. It would have been nuts for some of the big-time scorers and perimeter players from the 1980s and 1990s. Can you imagine what Jordan would have done in a league where you couldn't hand check?"
2) Phil Jackson - "Michael would average 45 with these rules."
- Remember that Phil Jackson has also coached Kobe and Shaq to all of their Finals MVPs, so he has seen both sides.
3) Larry Brown - "You can't even touch a guy now." I always tease Michael, if he played today, he'd average 50."
- Brown coached the 2004 and 2005 Pistons defense that shut down Kobe and Duncan to 38% and 42% shooting in the Finals, respectively.
4) Clyde Drexler on how his numbers would be today - "Oh, tremendously better, from shooting percentage to points per game everything would be up, and our old teams would score a lot more points, and that is saying something because we could score a lot back then. I do think there should be an asterisk next to some of these scoring leaders, because it is much different trying to score with a forearm in your face. It is harder to score with that resistance. You had to turn your back on guys defending you back in the day with all the hand checking that was going on. For guys who penetrate these days, it's hunting season."
5) Scottie Pippen - "The defensive rules, the hand checking, the ability to make contact on a guy in certain areas .... [have] all been taken away from the game. If Kobe could get 81, I think Michael could get 100 in today's game."
- Notice how Pippen contradicted himself. He said Lebron may be the best player ever, but he had also said that Jordan would score 100 in today's league - basically stating that today's (Lebron's) league is far weaker than Jordan's. Pippen wisely retracted his statements on Lebron after the 2011 Finals.
6) Craig Hodges, Lakers assistant for their last 2 championships - "M.J., all day. There's no comparison. M.J. could score 100 points in this era. You can't hand-check now. Imagine that trying to guard M.J. It would be crazy."
7) Rick Barry, 1975 Finals MVP on past players under modern rules - "They'd score a lot more." Tex Winter (assistant coach during the Lakers 3peat) echoed these sentiments - "Players today can get to the basket individually much easier."
8) Joe Dumars, 1989 Finals MVP, first laughed, "It would have been virtually impossible to defend Michael Jordan based on the way the game's being called right now."
- Joe Dumars as President of Basketball Operations for the Pistons was largely responsible for building the dominating Pistons defense of the 2000s that shut down Kobe to 38% in the Finals and made Tim Duncan have his worst FG% in an NBA Finals.
9) Dominique Wilkins - "The power forward position had the license to kick your butt and the game was very physical. I think the physical aspect of the game, some of it has been taken away with the rule changes." "If you're asking me what would I have done [today], well, put it this way, if you couldn't touch me, instead of averaging 25 or 30, I'd probably average 40."
10) Kobe Bryant on 80/90s basketball - "The truth is, it makes the game [where] players have to be more skillful. Nowadays, literally anybody can get out there and get to the basket and you can't touch anybody. Back then, if guys put their hands on you, you had to have the skill to be able to go both ways, change direction, post up, you had to have a mid-range game because you didn't want to go all the way to the basket because you would get knocked ass over tea kettle. So I think playing the game back then required MUCH MORE SKILL."
11) Dennis Rodman on Lebron in 80s/90s - "It's really not a comparison. If LeBron was playing in the late '80s and early '90s, he would be just an average player," (bit of an exaggeration)
Rodman said a 28-year-old Jordan would average at least 40 points a game in today's NBA."I'm just sick and tired of people comparing (James) to Michael Jordan." "It's a whole different era, man." Rodman said Jordan thrived despite playing in a more physical era in the NBA. "LeBron came into the age of the game at a perfect time. Michael came into the game when back then you could hit people, knock him down, shoot a free throw and get back up," Rodman said. "And LeBron can't do that. All they do today is (complain) about a foul. All they do is (complain)."
12) Gary Payton on Lebron in 80s/90s - "You can't guard him now because it seems like you can't put your hands on him. You know what I'm saying?" Payton said during the All-Star break. "With LeBron, if somebody can hand check him and muscle him, it's a lot different when somebody can hand-check you and control you and be stronger than you on the block or whatever and not let you go anywhere. It's a little bit different, as being free and being a freak of nature and his body that he has right now, nobody can guard him, you know what I'm saying? So right now, if he could come back in our era and we could hand check him and guard him and bigger guys get on him and when he gets to the bucket we hit him and knock him like (Bill) Laimbeer, like the Boston Celtic days, it'd be a little bit different. I guarantee you it would be. But he's still great, he's still a great basketball player and like I said he's playing in a great era because he can get to the bucket whenever he feels like it."
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| If a 35-year old Payton locked down Lebron, what could a prime Payton under the 90s rules have done? |
14) Gary Payton again - Payton cited the younger generation, the NBA lockout in 1999, and rule changes as contributing factors to how the point guard position and style of play has changed from his own era. “It’s the way our kids are brought up,” Payton said. “You guys have to understand, basketball has changed."
“They had to build it up after the first strike. Basketball was down a little bit. David Stern did a great job of bringing basketball back because he knew kids wanted to see run-and-gun. They didn’t want to see defense like the Knicks were doing. Slowing the ball down, setting up defenses and stuff like that and running plays. Kids weren’t doing that in the playgrounds. So we sped the game up, and that’s what the kids liked. They liked to see dunking, they like to see running, they liked to see scoring and that’s just the way it went.”
15) Ron Artest, 2004 DPOY, on who is the hardest to guard out of Kobe, Lebron, or Jordan
"Jordan, definitely. Jordan's the toughest because he's strong as Lebron, he shoots just as good as Reggie Miller from the midrange... and he's a killer out there on the court"
Keep in mind Artest only faced a washed up 38-40 year old Jordan.
16) In a response to Lebron complaining about the Wizards' physical play in the 2008 playoffs, here's what Brendan Haywood had to say.
"I mean, come on man, this is the playoffs. He wears 23, he wants to be Michael Jordan, I can respect that, he's a great player. You saw what Mike went through. Mike got fouled way worse than this. No one is trying to hurt him, everybody is trying to play basketball, trying to play tough. Play basketball and leave it alone."
This is how Lebron responded the next time he met Haywood in the playoffs.
17) Shaquille O'Neal - "The way the game is played now, Imma go on the record and say it was soft. When we all played it was a little bit harder, but before us that was really playoff basketball."
"I mean, come on man, this is the playoffs. He wears 23, he wants to be Michael Jordan, I can respect that, he's a great player. You saw what Mike went through. Mike got fouled way worse than this. No one is trying to hurt him, everybody is trying to play basketball, trying to play tough. Play basketball and leave it alone."
This is how Lebron responded the next time he met Haywood in the playoffs.
17) Shaquille O'Neal - "The way the game is played now, Imma go on the record and say it was soft. When we all played it was a little bit harder, but before us that was really playoff basketball."
18) Rasheed Wallace - In response to an interviewer who referred to Lebron as "King James," here is what Rasheed (2-1 record against Lebron in the playoffs) had to say:
"I don't know if there's any kings, you know. That's something y'all (the media) labeled him"
- That's a key point. The perception of Lebron as someone that can be compared with the likes of Jordan, Magic, Bird, Hakeem, Kareem, and many more vastly superior players is something that was created by the media based on hype and marketing. The reality is much different.
19) Dominique Wilkins on Lebron in the 80s/90s - "He's King James in this era, right? In our era he'd just been LeBron"
20) Charles Oakley - "It was a different era, though. Defense was different. I mean, even though (Jordan) got a lot of points, he worked for them... (Today's game) is way softer."
21) Tracy McGrady - "The league is so young and they have no skills. They have athleticism but no skills. Half these guys wouldn't be able to play in the league when I first came into it (1997/98)."
22) Tom Thibodeau, when asked to compare his 2008 Celtics defense to other defenses he helped mold, said this - "Right now, I'd say the (90s) New York teams were much more physical because at that time you were allowed to play much more physical and we had greater size."
- Thibodeau played a major role in creating the stacked 2008 Celtics defense that shut down Lebron to 35.5% shooting with 5+ turnovers a game in the 2008 ECSF, and he acknowledged the Jordan era Knicks were much more physical.
23) Hakeem Olajuwon - “When people start comparing (James) with Jordan, then that’s not a fair comparison. Jordan was a far more superior player in a very tough league, he was very creative. That’s not taking away anything from LeBron, because he is a great player, but it is not a fair comparison because Jordan is a far superior player.”
24) Lebron James - "Hopefully the league can figure out one way where it can go back to the '80s where you had three or four All-Stars, three or four superstars, three or four Hall of Famers on the same team," James said. "The league was great. It wasn't as watered down as it is [now]."
25) But the Pistons, by league design, might never get back to the defensive level of last year and the year before...
But you look at us against San Antonio last year. Two really good defensive teams in the Finals played seven games and got the worst ratings in history almost. Seven games. There hadn't been a seventh game in the NBA Finals in a lot of years, man. But look at the first-round series this year. Lakers-Phoenix and Washington-Cleveland had ratings out of the roof. They're running up and down the floor, no defense being played, shooting and running and gunning. That's fun to watch. So they put in those rules to keep it from being 89-85."
More
- Looking at how the Jordan Era players had an easier time in the modern era
- Looking at how a 38-40 year old Jordan himself schooled the 2000s defenders
SECTION 3 - Jordan's "Weak" Defensive Competition Compared to Lebron/Kobe's "Advanced" Competition
- Proving the vast superiority of individual defenders of Jordan's era compared to the 2000s
- Destroying the myth that Jordan never played zone defense
- Proof that 80s/90s players would still have success guarding 2000s players without the 80s/90s rules
- Looking at how Jordan did against the 80s teams and why expansion did not make it easier to win championships
- Proof that Jordan's Competition was 80s-quality and far better than the 2000s era
- Looking at the truth of how the Bulls did without Jordan, and how other great teams did without their stars.
- Did Jordan really get any more special treatment than other superstars? Nope.
- Exposing the myths behind the great, but misunderstood, Wilt Chamberlain
- Looking at how Lebron got locked down by defenders of the 2000s era and comparing them to the vastly superior 80s/90s
- Destroying one of the media's biggest misconceptions regarding Lebron's solid but vastly overrated defense
- Lebron fans think no player in history could succeed if their teammates don't step up, and that Lebron is the only one who has carried a team on his back. Is that really the case?
- The real Jordan vs Lebron comparison
- The real Jordan vs Kobe comparison
- Kareem is great, but he is not even the greatest center of all-time, let alone the greatest of all-time.
- The full context behind Jordan's struggles without Pippen
- A look at how Jordan turned the Wizards around before his knee injury caught up to him
- Looking at Jordan's defensive impact in detail, both as a team player and 1 on 1 defender
- Looking at the strong evidence supporting that Jordan would have achieved more than what LeBron has in Cleveland and Miami
SECTION 21 - Hakeem Olajuwon: The Greatest Center of All-Time
- Hakeem Olajuwon is the best center of all-time, and there is strong evidence to prove it
SECTION 22 - Chris Paul: The Most Overrated Point Guard Of All-Time
- Chris Paul is an extremely overrated playoff performer and defender, and isn't even a top 5 PG of his own era, let alone all-time
SECTION 23 - Kevin Johnson: The Most Underrated Point Guard Of All-Time
- Kevin Johnson is an extremely underrated and under-appreciated point guard, who should have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer and considered a top-10 point guard of all-time
SECTION 24 - The Three Greatest Playoff Runs of All-Time
- Analyzing the three greatest individual playoff runs in NBA history
SECTION 25 - The Worst Finals Performances of All-Time
- Analyzing the worst performances in NBA Finals history
SECTION 26 - Jordan vs Russell
- Comparing the two players who won the most championships as the best player on their team
SECTION 27 - The Five Greatest Coaches of All-Time
- Taking a look at the greatest coaches in NBA history
SECTION 28 - The Least Deserving Finals MVPs of All-Time
- Taking a look at the players who least deserved to win their Finals MVPs
SECTION 29 - Refuting 10 Myths About Michael Jordan
- Refuting certain myths about Jordan, as well as abridging of some of the main points in earlier sections for easier reference.
SECTION 30 - The 20 Greatest Conference Finals Runs of All-Time
- Ranking the 20 greatest playoff runs in which a player played 3 rounds before losing prior to the NBA Finals
SECTION 31 - The 1970s: The Weakest Decade of the NBA's Post-Infancy
- Why the 1970s was the weakest decade of any era from 1960-present
SECTION 32 - The 10 Worst Supporting Casts on NBA Finals Teams (1960-Present)
- Examining the worst supporting casts on teams that reached the NBA Finals
SECTION 33 - The 10 Greatest Rookie Playoff Runs of All-Time
- The most impressive playoff runs in which rookies led their team to at least one series win
SECTION 21 - Hakeem Olajuwon: The Greatest Center of All-Time
- Hakeem Olajuwon is the best center of all-time, and there is strong evidence to prove it
SECTION 22 - Chris Paul: The Most Overrated Point Guard Of All-Time
- Chris Paul is an extremely overrated playoff performer and defender, and isn't even a top 5 PG of his own era, let alone all-time
SECTION 23 - Kevin Johnson: The Most Underrated Point Guard Of All-Time
- Kevin Johnson is an extremely underrated and under-appreciated point guard, who should have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer and considered a top-10 point guard of all-time
SECTION 24 - The Three Greatest Playoff Runs of All-Time
- Analyzing the three greatest individual playoff runs in NBA history
SECTION 25 - The Worst Finals Performances of All-Time
- Analyzing the worst performances in NBA Finals history
SECTION 26 - Jordan vs Russell
- Comparing the two players who won the most championships as the best player on their team
SECTION 27 - The Five Greatest Coaches of All-Time
- Taking a look at the greatest coaches in NBA history
SECTION 28 - The Least Deserving Finals MVPs of All-Time
- Taking a look at the players who least deserved to win their Finals MVPs
SECTION 29 - Refuting 10 Myths About Michael Jordan
- Refuting certain myths about Jordan, as well as abridging of some of the main points in earlier sections for easier reference.
SECTION 30 - The 20 Greatest Conference Finals Runs of All-Time
- Ranking the 20 greatest playoff runs in which a player played 3 rounds before losing prior to the NBA Finals
SECTION 31 - The 1970s: The Weakest Decade of the NBA's Post-Infancy
- Why the 1970s was the weakest decade of any era from 1960-present
SECTION 32 - The 10 Worst Supporting Casts on NBA Finals Teams (1960-Present)
- Examining the worst supporting casts on teams that reached the NBA Finals
SECTION 33 - The 10 Greatest Rookie Playoff Runs of All-Time
- The most impressive playoff runs in which rookies led their team to at least one series win
Great article!
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