That's an offense that runs itself really. You just gotta have someone to inbound the ball and just get out of the way. ...pretty much the same way the Pistons play when Will Bynum is in the game. You really nailed that comparisson man! For a stats guy, you really know the finer nuances of basketball.
PG:Teen Wolf SG: Air Bud SF: Tayshaun Prince (glue guy) PF: Tazmanian Devil from Space Jam C: Kazaam Of course, they would all be wearing Flubber shoes.
Good question. I hadn't thought about that. Let's say modern-day college basketball rules. It's something we're all familiar with. And it's much closer to pure basketball than that NBA garbage. I'd say FIBA rules, but I don't know how much international basketball the common fan watches.
The more and more I think about picking this team. The more I read about the great players of the past, look into all the accolades, look into all the stats , and - perhaps most importantly - watch the youtube videos of players I never got to see...I'm becoming more of a modernist. The game of today is more evolved than it's ever been. The players today, by and large (and without much question), are bigger, stronger, faster and more skilled than they've ever been. Put a historical great through through the time machine and stick him on an NBA roster...and there's a chance he's nothing more than a role player. I wonder. Would Dwight Howard be able to dominate like Wilt did in his day? Would someone like Chris Paul be able to average a triple-double in Big O's day? Would Iverson be as dominant as Jerry West? Would Rodman be able to defend and rebound like Bill Russell? I'm not really comparing modern-day legends to historical superstars. I'm just comparing 'good' modern-day players to the supposed greatests of all-time. And even that gives me pause..
Good points. I think by the mid 70's we are safe to assume that one of them could have played in todays league. One thing to keep in mind in Bill Russels day NBA players made around 10,000 - 20,000 /yer. Adjusted for inflation thats around 60k-120k, with no benefits. So in many cases guys were better off applying that athletic scholarship to an employable degree that they could use for life rather than drafting into the NBA and playing for whatever.
Blue, another thing to think is that if we were somehow able to transport the greats from the past to today and have them have the same nutrition, equipment, and advantages the modern player has along with their innate skillset. Would the modern player be able to compete with them all things being equal? It would be interesting.
Isiah Thomas was never as cut as Boobie Gibson, but I gotta believe Zeke would destroy him in any format.
After reading this, I think that Russell would be an all-time great in any era. The Sports Guy talks NBA leadership with Bill Russell, plus Week 14 picks - Grantland
It is easy to dismiss some of the older guys in NBA history as not being athaletic enough to play in the L, but Bill Russell could. I was watching some classic games years back with Lew Alcindor and pre-injury Bill Walton playing in the 70's and they looked exactly like the "new" generation of KG-like PF's.
I've gotten into that same conversation about baseball. It's not a strong opinion, but I'm of the opinion that we should consider those historical greats 'as were.' It's not really 'right' to assume that someone like Babe Ruth would've had a tremendous work-ethic / discipline, and worked out hard, ate right, taken coaching, etc. if it were made available to him. He could've just been a drunken AAA-er?
I think both Russell and Chamberlain would be athletic enough for today's game...based on what I've seen / read. The main question I have concerning those two is...would Wilt be able to score against modern-day NBA bigs? I mean, I'm sure he would, but how would he compare to the Hakeem's and Shaq's? Who was he going up against in his prime? To my knowledge, Bill Russell was the best at defending him - and he's modern-day SF size.
