Many NBA players from the past often tend to discredit or downplay the work of the current stars in the league. However, Lakers legend Michael Cooper isn’t one of them. On the contrary, he hailed the basketball icons of today like Stephen Curry and LeBron James, and claimed that they could have easily thrived in his era of basketball in the 1980s.
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Cooper joined his former Lakers teammate Byron Scott’s “Fast Break” Podcast to discuss basketball. Midway through the discussion, Cooper asked Scott to name five NBA players who could survive the tough basketball of the 80s.
After thinking for a while, Scott said,
“LeBron is one without a doubt. I think [Nikola Jokic] could have played in the 80s. I think Embiid could have played in the 80s. I think with just his athleticism, [Giannis Antetokounmpo] could have played. I think [Stephen Curry] could’ve played.”
The five players the three-time NBA Champion listed were LeBron, Curry, Embiid, Jokic, and Antetokounmpo. Following Scott’s answer, Cooper agreed with each player he named. Even though he seemed a little reluctant about Curry, he later declared that the four-time NBA Champion’s elite shooting and killer handles would make him effective in the 80s.
However, the veteran guard would certainly have found the physicality in the league very taxing.
“I agree with the list but I think the only one would be Curry. I think he would be effective but remember when we used to play, we had that ‘you got to taste the wood’. We play Kevin Johnson, so them drives to the basket, Curry would’ve been on the ground,” Cooper said.
The reasoning behind Scott and Cooper picking LeBron, Embiid and Giannis is self-explanatory. Those three wouldn’t shy away from contact because of their physical and athletic abilities.
The same philosophy applies for Jokic as well. Moreover, the two added that the Joker would pretty much be able to play like he does today due to his ability to play “inside and outside”.
Scott underlined his list by adding that these players won’t be as effective in that era as they are in today’s game, mostly because of the lack of spacing back in the day. But they could definitely make their mark.
Evaluating Cooper’s statement
“If you were going to score you got to get it from the free throw line,” Cooper said about Curry’s scoring in the 80s. However, Curry is one of the best free-throw shooters ever. The four-time champion averages a career 91% from the charity stripe.
That game plan that Cooper is referring to would lead to easy points on the board for Curry. Moreover, the 80s’ defenders would find it difficult to guard Curry’s off-the-ball movements and swift releases from the deep. Guarding deep threes wasn’t even a thing back then.
So guarding the best shooter ever would be quite the mammoth task.
The lack of space that teams played with could prove costly for Giannis and Embiid since the paint would be more congested.
Nonetheless, they could still post up and get to the bucket using their size. Embiid shot 70% on paint opportunities in the 2023-24 season. On the other hand, Giannis shot an absurd 77% in the paint during the 2023-24 season.
LeBron experienced the physicality of the early 2000s and dominated the competition. The Pistons’ defensive-minded core fuelled by Tayshaun Prince and Ben Wallace was no match for James.
In the 2007 NBA playoffs, James proved he could thrive against the toughest of defenses on the brightest stage. He dissected the Pistons’ defense en route to 48 points, including 25 straight in the fourth quarter and overtime.
The five players that Cooper and Scott listed could undoubtedly compete in the 80s. To be frank, there are more than just five that could compete in the past eras.
