Basketball has been a long ongoing sport, with its official inception dating back to the late 1950s. Since then we have seen a myriad of talent grace the league.
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A vast number of them have contributed integrally to revolutionizing the game, for the better. Given the wide-ranging plethora of talent that has stepped foot on the basketball floor, the proportion of players who have gone on to leave a pivotal legacy in the sport is minimalistic.
Nonetheless, the comparisons between some of these greats, are never-ending. To ideally understand why these contrasting debates take place, within the evolution of the game lies the solution.
With that being said, these conversations make for intriguing perspectives from some of the greatest players to have played the game. Someone with the reputation of John Salley, for example.
John Salley and his foremost players of each decade!
John Salley has been a member of the NBA for the better part of 14 years. The NBA veteran has accomplished quite a bit himself, which includes four NBA championships.
So if at any point, the argument arises that he isn’t fit or credible enough to make these judgments, you couldn’t be further from the truth.
Speaking to former NFL athlete Shannon Sharpe on his weekly podcast ‘Club Shay Shay’, Salley responds to Sharpe’s questions, which debated the best NBA players from each decade, starting from the 1960s.
Sharpe began-
“Imma give you some decades, you tell me the best player in the decade. So we go 60s, Chamberlain, Robertson, Jerry West, Bill Russell..The 70s, Kareem, Bob Lanier, Walt Frazier, Bob McAdoo..80s Magic, Bird, Mo Malone, Kareem, Doc..90s Jordan, Hakeem, Barkley..2000s, Shaq, Kobe, Dirk, Duncan, LeBron, Iverson, Nash, Garnett..2010s, LeBron, Steph.”
To which Salley provided an answer for each decade-
“Robertson, Jerry West, Magic, Jordan, Shaq is the most dominant player I’ve ever seen. But you got Dirk Nowitzki in there, Imma go with Shaq. LeBron.”
Each of the aforementioned players above by Salley, in their own right, has been of paramount importance to the development of the game.
Players like Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, and LeBron James, without a question, have transcended the manner in which the game is viewed and played.
All things considered, this might just be the most rational list stated, in the long span of this particular subject matter being prevalent.
Who’s got next? Ja Morant proclaims Salley!
A riveting reaction was provided by Holland when queried about who he believed would be ascending during the 2020s.
Sharpe asked-
“Who will be the dominant player of the 2020s?”
Sally responded-
“Ja Morant. (Over Luka?)..Ja Morant, (Over Jok? Giannis?)..Ja Morant..Am I saying it ghetto enough? Ja Morant. Ja Morant.”
He replied without flinching.
Morant has been a ruthless and productive guard since he stepped foot in the league. The last couple of years have seen him propel his game to another dimension. Not to forget, he was amongst the favorite for the coveted NBA ‘MVP’ award, just last year.
The Memphis Grizzlies talisman is currently averaging 28.8 points, 7.0 assists, and 6.0 rebounds in 12 games. With the Grizzlies displaying the grit and grind of title contenders, the only question isn’t if the current Memphis core will win a championship.
It’s merely a matter of when.
