NBA legends from the 1980s and the ’90s have tried to create a clear distinction between them and modern players. Most players now, if not all, have unfairly been labeled as ‘soft’ by the older generation. Michael Jordan, in fact, had once picked only a handful of players from the modern era, four to be exact, whom he saw could succeed him and carry forward what his generation considered as the mantle. MJ picked Kobe Bryant and LeBron James in his short (very short) list. Phew!
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The interview with ESPN in which MJ played his favorite trivia game of that time, which was to pick next-gen stalwarts. This was back in 2013. He gave a hint to the interviewer after asking the question, “I can only come up with four.”
MJ listed his four names: “LeBron, Kobe, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki.”
There were a lot of notable players who came up in the decade since his retirement. However, when we consider that he just picked Bryant, James, Tim Duncan, and Dirk Nowitzki, many superstar-caliber players would have left feeling belittled.
It is easy to understand MJ’s yardstick while picking the four. There was an old-school feel to the way Kobe, LeBron, Dirk, and Duncan approached the game.
When the interviewer tried to bring up how people compared LeBron to Oscar Robertson, it did not sit right with Jordan. Fuming, he said, “It’s absolutely… The point is, no one is critiquing the personnel that he’s playing against. Their knowledge of how to play the game … that’s not a fair comparison. That’s not right…”
Although MJ put LBJ on a pedestal, the Bulls legend still maintained that he wouldn’t have been as successful playing in the 1980s and ’90s.
“Could LeBron be successful in our era? Yes. Would he be as successful? No,” said Jordan.
In Jordan’s era of basketball, players were tested on their physical and mental strength on every outing. Playing full seasons used to be the norm and there was a genuine hunger to become the best team or the best player in the league.
Over the years, that drive to turn up game in-game out has waned. After all, players still get paid hundreds of millions of dollars even if they miss substantial parts of the season. “Load management” has become the new normal, and the league has started catering to the comfort of players.
Ensuring player welfare and safety is not entirely wrong. But it has surely impacted the game.
And, as for everyone else outside of those four superstars, MJ doesn’t think any of them could survive in his era.
Jordan thinks modern-era players are soft
MJ takes pride in the fact that he faced arguably some of the best basketball players of all time and still managed to claim the throne. During the interview, he kept saying “our era” multiple times.
The Bulls legend believes that the modern-day players are soft, coddled, and ill-prepared for the level of competition that used to be the norm in his days.
A slight caveat here is the fact that stars from the previous century confuse harsh fouls with high levels of play. The ‘Bad Boy’ Pistons, Pat Riley’s New York Knicks, and many more were known bruisers at the time who repeatedly trucked over opposing players with little to no whistle being called against them.
That turned basketball in the most talented league in the world into a combat sport. And that is not in line with the essence of the game in the slightest.
The game has evolved for the better in several ways over the years. However, fans longing for the nitty gritty feel of 20th-century hoops is understandable. And the lack of physicality in today’s game is something that confuses players of the past.
Rarely do we see anyone dive for a loose ball, the officials hand out techs like candies on Halloween, and the art of flopping deserves a separate category at the end of regular season awards.
Is MJ harsh in his opinion? Yes. Is he wrong? No. As much as the game has changed and people continue to use it as an excuse, moving away from the fundamentals of the sport can never be justified.
If the approach went in the right direction, Jordan would’ve been compelled to take more than just four names.
