NBA Eras: 1950-70s Players vs. 1980s-Present Players
Image via ClutchPoints
When you look at the talent level currently displayed within the NBA, you think that this may be the peak of athleticism in basketball history. Suppose you look at the build and play styles of some players in the NBA, such as LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, and Ja Morant. You will notice that their games are fast-paced, physical, skillful, and crafty. The comparisons about the NBA from then to now are derived from how gifted and talented these up-and-coming players are and have made people feel like NBA players in the '50s, ’60s, and ’70s were just plumbers, firefighters, and regular everyday people who just played the NBA as a hobby.
Some players from the ’90s, 2000s, and 2010s feel their era was or is the best era of basketball in terms of skill, players, competition, and popularity. One person who feels like the NBA era of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s was overrated in a sense is JJ Redick. Redick believes players like Bob Cousy didn’t revolutionize the game of basketball but were blessed to be on a Celtics team with Bill Russell and Red Auerbach leading the way. Redick also pointed out how the level of competition back then wasn’t as elite as it is currently and thinks that some of those players from that era should not have been in the top-75 all-time list for the NBA.
Redick brought up fascinating points in his argument. I somewhat agree with his take on the talent level of today being far more elite than it was 50 to 60 years ago. However, just when I felt that Redick was entirely correct in his analysis, Jerry West responded, and he was not shying away from confrontation. West responded in true logo fashion when he stated, “Obviously the game is completely different, the athletes are completely different, and I know JJ just a little bit. He’s a very smart kid and everything, but tell me what his career looked like? What did he do that determined games? He averaged 12 points a game in the league. Somewhere along the way, numbers count”.
West continued, “I would put myself among any player that played the game today also. Winning is all that matters. That’s what drove me. And I suddenly got better every year. We didn’t have the facilities to get better. We had to work in the summers to support our families”.
Hearing West's comments made me think deeper as to why his era gets diminished and dismissed compared to NBA athletes in the generations after him, and it clicked for me as to why and it was a plethora of things that came to mind. The first thing that stands out to me as to why the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s weren’t considered that great to modern NBA players, analysts, and regular people is the lack of footage that shows how well the players played back then.
Sure, you have some footage of games that took place within that time, but it's not like you can check a highlight tape on Bob Cousy or Bill Russell as you can with Michael Jordan or Hakeem Olajuwon. The NBA wasn’t globally known or recognized like it is today. Players' opportunities in the ’90s, 2000s, and 2010s now benefit them immensely because more people will tune in or take a liking to a particular player they see on television. In the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s, TVs and radios were just becoming a norm in society, and the NBA as an organization was relatively new.
Another factor playing into the stereotype that NBA players from the 50s and 60s face is the lack of athleticism. Of course, two of the greatest big men of all time played in that era, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, but besides those two Goliaths, the rest of the NBA was filled with Davids.
The NBA today has young players and great talents that are training from the time they’re in first grade till the end of their careers in the NBA, and the amount of basketball trainers that are available and easy to access is at an all-time high. Also, AAU has become a huge thing that helps young athletes adapt to elite competition at a young age, so they’re not as phased when they reach the pros. NBA players today also take care of their bodies more to prolong their career and have an injury-free season that won’t result in their career-ending sooner than expected.
Players are now doing practices such as meditation, pilates, yoga, and different treatments that help their body in positive ways, along with specific diets that help form the body to adapt to high levels of performance. Players in today’s era also undergo strength training and add muscle to endure physical play. In the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s, that was never a norm for a basketball player unless you were physically gifted. Also, in the ’50s, 60s, and ’70s, dieting wasn’t a norm, especially a plant-based diet, and basketball wasn't viewed as a serious job that could change your life and your family’s life in a second.
The NBA was viewed as a special place and a new opportunity but wasn’t as popular or global as the NFL or MLB. As a result, players would drink, smoke, party, and find extra jobs in the summer to maintain their lifestyle instead of being fully dedicated to the game like how young players are now.
Technology also helped with the progression of talent within the NBA. As a result, the league has become a global powerhouse, raising its players' popularity and making people become more than just fans but die-hard fans who felt they saw the greatest player ever touch the ball. In the late ’70s and early ’80s, the NBA started becoming the new sport to pay attention to, and the new era of point guards, shooting guards, wing players, and big men began to shine.
Magic Johnson was the first player that people saw and felt was too big for his position, yet he revolutionized the point guard position forever. Larry Bird was another player who wasn't physically gifted, but his skill set was unmatched, and he could do anything he wanted on the court. Then we saw the emergence of Isaiah Thomas, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaq, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and many more players who reinvented the game of basketball. These players started the golden age of basketball. It was the perfect time for basketball to flourish instead of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s, when racism was still at an all-time high and black players weren’t accepted in the league even though they played, and as I said before, nobody really cared for the game of basketball.
Basketball changed so much from the '80s, and it flourished into the ’90s when the game became more physical than ever and made fans worldwide obsessed with this sport. Over time, the rules started to change to protect players from being hurt, and the image of the NBA was once considered a thug league with no true professionalism. Fast forward to now, and players like John Havlicek, K.C. Jones, Sam Jones, West, Elgin Baylor, George Mikan, Russell, and Chamberlain would’ve had serious issues trying to match up with Kyrie Irving, Steph Curry, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Jordan, Shaq, David Robinson, Olajuwon, James, and other talented players.
Overall, I do feel that Redick was right in saying competition back then wasn’t as elite as it is now. Still, to rebuttal back at Redick's comments, it’s hard to be the best era in basketball when you were the first generation of players. Those players had no guidance regarding how the game should be played or how to attract people to a new sport when baseball was at its peak, along with football being right behind as the most popular sport in America. It’s also hard to argue that everyone was plumbers and firemen back in the 50s and 60s when the NBA was barely paying its players to support their families and themselves so they could focus solely on basketball and bettering their skillset on the court.
Lastly, it’s difficult to compare a player such as Irving to Cousy because Irving grew up in a home where his father was an above-average basketball player and his godfather, Rod Strickland, was in the NBA. Meanwhile, Cousy was learning how to play basketball on a pro level because the NBA as a true league started four years before Cousy was in the league. So yes, today’s talent level and superstardom are ten times better than the talent that started for the NBA. Today's athletes would destroy competition if placed in the ’50s and ’60s; however, if those players of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s had the same type of information that today's players had, who’s to say that Michael Jordan would still be the GOAT of the NBA.
Of course, we would never know the answer to that question, but the disrespect of the players from the '50s and the '60s has to stop because, without them, the NBA wouldn’t be where it is today. So, yes, I do agree with Redick that talent now is way better than before, but I also side with West when he says, “We didn’t have the facilities to get better. We had to work in the summers to support our families” because that was the norm and way of living within that time. So evidently, my question to the people who read this article is, whose side are you on? The Logo or the Old Man and the Three?
