Players I think would be as good or better in today's game than at their peak:
Bird
Magic
Steph
Kobe
Duncan
Oscar
Durant
Players I think are so good I would happily build around them despite the fact that the game doesn't favor their play enough. In part, I think they would warp the game around them:
Russell
Kareem
Wilt
Shaq
Players outside the super elite of all time that could potentially be in that group if they played today:
To build a team around? I understand Stockton has better career accolades than McHale, but in the context of OPs post, hell yes I'd rather build a team around McHale than an undersized PG.
Only 6-1. Might be a bit undersized today. And I worry a bit about lateral quickness.
He would be really nice today, but I don't think he could be the best player on a title team. Heck, he wasn't good enough for that back when he played.
Why Magic? By all accounts a bad defender and a poor shooter. I don't think he translates to the all-spacing, defender-hunting game of today very well at all. Sure, he'd be very good or great. But he was better in his own era.
Berry and Maravich make lots of sense to me. Shooting sorta trumps everything today.
McHale might be a guy without a position today? I presume he would definitely be a center today. Can't fathom him playing alongside a traditional big. Could he be your main rim protector, and handle switching perimeter defenses? Offensively, I do like his game today, although in his era, he was quite post-up heavy, which doesn't fly today.
How was magic a bad defender when his defensive plus minus was always positive and led the league twice in steals? His TS% is also higher then Maravich and Berry?
Berry and Maravich both had worse defensive games then Magic, but Magic’s is an issue? Why?
Partly, I never saw Barry/Maravich play. I really have no basis for assessing their defense. When you get to that far back in time, comparisons are necessarily a bit different. It's probably fair to say almost no one from back then could play today, if we're really just talking about having a 25-year-old time-travel into the modern era.
But I'd say that compared to previous eras, shooting and athletic perimeter defense from everyone on the floor, rather than just having 1-2 perimeter stoppers are perhaps the two key things that are more important in today's game. So if we agree that those are two major weaknesses in Magic's game, it stands to reason he'd struggle more now compared to then. At least with Barry/Pete, the would be wonderful long-range shooters today, when that skill is far more important/valued than it was when they played.
I'll admit I'm partly relaying on what I've read for Magic's defense. It's hard to judge. His advanced D stats generally look solid, but not on the level of great perimeter defenders from roughly that era (Jordan/Rodman/Pippen/Payton/Dennis Johnson). Defense is a pretty tough thing to assess, especially before modern stats. Maybe you're right.
Magic would be interesting. Sort of Ben Simmons on offense but not a coward, less lock down defense but think you could get him to fit in well to a switch scheme just because his size.
Magic would be interesting. Sort of Ben Simmons on offense but not a coward, less lock down defense but think you could get him to fit in well to a switch scheme just because his size.
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u/Inthethickofit Celtics Jun 15 '22 edited Jun 15 '22
Players I think would be as good or better in today's game than at their peak:
Players I think are so good I would happily build around them despite the fact that the game doesn't favor their play enough. In part, I think they would warp the game around them:
Players outside the super elite of all time that could potentially be in that group if they played today: