I would think any of the shooter/passer PFs/Centers from the early 2000s would be great today. Divac, Webber, Okur, Brad Miller, David Lee, etc. There’s several more but that’s off the top of my head
AK47 would definitely excel too.
Disagree on David Lee in particular. He was a 6’9 non-shooter, non-rim-protector who also couldn’t really guard on the perimeter. Limited opportunities for those players today. Rest of the players on your list I agree with more because they were bigger rim protectors and/or actual 3pt shooters.
Lee could still play, just don’t think he’d have as good a career as he actually had 15 years ago. In fact, we kinda saw the league pass him by in real time while he was on the Warriors - him getting replaced as a starter by Draymond Green was a major factor in the Warriors transitioning from “good team” to “dominant championship team”.
Yeah he was a good midrange and FT shooter, but went 1/29 from 3 in his career lol. Maybe different if he develops in the current era, but he never ended up making 3s part of his game
I think Larry Bird would be massively upgraded with having the green light to launch more 3s. Also, there would be so much more space underneath for him to operate and pass.
He would definitely have the freedom to shoot. But he’d have to guard a lot better athletes on the other side of the floor. What I think would’ve helped in this era is the technology to fix his back and extend his career
I think he would be fine on defense. He was good in his era and, I think, would do fine guarding today's smaller 4s and even some 5s. I think that he could match up with some wings, too. If Luka can stay on the court, I'm sure Bird could, too.
Bird was an elite team defender and a significantly better on ball defender than Luka. Pre-injury Bird's athleticism is severely overlooked. He was much more fleet afoot than Doncic.
Larry would demolish the modern NBA and is the best answer to this question, in my opinion. He would be an absolute nightmare to defend.
People still underrate his 3pt shooting because of his shooting percentage. Game has changed so much. If players knew they’d be shooting 8 3’s a game they would practice and gameplan for it so much more. He would be a top shooter with elite vision, passing, finishing. I think hakeem w a 3 pt shot would be so good in todays nba too.
Bird famously held his own pretty well against noted athletes Dominique Wilkins and a young Michael Jordan and not to mention Magic Johnson, the latter at point guard still is the likes of which we still haven’t seen another.
To your point, Simmons in The Book of Basketball conjectures that Bird’s career did align before an era that would have given more trouble. I think he mentions Rodman as a case zero of that.
But it’s hard to believe Bird for all his skill, intuition, and grit would have trouble at any later time. He was a baller.
Bird's highest finish in DPOY voting was 3rd and he made it to the all defensive team thrice. He is still the 40th best all time in Steals per game and 14th best all time in Defensive rebounds per game and 77th best all time Defensive rating. His defensive rating is very close to Kawhi Leonard's.
So he would do pretty well in this era defensively.
He would also train like current athletes do. Bulls transformed the NBA in the 90’s by adding a whole different paradigm to strength and conditioning training.
You would see a fitter Bird, same for MJ, etc.
Credit the pistons for pushing that revolution
He would have also benefited massively from all the medical science players have now. Obviously everybody would have but I feel that would be huge for him in particular.
Rick Barry, like Bird who is mentioned here already, is one of the great shooting forwards of all time. His range would easily cover the 3 pt line, the new rules on D would benefit him too. The year he one the NBA Finals, the team was already a space and pace team... he was made the current era
Barry wouldn’t make it in the social media era. Would get cancelled before he stepped on the court. 😂
But yeah his game was definitely suited for both the late 70s and today.
Came here to say Nash. He was deadly from three, maybe a bit unselfish. This era of spacing and a quick three was right in the 7 seconds or less Suns wheelhouse.
Pistol would be absurd. People forget he was closer to Luka in size than Steph and Nash. Unlimited range, probably the only pre-80s player that had near modern handles, and the ability to make any pass with either hand? He'd be putting up 35 10 and 5 every night as long as he's sober and healthy.
I think Reggie would cook as well. Shaq had monster numbers already, it’s scary to think what he could do against today’s bigs. But he’d have to stay in Orlando shape
Reggie: yeah, consistent 40% 3pt shooter, great athlete, always in insane shape.
Shaq: hard to imagine him being better in any other era than the one he played in. There were a bunch of all-time Centers during his career and he was the most dominant of them. Sure, he’d feast on today’s bigs, but like you mentioned his conditioning would matter and if the hack-a-Shaq worked on Lively then it would be employed so often as to consider banning it.
Perkins didn't show he had his 3 point skills until he was in his 30s. Like so maybe other players from his era, it just wasn't anything anyone really tried.
In today's game he wouldn't have been drafted as high, but he would have developed the shot sooner. He would definitely have been better as a modern stretch big than the mid 80s post player.
Al Horford reminds me of Sleepy Sam in his prime and they both developed the three later in their careers. Both were/are decent scorers for their roles, plus defenders and good passers.
Hakeem Olajuwon shot about 15 jump shots for every shot attempt at the rim, was arguably the best defensive player to ever exist, could run the floor, good passer.
True even without the 3 his career would be much more impressive without health issues cutting it short. But I mean the guy shot a ton of outside shots and only got 2 points for em
Antoine Walker. He played about 15 years too early. Big wing that loved shooting 3s and did some work inside? Yeah he'd be incredible if he played now.
Michael Beasley, doubt this guy makes a return as a role player let alone what he could've been. Derrick Coleman seems like on paper, he'd be solid as a stretch, haven't seen enough film though.
I watched a rare Nets playoff game with Coleman a while back, the first time I'd really seen him play beyond a few dunking highlights, and I was surprised at how good an outside shooter he was. I also remember his wiki page quoting someone as saying that he wasn't super motivated, but seems like someone who could thrive today.
I’m not even going to argue “Rasheed Wallace would be an MVP” because that’s just ridiculous. While he’d definitely be a stretch 4, he is mediocre at best with rebounding and defense. He’s also slow af.
I’m a Lakers fan and I believe Larry Bird would absolutely eat in this current era.
Young Rasheed was mobile as hell. He definitely was never a slouch as a post defender, either.
He would be a stretch 5 / 4, basically the best version of what KAT thinks he is. Rewatch his last years with Portland, the dude gave Kobe/Shaq Lakers nightmares for years.
It’s true too. Rasheed was almost always the best player on his team hai entire career. He was unselfish to a fault, which imo makes him even more valuable in today’s game.
I think he's the best pick, but I had to check because those Blazers were deep; 99-00:
>Wallace, Pippen, Damon Stoudamire, Arvydas Sabonis, Steve Smith, Detlef Shrempf, young Jermaine O'Neal.
Rasheed was in his prime more or less, while the other best players were either past theirs, or not there yet with O'Neal.
Sheed had many faults but that man could defend like nobodies business when he wanted to. He was a beast on the pistons. But he’d never be an MVP, had the physical skills to do it but never had the mentality to be that
A top 3, at worst, player of the 80s, would eat on this era? Who would have thunk it? I thought it’s common sense that the elite athletes would eat in any era?
I might be crazy but Julius Erving. I’m not the most familiar with his game, but I know he had a great blend of rim pressure and mid range scoring. That would benefit from the extra space, and make him an elite inelastic scorer.
Rafer Alston... when he played they limited him and tried to make him play standard of but the dude has better handles than Kylie. Look him up skip to my lou
Wesley Person. Just a great volume 3pt shooter that could never do anything else really impactful with the ball. There were seasons he shot almost the same from 3 as he did from 2. Double his output I'm sure he's making bank.
Pistol Pete, Sam Perkins, Vlade Divac, Pau Gasol, Robert Horry as well.
I also think Barkely and Hakeem would have been better. Others that people mentioned like Rasheed, KG I also agree with.
Wes Unseld was like prime Draymond Green before his time. Same body type (Unseld had a thicker core, Green a bit taller iirc) ability to guard 1-5, excellent passing vision and a decent jump shot.
And that legendary outlet pass.
Unseld would've dominated in modern small-ball lineups.
3pt shooting big men comes to mind like Rasheed Wallace. He shoots 3s, can post-up, grab rebounds, and a really good defender. Bird, Rashard Lewis, AK47. Killer 3pt shooters like Peja, Reggie, and Nash.
Glen rice, Rashard Lewis, Jason Richardson, Shawn Marion, Shawn Kemp, Jason Williams just to name a few lesser known who would absolutely cook in this era. Heck add Antwan Jamison too.
I'm thinking of good 3 point shooters who didn't shoot enough threes back then - Ray Allen and maybe Steve Nash are the obvious ones. Somebody like Sam Perkins could work as a big wing too; shot around 40% from three in the first half of his career.
Hakeem Olajuwan could play 3 through 5 and with the wide open lanes and lack of physical play there is now, he would be even greater than he was. H3 didn't shoot threes, because he wasn't asked to, but who thinks he wouldn't have been able to shoot 3s?
And defense isn't even a question.
Reggie Miller for sure, he was the original off the dribble 3 point king before Steph and that was in the 90s, if he played today he’d be way better, Steph still the best but Reggie right there with him, think Klay with dribbling ability
Uncle Cliffy is absolutely getting a rookie max extension in today’s game given how his career started—6’10”, plays all three front court positions, 3 point range, lob threat. Still the best looking Blazer to rock a headband.
Scottie Pippen. Can handle, pass, rebound, and shoot the three. Ultimate switch defender with length who can guard 1-4. He is the best possible version of someone like Paul George or Scottie Barnes. Probably still not gonna be a primary ball handler but he is the best player on like half the teams in the league and I think he is All NBA most years in his prime.
Jason Williams in the social media era would legitimately be the most popular player in the planet. His crazy dimes would go viral every night, especially if he has some shooters. Put him on the current Miami Heat squad and they’d go the finals every year
Mark price, Jerry west, and Pete Maravich would be my picks. All great shooters and great basketball IQ. They were great in their time but in the modern day their skills would match up excellently with the game.
A lot of these come down to which players would've had longer careers with better technology too. Tracy Mcgrady would've killed in today's league and wouldn't have been pushed to the breaking point with his legs, ending his career early
All the shooters from prior areas would have been better. I think specifically of Steve Nash. He was a 50/40/90 guy for many years but he didn't shoot a high volume of threes because It wasn't the en vogue thing to do. In a podcast Steve said that in today's era he would be shooting 10+ threes per game. Couple that with his all-time great passing and finishing and Steve Nash might have been an even more efficient 30-point per game scorer with double digit assists
Brent Barry - look at his Sonics 2001-2002 season. When he played the full season as a starter.
81 games played. 37.5 mpg.
5.0fg 9.8fg attempts
.508 fg%
.424 3pt %
.588 2pt%
.611 efg%
5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 14 points a game.
Bird would be ok playing out of the post but he’s have trouble getting to the rim. He’d be Jokic light (obviously better shooting but don’t underrated Jokic lol)
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
Was waiting to see this one. Ahead of his time
Great call.
Andrei Kirilenko fits better today. Same with his teammate Mehmet Okur.
I would think any of the shooter/passer PFs/Centers from the early 2000s would be great today. Divac, Webber, Okur, Brad Miller, David Lee, etc. There’s several more but that’s off the top of my head AK47 would definitely excel too.
Disagree on David Lee in particular. He was a 6’9 non-shooter, non-rim-protector who also couldn’t really guard on the perimeter. Limited opportunities for those players today. Rest of the players on your list I agree with more because they were bigger rim protectors and/or actual 3pt shooters. Lee could still play, just don’t think he’d have as good a career as he actually had 15 years ago. In fact, we kinda saw the league pass him by in real time while he was on the Warriors - him getting replaced as a starter by Draymond Green was a major factor in the Warriors transitioning from “good team” to “dominant championship team”.
Then I’m just misremembering Lee. Didn’t confuse him with anyone, just thought he was a shooter most of all.
Yeah he was a good midrange and FT shooter, but went 1/29 from 3 in his career lol. Maybe different if he develops in the current era, but he never ended up making 3s part of his game
1/29 is Shaq territory 😂. And I do remember him being a cardboard cutout on D.
AK!!
I think Larry Bird would be massively upgraded with having the green light to launch more 3s. Also, there would be so much more space underneath for him to operate and pass.
He would definitely have the freedom to shoot. But he’d have to guard a lot better athletes on the other side of the floor. What I think would’ve helped in this era is the technology to fix his back and extend his career
I think he would be fine on defense. He was good in his era and, I think, would do fine guarding today's smaller 4s and even some 5s. I think that he could match up with some wings, too. If Luka can stay on the court, I'm sure Bird could, too.
Bird would have access to the same technology as players today which would up his game to unimaginable levels.
True, but Luka was getting cooked. Not the best example, I get what you’re saying though
Bird was an elite team defender and a significantly better on ball defender than Luka. Pre-injury Bird's athleticism is severely overlooked. He was much more fleet afoot than Doncic. Larry would demolish the modern NBA and is the best answer to this question, in my opinion. He would be an absolute nightmare to defend.
I mean, he's my favorite player of all time so I'm biased, but I have a hard time believing Larry wouldn't average 30+ in today's game.
You’re right, he’d average 35. Just do the math and up his three point attempts to 8 or so.
People still underrate his 3pt shooting because of his shooting percentage. Game has changed so much. If players knew they’d be shooting 8 3’s a game they would practice and gameplan for it so much more. He would be a top shooter with elite vision, passing, finishing. I think hakeem w a 3 pt shot would be so good in todays nba too.
He’s my least favorite player of all time. I fucking hate that ignoramus motherfucker. But he would absolutely maul the modern NBA.
I mean no one acts like he isn't a top guy even with his weakness, but I think bird would be better.
Larry was never getting cooked tho.
Please don’t compare Luka to Larry Legend
Bird famously held his own pretty well against noted athletes Dominique Wilkins and a young Michael Jordan and not to mention Magic Johnson, the latter at point guard still is the likes of which we still haven’t seen another. To your point, Simmons in The Book of Basketball conjectures that Bird’s career did align before an era that would have given more trouble. I think he mentions Rodman as a case zero of that. But it’s hard to believe Bird for all his skill, intuition, and grit would have trouble at any later time. He was a baller.
He reverse dunked on Rodman's head
By technology, you mean hiring labor?
Bird's highest finish in DPOY voting was 3rd and he made it to the all defensive team thrice. He is still the 40th best all time in Steals per game and 14th best all time in Defensive rebounds per game and 77th best all time Defensive rating. His defensive rating is very close to Kawhi Leonard's. So he would do pretty well in this era defensively.
Bird was an amazing team defender
He would also train like current athletes do. Bulls transformed the NBA in the 90’s by adding a whole different paradigm to strength and conditioning training. You would see a fitter Bird, same for MJ, etc. Credit the pistons for pushing that revolution
Yeah Larry would be amazing today.
Also with the better technology to help his back issues he could be even better than he was during his playing days
He would have also benefited massively from all the medical science players have now. Obviously everybody would have but I feel that would be huge for him in particular.
Rick Barry, like Bird who is mentioned here already, is one of the great shooting forwards of all time. His range would easily cover the 3 pt line, the new rules on D would benefit him too. The year he one the NBA Finals, the team was already a space and pace team... he was made the current era
Barry wouldn’t make it in the social media era. Would get cancelled before he stepped on the court. 😂 But yeah his game was definitely suited for both the late 70s and today.
Yea, this is a great one, he would have have averaged over 40 a year or 2, maybe more with the extra 3s.
Mark price or steve nash would basically be the top PGs if they played today. Somewhere between curry and Trae young.
Came here to say Nash. He was deadly from three, maybe a bit unselfish. This era of spacing and a quick three was right in the 7 seconds or less Suns wheelhouse.
Nash’s pull up 3 at the top of the key was beautiful. It’s sad people try to shame his legacy. His second run with Phoenix was magnificent
He probably actually would have won a ring with Phoenix if he shot more.
Price would be amazing.
Peja stojakovic
Bird
Nick Van Exel
He was so nice.
Dan Majerle, and Pete Maravich come to mind.
Dan majerle would be really good I agree. Good defender. He was draining 3s from 30 before most
Thunder Dan would be nice in today’s game
Dude was yoked as well. Sure he couldn’t guard MJ in 93 but w/e. Thunder Dan is such a good nickname too. We need better nicknames to return.
Pistol would be absurd. People forget he was closer to Luka in size than Steph and Nash. Unlimited range, probably the only pre-80s player that had near modern handles, and the ability to make any pass with either hand? He'd be putting up 35 10 and 5 every night as long as he's sober and healthy.
I think Reggie would cook as well. Shaq had monster numbers already, it’s scary to think what he could do against today’s bigs. But he’d have to stay in Orlando shape
Reggie: yeah, consistent 40% 3pt shooter, great athlete, always in insane shape. Shaq: hard to imagine him being better in any other era than the one he played in. There were a bunch of all-time Centers during his career and he was the most dominant of them. Sure, he’d feast on today’s bigs, but like you mentioned his conditioning would matter and if the hack-a-Shaq worked on Lively then it would be employed so often as to consider banning it.
Yeah, 2003 Shaq would be in trouble on D.
Considering we don’t have many centers today, it would be a game of feeding Shaq for easy dunks.
That is true.
All the bigs gonna be in foul trouble
Dell Curry
Rashard Lewis
Him and Hedo Turkey Glue for sure.
Glen Rice had one of the sweetest strokes. I would also like to see Allen Houston play in the modern NBA
Marcus Camby had a solid j, would have stretched out to 3 and been a rich man’s Brook Lopez in this era
I can see that
Jerry West, he would have to develop his dribble more tho
He was cutting edge in his era. I think his handle could’ve adapted
Sam Perkins
Perkins didn't show he had his 3 point skills until he was in his 30s. Like so maybe other players from his era, it just wasn't anything anyone really tried. In today's game he wouldn't have been drafted as high, but he would have developed the shot sooner. He would definitely have been better as a modern stretch big than the mid 80s post player.
Al Horford reminds me of Sleepy Sam in his prime and they both developed the three later in their careers. Both were/are decent scorers for their roles, plus defenders and good passers.
Hakeem Olajuwon shot about 15 jump shots for every shot attempt at the rim, was arguably the best defensive player to ever exist, could run the floor, good passer.
Mj really would be something to watch in this era of no handcheck and lots of freedom for guards like him
The modern rules are designed to showcase players just like MJ. David Stern said his biggest regret was not changing the rules earlier.
Oh for sure you, anyone else come to mind? I think everyone knows Jordan would eat in any era
"Pistol" pete maravich would have scored thousands of more points if there were 3s when he was playing
Plus heart surgery and repairing his torn up knee
True even without the 3 his career would be much more impressive without health issues cutting it short. But I mean the guy shot a ton of outside shots and only got 2 points for em
Glen Rice
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Drazen Petrovic
Prime arvydas sabbonis would tear up this generation. He’s one of the bigger what if’s imo
Absolutely agree!!! The NBA didn’t even get to see prime Sabonis. How do you think CWebb would do?
Steve Nash
Oh Tony kukoc
Reggie Miller with higher 3pt attempts would be something to see.
I got the opposite question what’s a player from todays game that would be better in the past era vs the current era? I’ll start jahlil Okafor
Get Boban a time machine.
Marc Gasol
Shaq. Current nba centers would all be BBQ chicken against him.
I think Steve Francis would've got more love if he played in today's faster tempo game
I think he’s a better Westbrook in this era minus rebounding… Do you Baron Davis is better in this era?
Antoine Walker. He played about 15 years too early. Big wing that loved shooting 3s and did some work inside? Yeah he'd be incredible if he played now.
Employee #8
He’d be doing a lot more shimmies today.
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was Steph Curry before it was cool.
Pete Maravich.
Rashard Lewis
KG
Penny Hardaway I think would be pretty good. Looser dribbling and offensive rules. He was a pretty decent athlete.
He wouldn’t significantly improve
Iverson Without handchecking and in today's spaced out game, nobody could stop him. He'd have a lot higher FG% than he had.
. He’d be a Kyrie in today’s game. He’d be better offensively, yes, but a much bigger hole on defence as well.
I think this comparison is right. Also have to note that if AI shot more 3s it would weaken what he was known for.
Ohhhhh that’s a good one, he’d be really hard to guard and at the FT line even more
I’d love to see AI v. Kyrie in their primes
Except he'd get hunted in switches nowadays. Back then if he got beat off the dribble, there were 2 big men behind him to guard the rim
Ak47
Any team would love to have him
Peja Stojaković
Terry Mills. But, mostly anyone would kill in this no defense, travel happy league
Toni Kukco
Larry Bird. Young Lebron - imagine if Lebron played his prime in the spread offense era.
Michael Beasley, doubt this guy makes a return as a role player let alone what he could've been. Derrick Coleman seems like on paper, he'd be solid as a stretch, haven't seen enough film though.
I watched a rare Nets playoff game with Coleman a while back, the first time I'd really seen him play beyond a few dunking highlights, and I was surprised at how good an outside shooter he was. I also remember his wiki page quoting someone as saying that he wasn't super motivated, but seems like someone who could thrive today.
Rasheed Wallace would not be up for MVP. What the hell are you talking about? Do you honestly think he could put up numbers like Joel, Jokic, or Luka?
Kind of, yeah.
He’d be a good stretch 5, but 14/8/3 isn’t winning MVP
So the guy who averaged 14.4 points per game his entire career would be an MVP candidate in this era? Are you fucking high
Rasheed always looked unstoppable on paper.
he's just a stretch 4, like KAT, probably a bit more "physical"
Rasheed got over 40 technical fouls one year. The dude was not an MVP candidate in any era.
I’m not even going to argue “Rasheed Wallace would be an MVP” because that’s just ridiculous. While he’d definitely be a stretch 4, he is mediocre at best with rebounding and defense. He’s also slow af. I’m a Lakers fan and I believe Larry Bird would absolutely eat in this current era.
Young Rasheed was mobile as hell. He definitely was never a slouch as a post defender, either. He would be a stretch 5 / 4, basically the best version of what KAT thinks he is. Rewatch his last years with Portland, the dude gave Kobe/Shaq Lakers nightmares for years.
Literally just said the same thing haha
You must’ve not watched Prime Sheed with Portland, he was giving Kobe and those Lakers team a tough time.
It’s true too. Rasheed was almost always the best player on his team hai entire career. He was unselfish to a fault, which imo makes him even more valuable in today’s game.
I think a lot people were so caught up in him getting technicals forgot how good he was, especially at UNC too
Last time I checked, he wasn’t even the best player on the Blazers and Portland has zero championships to show for it
Who was the best player on those Blazers team?
I think he's the best pick, but I had to check because those Blazers were deep; 99-00: >Wallace, Pippen, Damon Stoudamire, Arvydas Sabonis, Steve Smith, Detlef Shrempf, young Jermaine O'Neal. Rasheed was in his prime more or less, while the other best players were either past theirs, or not there yet with O'Neal.
Sheed had many faults but that man could defend like nobodies business when he wanted to. He was a beast on the pistons. But he’d never be an MVP, had the physical skills to do it but never had the mentality to be that
A top 3, at worst, player of the 80s, would eat on this era? Who would have thunk it? I thought it’s common sense that the elite athletes would eat in any era?
Hornacek
I might be crazy but Julius Erving. I’m not the most familiar with his game, but I know he had a great blend of rim pressure and mid range scoring. That would benefit from the extra space, and make him an elite inelastic scorer.
I don’t think his career changes much
Pete Maravich , heart surgery and a therapist !!!
Rafer Alston... when he played they limited him and tried to make him play standard of but the dude has better handles than Kylie. Look him up skip to my lou
Tmac
Glen Rice
Derrick McKey….a 6’10” Swiss Army knife at the 3 or 4 or even probably would be a small ball 5 now
Less all around success and more role playing and hustle: I’d love to see Rodman defend Jokic
This is a role player answer, terry mills. He wouldn’t be a star but he could flat out shoot so he would absolutely find his way into a rotation.
Wesley Person. Just a great volume 3pt shooter that could never do anything else really impactful with the ball. There were seasons he shot almost the same from 3 as he did from 2. Double his output I'm sure he's making bank.
Pistol Pete, Sam Perkins, Vlade Divac, Pau Gasol, Robert Horry as well. I also think Barkely and Hakeem would have been better. Others that people mentioned like Rasheed, KG I also agree with.
Wes Unseld was like prime Draymond Green before his time. Same body type (Unseld had a thicker core, Green a bit taller iirc) ability to guard 1-5, excellent passing vision and a decent jump shot. And that legendary outlet pass. Unseld would've dominated in modern small-ball lineups.
Ralph Sampson
Thomas and Dumars, Dale Ellis, Bernard King, Luke Walton, Kiki Vandeweigh, Rod Higgins, Eddie Jones
Drazen Petrovic
3pt shooting big men comes to mind like Rasheed Wallace. He shoots 3s, can post-up, grab rebounds, and a really good defender. Bird, Rashard Lewis, AK47. Killer 3pt shooters like Peja, Reggie, and Nash.
Hakeem would do unspeakable things in this era I promise you that
Pistol Pete Maravich
Andrea bargnani
John Stockton will break 5k steals and be NBA on-court fashion icon in today's game.
A prime healthy Arvydas Sabonis would be Jokic 2.0 today
Hedo Turkoglu. He’d be an amazing point forward in today’s game.
Almost all of them. The only ones that would be worse are slow bigs. Other than that the game is so much easier now.
Chris Mullen. Dude could shoot, rebound and defend with the best of em. He'd feast today. Also, Grant Hill
God Shamgod
Glen rice, Rashard Lewis, Jason Richardson, Shawn Marion, Shawn Kemp, Jason Williams just to name a few lesser known who would absolutely cook in this era. Heck add Antwan Jamison too.
Keith Van Horn
Jimmer Fredette
Christian Laettner probably has a much more prolific offensive game as a stretch 4 rather than a back to the basket 4.
Yeah he would
I'm thinking of good 3 point shooters who didn't shoot enough threes back then - Ray Allen and maybe Steve Nash are the obvious ones. Somebody like Sam Perkins could work as a big wing too; shot around 40% from three in the first half of his career.
Larry Bird
Peja…its always Peja when this question pops up
Bill Walton. He would have been much healthier and is the OG Goat of passing big men. Also his social media accounts would be wildly popular.
He’d be the NBA Kelce or Gronk
Reggie Miller….imagine giving that dude the freedom to shoot as many threes as the average players are shooting now…..
KG shooting 3s would have been terrifying. Im gonna say Glen Rice, too.
Larry Bird putting up eight threes a game and not doing manual labor outside of his job would be amazing.
Rashard Lewis Peja Stokaovic
Peja Stojakavich
Rasheed Wallace
Hakeem Olajuwan could play 3 through 5 and with the wide open lanes and lack of physical play there is now, he would be even greater than he was. H3 didn't shoot threes, because he wasn't asked to, but who thinks he wouldn't have been able to shoot 3s? And defense isn't even a question.
Lamar Odom was built for this era
Reggie Miller for sure, he was the original off the dribble 3 point king before Steph and that was in the 90s, if he played today he’d be way better, Steph still the best but Reggie right there with him, think Klay with dribbling ability
Tom Chambers, Dale Ellis, and Xavier McDaniel the first trio of 20 PPG scorers
Christian Laettner.
Larry Bird would be unstoppable with this much space.
Uncle Cliffy is absolutely getting a rookie max extension in today’s game given how his career started—6’10”, plays all three front court positions, 3 point range, lob threat. Still the best looking Blazer to rock a headband.
Scottie Pippen. Can handle, pass, rebound, and shoot the three. Ultimate switch defender with length who can guard 1-4. He is the best possible version of someone like Paul George or Scottie Barnes. Probably still not gonna be a primary ball handler but he is the best player on like half the teams in the league and I think he is All NBA most years in his prime.
Jason Williams in the social media era would legitimately be the most popular player in the planet. His crazy dimes would go viral every night, especially if he has some shooters. Put him on the current Miami Heat squad and they’d go the finals every year
Bill laimbeer big man can defend, shoot the three but he will foul out and get suspended.
Last time this was posted, Abdul-Rauf was a great answer
Sam Perkins is probably a perennial All Star in the modern NBA.
Mahmood abdul-rauf Sheed wallace Arvydas sabonis Detlef shrempf Mark price Toni kukoc Basically a lot of euros and stretch 4s
Mark price, Jerry west, and Pete Maravich would be my picks. All great shooters and great basketball IQ. They were great in their time but in the modern day their skills would match up excellently with the game.
Honestly, I think most great players would be given the more lax carry/travel rules of today.
The mfn Logo, Jerry West. they called him that because he hit shots from the logo even before a 3pt line
A lot of these come down to which players would've had longer careers with better technology too. Tracy Mcgrady would've killed in today's league and wouldn't have been pushed to the breaking point with his legs, ending his career early
Karl malone
Jordan and AI.
Mark Price
All the shooters from prior areas would have been better. I think specifically of Steve Nash. He was a 50/40/90 guy for many years but he didn't shoot a high volume of threes because It wasn't the en vogue thing to do. In a podcast Steve said that in today's era he would be shooting 10+ threes per game. Couple that with his all-time great passing and finishing and Steve Nash might have been an even more efficient 30-point per game scorer with double digit assists
Joe Dumars and Isiah Thomas! Like 30 each
Pistol Pete
Jerry West Steve Nash Kevin Garnett
Brent Barry - look at his Sonics 2001-2002 season. When he played the full season as a starter. 81 games played. 37.5 mpg. 5.0fg 9.8fg attempts .508 fg% .424 3pt % .588 2pt% .611 efg% 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 14 points a game.
Bird would be ok playing out of the post but he’s have trouble getting to the rim. He’d be Jokic light (obviously better shooting but don’t underrated Jokic lol)
Memhet Okur
This is an interesting one. I like it