I remember in the 90's, each game was exciting (even though the champion was expected). there were 29 teams, and almost every one of them had a franchise player. the face of the club. since that time there was a downhill in competition. in the 2000's there were like 3 good teams each year and thats it. same in the 2010's on a larger scale. now if examine the teams there is at least a feature to be all stars/Allstars/Superstars. Atlanta - Milsap, Horford Brooklyn - Williams, Lopez Charlotte - Walker, Big Al, Steaphenson Clevelend - Lebron, Irving, Love Chicago - Rose, Noah Dallas - Nowitzki, Ellis, Parsons Denver - Faried, Lawson Detroit - 4 of 5 starters have potential for all star. Golden State - Splash Brothers Houston - Howard, Harden Indiana - Paul Goerge (he's injury the only bummer for this season) Lakers - Kobe (hopefolly next summer another one). Clippers - Paul, Griffin Minnesota - Wiggins Millwaukee - Parker New Orleans - Davies NYK - Anthony Orlando - Oladipo/Gordon/Payton - one for sure will bacome an all star sometime. OKC - Durant, Westbrook Portland - Aldridge, Lillard 76ers - in 1-2 years atleast SOMEONE from their roster will be an all star. Phoenix - Dragic, Bledsoe Sacramento - Cousins, Gay SAS - Duncan, Parker, Leonard Toronto - Lowry, Derozan Washingnton - Wall I have no clue whos going to take the championship. OKC, LAC, Cleveland, Spurs, GSW, Bulls - for me they are all equal. The fun teams - Wizard, Raptors, Blazers, Rockets, Hornets, Mavericks - will give a good competition. The tough teams - NYK, Grizzlies, Suns, Heat, Nuggets. The uprising teams - Pistons, Pelicans, Hawks. The big question marks - LAL, Timerwolves, Nets, C Bags should be a fun season. just ENOUGH WITH THE INJURIES. people are falling down in this league like flies.
You know it's really difficult to try to predict something like that. You don't usually KNOW it's a great era in basketball until you're halfway through it. If you want parity in the League then I guess you're relatively close to that. About as close as you can be in the NBA. If you want legendary basketball, then no I think it's the opposite. Legendary basketball comes from disparity actually. The 80s Lakers vs. C Bags. The 90s with Jordan and to a far lesser extent Olajuwon. The 2000s with Duncan, Shaq, and Kobe. The early 2010s with LeBron and the Heat. That's where the fun comes from. Not from everyone doing equally well. That works for the NFL, not the NBA.
If you just look at history in general, people don't exactly understand the times they are going through. The "Medieval Age" wasn't called that when people were living it. I consider the term "Golden Era" to be in a similar category. It is also highly subjective. It is an interesting title to consider, however.
Okay serious question... Did someone change my post to say "C bags"? Mods I'm talking to you! I could have sworn I said C Bags... but maybe I subconsciously wrote C bags...
I think it's the dark ages myself. Changing rules to favor less talented players, letting rich owners cry about players who make "too much", propping up fake stars, and letting refs mess with / bet on games.
i'd say the 80s and 90s were the NBA's golden age. far more big names competing on the highest level (mj, magic, bird, malone, hakeem, etc) compared to now
When I think of a golden era, I think about legendary, HOF players. Do I see that now? Eh...not sure. It's a bit too early. During the 2000~2010 era, you had 3 players that are top 10 all-time in Shaq, Duncan, and Kobe. You knew they were special. Dirk and Garnett aren't far behind either. I have them both in the top 25. You still have other great players like Nash, Iverson and Kidd. You had momentary greatness from other players like McGrady. That list goes on and on. I honestly don't care too much about a balanced league. I rather see greatness, and we got that. Right now, I only know that LeBron is an all-time great. Durant can if he continues what he's been doing. Anthony Davis could be special. After that, I don't really see much. I mean, James Harden is considered to be the best SG, which just shows how sad the SG position has gotten. Duncan and Dirk are STILL one of the best bigs in the league, and they're a step away from retirement. We'll see how things progress, but of right now, I just don't get that sense of a golden era.
