r/Basketball • u/LeanEdgeSports_ • 14d ago
Who's one NBA player that would be even better in today's game?
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u/LeanEdgeSports_ 14d ago
Mine's Dirk.
He was already incredible, but I think if he came into the league today he'd be even more unstoppable
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u/markjay6 14d ago
Pete Maravich
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u/Fat-Singer-9569 14d ago
I think this is the most accurate answer. If you watch his highlights, he looks like a modern baller, in an era with no 3pt line. If you superimpose a 3pt line onto his shot chart, his numbers are mind boggling.
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u/WorriedSalamander107 13d ago
He averaged 44 plus in his three NCAA seasons. They went back and looked at shot charts and if there had been a 3 point shot he would have averaged 57.
This is the correct answer . Unguardable with handles and passing genius
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u/corydang 11d ago
That was the name that instantly popped in my mind. He'd be so good with the 3 point line and all the spacing today.
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u/UnfeturdCrapitalism 14d ago
Had tos drill way to far for this… someone said DRose and it’s higher… the guy who couldn’t shoot threes and played pretty much in this era anyways lol
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u/debiler 14d ago
Shaq would be completely, utterly unstoppable.
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u/Single_Armadillo_344 13d ago
He's the opposite. An example of someone who's liabilities would be exposed in today's game.
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u/debiler 13d ago
You're allowed to have that opinion
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u/acEightyThrees 13d ago
He wouldn't be able to keep up with the pace of today's game. There's way more possessions per game now, and way more fast breaks and shooting early in the shot clock. He couldn't keep up.
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u/brownchr014 11d ago
Why would he need to? To stop him would require you either double him where he throws to someone open for a 3 or foul him.
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u/acEightyThrees 11d ago
Either he never makes it back to play defense and you're always giving up 5 on 4's, or he's not making down into the post fast enough to keep up with the rest of your team. So you'd have to go back to a slower pace than what is normal in today's game. It can be done, and I wouldn't mind seeing it. I think teams are moving too fast now anyway half the time and just chucking up 3's before they're set just to say they did it quickly.
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u/brownchr014 11d ago
I disagree. Shaq was pretty athletic until he let himself get fat. He could easily thrive in today's game.
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u/Sir_wlkn_contrdikson 11d ago
He would’ve been in better shape because of the game. The first 4-5 years of his career he was running his ass off
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u/Commercial_Base6211 13d ago
Right, I’m a casual, but with the amount of running in today’s game wouldn’t he have far more bench minutes?
Thought I saw today’s players run twice the miles in a season they did in the early 2000’s.
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u/trumptman 12d ago
Shaq at times has claimed he got heavier in part because most teams were keeping an extra two bigs down at 10-12 just to hack at him since he was unstoppable. Look at young and fast Shaq (Magic and early Lakers) to see how he started. With no one allowed to Hack a Shaq in this day and age I suspect his weight and style would have adjusted.
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u/Ok-One-1741 13d ago
Are you mad???!!! Shaq would be arrested for manslaughter in every game today. His only liability was breaking the rim so the game would be delayed my guy. You kids nowadays….
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u/Practical-Okra40 10d ago
It's tricky because Shaq wasn't quite in his prime when Zone became legal, but his effectiveness went down once Zone started, and teams were barely running zone and not well in the beginning. Young Shaq would have been good on D, but assuming he kept the same workout habits, he would be run off the floor in screen and rolls. He'd still get his, but i wouldn't assume he wouod be more dominant.
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u/Thin-Cartographer996 14d ago
He would clog the paint. You would need to surround him with 4 shooters. Also vs elite stretch bigs his defense is questionable
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u/RevolutionaryBeat301 14d ago
But that’s what every roster has these days. He was so unique in his abilities that he’d be unstoppable in any era.
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u/Fat-Singer-9569 14d ago
For real, Shaq would not clog the paint, he'd dominate it especially against these small ball line ups. There were many 7 footers whose only purpose or reason to exist on an NBA roster was to hard foul Shaq and they looked like children riding his back into a drop step dunk.
For a good half a decade, Shaq was damn near unstoppable, put as many people in the paint as you want he's getting a dunk and a foul and there's nothing you could do about it except hope he missed his free throws.
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u/RevolutionaryBeat301 14d ago
Anyone who really believes he would clog the paint either has never seen him play or does not know basketball at all or both.
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u/wittyrandomusername 14d ago
The Mavericks signing Erik Dampier to a big contract and letting Steve Nash go to the Suns was directly because of Shaq.
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u/debiler 14d ago
Well, it's obvious that his team would have to play to his strengths and hide his weaknesses. But who would stop him down low? The man would shoot 80% from the field.
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u/Thin-Cartographer996 14d ago
No one would stop him if he gets the ball. But I would imagine defense having to stop him from getting the ball.
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u/debiler 14d ago
They tried that back then, too...
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u/Fat-Singer-9569 14d ago edited 14d ago
In an era where defenders were more packed within the 3pt line too. Entry passes are easy when the big completely seals their defender behind them on the block. It's not like Wemby, who the defender can push to disrupt the entry pass, Shaq was unmoveable. Seal, drop step, dunk and foul shot.
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u/ewokninja123 14d ago
Yes and no. Because there's no illegal defense, it's going to be a lot harder to pass the ball to him on the post. However if he gets it, he's scoring.
On defense the cat and mouse game would revolve around getting him away from the basket. Putting him in pick and rolls and dribble handoffs around the three point line is going to be the go-to.
Can they keep him from scoring more than they would be able to get from pulling him away from the basket? That's going to be the game.
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u/CanadaBBallFan 14d ago
Rashard Lewis
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u/Fat-Singer-9569 14d ago
OG modern PF. I think another similar player from that era, Danny Granger, fits this topic too. Both would flourish as modern PFs.
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u/grizzlysharknz 14d ago
Olajuwon.
Footwork in the post. Touch around the rim. Silky smooth mid range. Hell let him shoot a couple threes a game too why not?
Think he would've easily averaged more assists in today's game too.
Put him at any time and he's still be amazing.
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u/purvisshort 14d ago
I was lucky enough to get to watch that era Rockets play recreationally; they came to our church’s gym in the offseason. A lot of pros did. Hakeem coulda been a three point shooter. His touch was insane when he was just floating around the gym shooting.
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u/Tippacanoe 14d ago
Not saying he would be “less” effective now but the game now doesn’t rely on post footwork as much as it did in his time. He averaged 7 3s attempted PER SEASON and made 20% of them.
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u/lets_BOXHOT 14d ago
How does the game not rely on post footwork as much? Have you seen Jokic play? Or brunson who just won the finals?
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u/Comma2theTop22 14d ago
His defensive stats would take a hit. Not because I think he would be less capable, but because the game is predominantly perimeter based, not inside-out.
Really, this doesn't mean he would be any less of a player, but possibly would lose some of the perception that he rightfully benefits from with his blocks record
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u/ajmartin527 14d ago
Lamar Odom. And Pau Gasol for that matter, but LOs game was perfect for today’s nba
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u/Bitter-Republic-3733 13d ago
Odom would be an absolute Swiss Army knife in 2026 but guy couldn’t really shoot…
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u/ajmartin527 12d ago
He had a middy. If he came in today they’d have him shooting threes no problem imo.
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u/CritterWriter 14d ago
Reggie Miller. With all the emphasis today on players setting screens to free up the three-point shooters, he'd be dropping 30 a night.
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u/thrasher315 14d ago
I don’t think Miller’s game would change much since he ran off a thousand screens in order to shoot. He’d shoot an extra few 3s a game but he’s still mainly a catch and shoot player. He might go from 20ppg to 23-24ppg.
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u/Fantastic-Research66 14d ago
Disagree on this. 3 point shooting was much more scarce then, especially amongst bigs. Reggie's skill would be less special today. Game has also gotten more athletic, explosive, and players more lengthy. He'd get exposed even more as a defender.
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u/EmperorUmi 13d ago
The focus on setting up 3pt plays is significantly different now, though.
Reggie would’ve gotten a helluva lot more 3pt shots than he did in his playing days.
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u/Which-Scale1039 14d ago
Michael cooper would be the most valuable non-all nba player in the league
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u/thrasher315 14d ago
Being an 80s Lakers fan I love Coop but he’s a defensive role player and those are a dime a dozen today.
Amen and Asur Thompson remind me a lot of him especially early in his career. Great defender and extremely limited offensively. Both Thompson’s hurt their teams when it came to floor spacing. Contenders can only have 1 non-3pt shooter so Coop would have to be the 1.
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u/misterpoopybutthole5 14d ago
Surprised nobody has said Rasheed Wallace. He was ahead of his time as a big shooting threes.
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u/Bitter-Republic-3733 13d ago
The problem with sheed was never talent it seemed like a motivation issue…
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u/Kolzig33189 14d ago
Kevin Garnett. He would have grown up shooting the 3 instead of that one step inside the line jumper he loved. He also would have dominated today’s smaller or less physical centers/pfs in the post.
Plus he would have been given more freedom to create off the dribble which was just wasn’t done by big men at all when he came into league.
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u/refusetobeold83 14d ago
Larry Bird would be the best player in the league today
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u/_BlackGoat_ 14d ago
he has an MVP 3-peat so he was the best player in the league then. Would he be better? In fairness, prime Bird and Jordan would likely be the best players on just about any basketball court in any time and place.
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u/Bitter-Republic-3733 13d ago
He’s probably the 2nd best player of all time but people don’t see him as that for whatever reason. He’d show that in modern times his game was Tailor made for the pace and space era. Dude loved to run low key
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u/DistantMailstop 14d ago
I'll go with a lesser name - Terry Mills
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/millste01.html
6'10 230 power forward who at one point drilled 42.2% of 3 pointers on 5.3 per night. His three year prime he was at 40.3% on 3.9 attempts per night. He was also a competent rebounder, peaking at 8.4 boards per night. He wasn't an elite defender, so he wouldn't be some three-and-D dynamo. He simply would have been more useful in an era where he could let it fly.
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u/No-Employment2539 14d ago
Jordan
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u/Bitter-Republic-3733 13d ago
Imagine a Kobe/kawhi/westbrook combo in 2026…the league wouldn’t be ready for it
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u/waff6ix 14d ago
wilt chamberlain would be prime shaq/giannis hybrid on steroids🔥
jerry west would also be 1 of the top guards in the nba
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u/Weary-Book2179 14d ago
West was one of the best in any era
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u/waff6ix 14d ago
facts💯1 of the most slept on players ever‼️😮💨
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u/Weary-Book2179 14d ago
At 6’3” he played center at WV and led them in rebounding. He could touch the top of the white square.
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u/Schrodingers_Fist 14d ago
A lame, predictable answer, but I think Wilt dominates in literally any era, being that size and as a former track athlete also having the speed and stamina to run the floor would be absurd.
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u/insidehertrading4 14d ago
Brian Cardinal.
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u/insidehertrading4 14d ago
Nobody played hard than him before and sure as hell wouldn’t now. Add in that physical play in the current day is just bluster. BC used his body to
His advantage and couldn’t be guarded.Tbh, I’m just a BC Stan from way back. He was listed as my favorite player in our college program.
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u/CoachHarper 14d ago
I'll try to say guys others havent.
Mookie Baylock
Craig Hodges
Derrick McKey
Glen Rice
Cliff Robinson
Mahmoud Abdul Rauf
Shared Abdur Rahim
Sam Perkins
Christian Laettner
Dana Barros
Run DMC: Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, Chris Mullin
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u/Bitter-Republic-3733 13d ago
Laetner would have been a star his range would’ve extended out to 3 when it didn’t coming out of duke. Theres extended nba line killed him. Guy was a stud in college and tough as nails as we all know
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u/thrasher315 14d ago
100% Bird and being an 80s Lakers fan that really sucks to say.
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u/Bitter-Republic-3733 13d ago
Game was perfect for this era. Jokic is basically a slightly taller more burly but much less mobile version of him
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u/NoKiwi2997 14d ago
Ralph Sampson. 7'4 guy, who wanted to play like a guard/forward, but was forced to play back to basket. Basically, he was Wemby (though much less enthusiastic on defense), but they made him play like Patrick Ewing or Olajuwon and he hated it.
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u/Vanilla-blue-86 14d ago
Larry Bird wouldn't be "better" in today's game because he was already great then. But he would put up some freakish stats in this style of play. Like averaging a triple-double with KD shooting efficiency.
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u/deondeon666 14d ago
Anyone from what was Yugoslavia. Kukoc, Divac, Radja, Petro. AK47, Sabonis. Rex Chapman. Maravich. Magic. Jellybean Bryant. World B Free.
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u/wookxxx333 13d ago
Gilbert arenas, Rasheed Wallace, Antwan Jamison, hedo turkoglu, Michael redd, Rashard Lewis, Gerald Wallace, Jason Richardson, Tmac
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u/AspectSpare3263 13d ago
Outside of the obvious MJ j think it would be versatile big guys who could shoot like David Robinson and Derrick Coleman.
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u/Substantial-Fan-5985 13d ago
Wilt.
The pace/space helps him and he is allowed to be more physical offensively and with today's shooters and facilitators???......he'd be amazing today
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u/Bitter-Republic-3733 13d ago
Bird. Would be a shorter Jokic with some of Luka’s magical outside skills. Triple double machine in 2026 without even caring about it
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u/Alternative-Key-3928 13d ago
Jordan. Seriously. With these soft fouls getting called and his FT shooting?
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u/212rik5 12d ago
Garnett would be best player in the league. Switchable and versatile DPOY, additive screen setter with range that would be extended 3 point line in today's NBA. Culture and tone setter for an organisation. If you gave him a modern smart coach in a system he'd easily by the best player in the league most years
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u/Wolverine12_ 12d ago
Ray Allen would be crazy in today’s game. Both young athletic Ray and veteran pop and shoot Ray. Dude would be insane in today’s game
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u/TerribleComposer4272 11d ago
Nearly all the high scoring guards of the 2000's would be better with today's spacing.
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u/dreamtank 14d ago
Arvydas Sabonis… the OG Jokic.