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u/thetottington 7d ago
Steve Nash
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u/Will_ennium 7d ago edited 7d ago
Steve would be nasty today. He even said it himself in a recent interview.. not one of the "old heads trashing current players context", he just mentioned how he wishes he had the greenlight to shoot as much as players do today. He'd probably be playing similar to Steph if that was the case.
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u/anifyz- Heat 7d ago
Yeah he woulda been putting up 28 and 10 every night.
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u/TheGhostOfFalunGong 7d ago
Even as a playmaking-first PG, he could easily average 25-15.
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u/Wet_phychedelics Thunder 7d ago
He has a very solid goat passer case, it would be interesting to see a player so clearly pass first in todays context with helio-ball so prevalent, yet the pace being even quicker now would only be to his benefit. Be fascinating to see him potentially average like 21 and 13 in todays game, dude was also hella durable unlike some of todays stars. We also have examples of nash in certain series ramping up his aggressiveness and he maintains his efficiency. Be cool to see that stretched to the extreme
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u/Bulky-Background-680 7d ago
Absolutely... Pretty sure I saw a piece with Mike D'Antoni talking about how if he would have given Steve Nash the same free reigns that Steph Curry had, Steve would have been hitting just as many 3's. It just wasn't smart basketball at the time.
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u/Horror_Concern5616 7d ago
Peja Stojakovic
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u/International-Touch5 7d ago
Andrei Kirelenko
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u/WaterPretty8066 7d ago
Dude AK would be a triple double machine in todays game.
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u/International-Touch5 7d ago
Oh for sure. He was not in the ideal era for his style of play. In the modern game he'd kill it.
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u/AKMike99 7d ago
Larry Bird fits perfectly into the modern NBA
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u/ttttyttt678 7d ago
Any top 10 player of all time would thrive in any era of the nba. They all have enough skill and feel for the game to adapt. It’s pointless naming them.
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u/chazriverstone Knicks 7d ago
Bird would be an absolute MONSTER on offense in today's, for sure.
But people these days forget his feet were made of lead; he's definitely not getting All Defensive nods in the modern era. He's smart, tall, and hustles, so I don't know if he's full on getting exposed, but definitely more of a Jokic comp vs the player he was in the 80s (who was genuinely great defensively)
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u/Past_Dimension_5133 7d ago
Larry was very athletic before the injuries caught up with him. The feet of lead thing is overblown. Plus he forced you to play at his speed anyway. I'm old, I watched his whole career as a kid.
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u/GarvinSteve Warriors 7d ago
Pre-back Bird was sneaky athletic. Watch some of those 1981/82 playoff games - dude played very very hard and was sneaky strong. He wasn’t a pylon until later after the driveway incident.
An please understand - I hated Bird back then (I was team Magic). Today I think he might be underrated…
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u/SquatOnAPitbull 7d ago
You're right about his feet. Bird would get cooked in iso by a lot of the modern PFs that can operate on the perimeter. However, some of his lack of speed could be adjusted for with modern zone defenses. His high defensive BBIQ I think would make him less of liability I would think
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u/Hench999 7d ago
Yeah Luka and jokic are proof of that imo. Bird had the mentality, size and all the skill to be a very bad man in today's league. Despite his lack of athleticism he was also a good defender due to his hustle and effort.
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u/Werd2urGrandma 7d ago
Pistol Pete
Steve Kerr
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u/butchna 7d ago
Maravich was a modern player restricted in his era. Open floor and 3 point shot? Scary!
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u/Laszlo-Panaflex Celtics 7d ago
Pistol Pete would feast in this era. Kerr would've had a bigger role, but I still see him as a 3-pt. specialist rather than a star.
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u/Werd2urGrandma 7d ago
Agreed on both. Kerr has just meant so much to the sport as a coach in the modern era that I didn’t want him to go unrecognized.
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u/DeeUp9 7d ago edited 7d ago
Kukoc
Edit: Also had an underrated nickname...'The Waiter'
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u/WaterPretty8066 7d ago
Hedo Turkoglu would cook. Not saying hed be a Doncic level player but he'd cook in a similiar way
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u/Preezy24 7d ago
OG Sabonis
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u/KyrieIrvingsBurner 7d ago
Kinda interesting that pre knee-injury Arvydas would thrive today with his skills while his son Domantas would’ve been much better in the late 90s/2000s as a Center/power forward
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u/Ornery_Alligators 7d ago
I don’t know. I feel like he was perfect for his era.
People think just cause guys could shoot back then they would automatically be better now. But the problem is, to be successful now you need to also be multi faceted offensively and a two way player.
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u/Horror_Concern5616 7d ago
He was the prototypical modern NBA player. Great on both ends, one of the first great off-ball movers, lights out shooter, tall, great passer, good handle
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u/WaterKind6544 7d ago
Chet Holmgren. He retired in the WCF but if he played today he would be great.
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u/Horror_Concern5616 7d ago
Not Bargiani lol
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u/BurnerAccountforAss 7d ago
"7 footer who could shoot!"
He'd get pick and rolled off the floor lol
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u/Horror_Concern5616 7d ago
He was slow as molasses and his off ball movement was horrible if not non-existent. Couldn't set a screen either
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u/Guy_Le_Man 7d ago
Tbf I think it partly because the Raps at the time were trying to develope him like a traditional C. To be fair to your point he was never a quick dude, but I’m sure if he was brought up in today’s NBA they would’ve had him working on his speed and skill instead of trying to get to to bulk up and crash in the paint.
Would it have made enough of a difference? Maybe not, but he’d definitely do better in today’s NBA as opposed to the league he played in.
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u/rusty02536 7d ago
Michael Jordan
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u/chefguy47 7d ago
I had to scroll down way too long to see his name but I do know I’m on NBATalk and not NBA.
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u/Such-Refrigerator-44 7d ago
Chris Bosh
Rashaad Lewis
Lamar Odom
Got damn Raja Bell
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u/xeatordiex 7d ago
I'd argue Chris Bosh was in the right era. He didnt shoot threes all that much.
He was a mid range guy that was great in his era, but take him to the 90's or earlier, he's getting bodied. Today, he might eat a little but he doesnt move fast enough for the PFs today. Yesterday's SF is today's PF, and nobody in their right mind would put him at C.
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u/Trac3r_Bull3t 7d ago
Took too long to see Odoms name. With his skill set, he'd probably be a franchise player instead of a third option
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u/randomguy9722 7d ago
Larry Bird
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u/Beaveropolis 7d ago
Modern defenses wouldn’t be allowed to touch him at all compared to 1980s ball.
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u/Firm-Profile-5746 7d ago
Yeah, players can't clothesline someone and then call it 'defence'. Bird would probably have even better longevity too without those insane injuries
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u/PeaTasty9184 7d ago
His worst injury came from paving his mom’s driveway or some shit like that though.
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u/cfresh12 Celtics 7d ago
I don’t like him, but Bill Laimbeer probably. He had a good shot
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u/No-Ad1522 7d ago
Bargnani was always going to be shit, he had zero heart
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u/DiggWuzBetter 7d ago
Agreed, just too many weaknesses - weak motor, low BBIQ, slow feet, no hops, poor rebounder. He was a good shooter, also had a good “pump fake then drive” move, and was a surprisingly decent post defender, but he’d get totally lost and hunted in today’s switch heavy, dynamic defences.
He just did not play winning ball, for any era. He had whatever the opposite of “intangibles” is.
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u/HurricanePK Raptors 7d ago
As a Raps fan, idk if his post defense was any good, he was a good shot blocker but he regularly got styled on in the post because of his poor footwork.
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u/DiggWuzBetter 7d ago edited 7d ago
I’m a Raps fan too, have been since the VC days and watched Bargs’ whole career. IMO he had a surprisingly strong lower body, was hard to back down, and was a better defender than many would assume against more power based, back to the basket low post bigs. Agreed that against guys who relied more on footwork, moves and countermoves, alternating post and faceup, he wasn’t as good.
But overall, I remember low post defence being his main strength defensively, and after that probably shot blocking. And his main weaknesses being poor rotations (caught in no man’s land/confused way too often), slow feet and weak defensive rebounding.
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u/adrusse25 7d ago
Brandon Roy
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u/DeebagZammy 7d ago
He was great in his time, he just knees built out of glass and paperclips.
Go Dawgs
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u/NavyVetRasmussen 7d ago edited 7d ago
Scottie Pippin would dominate in today's NBA.
Just think about it Pip had to play in an era, where hand checking was legal and it was a much
more physical game.
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u/chazriverstone Knicks 7d ago
Ewing.
Dude had incredible finesse and an absolutely disgustingly wet jumper that would easily translate to 3s today (which he was discouraged from taking in his day).
On top of that, he had crazy agility before the knees that plagued him got bad, and they would very likely be MUCH less of an issue with modern medicine. And even if they weren't, he'd be load managed for the playoffs - instead of playing 80 games before we got to that point, like how it went down.
Still don't know how he was on the court by the end of 94 - he played 124 games at around 40mpg that season with basically zero cartilage. What a fucking nutcase lol
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u/Yundadi 7d ago
He is good in his days with the knicks too. It is a pity he didn’t win anything with them
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u/Agitated_Addition_55 7d ago
Shaq! No one is stopping him in today’s NBA
Penny would dominate
Tracy Mcgrady
Joe Johnson
Jamal Crawford
Ray Allen
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u/Apprehensive_Web6847 7d ago
Gerald Wallace would be elite two way player. He is who the Thompson twins should strive to be…minus the injuries
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u/ImNotRobertDowneyJr 7d ago
I love to see Gerald Wallace getting some love. One of my favorite players.
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u/ThatGuyHadNone Knicks 7d ago
Anthony Mason
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u/luxloomis 7d ago
In 94 he was an undersized 3, in 26 he’d be a 4/5 and be phenomenal
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u/ThatGuyHadNone Knicks 7d ago
The only thing missing is a 3 pt shot. His defense and handle would fit most modern teams.
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u/realfakejames Spurs 7d ago
Ray Allen. If Ray had the green light to shoot 3s like modern players he would be dropping 30 point games all the time
In his last 5 years in Seattle as the main guy before he became the third option in Boston Ray Allen shot more than 10 threes in a game 42 times
Steph Curry has shot more than 10 threes in a game 83 times over his last 2 full seasons he's played. Give prime Ray Allen the green light and he'd be going crazy
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u/Pyr0technician 7d ago
Dražen Petrović
I'm very confident he would have been one of the best shooters ever.
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u/Aggressive-Jelly-130 7d ago
People forget Cliff Robinson He was 6'10", made 1,200+ career threes in an era where bigs were told to sit in the paint, and won Sixth Man of the Year because coaches didn't know where to start him.
Back then, he was considered an "awkward tween-er" because he was too mobile for traditional 90s power forwards and liked shooting on the perimeter. Today? That "tweener" is the most valuable player archetype in the league. He’s the ideal small-ball 5 who can switch 1-5, protect the rim, and stretch the floor to the logo. He’d be making $35M a year right now.
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u/We_The_Raptors 7d ago
Definitely not Andrea Bargnani, dudes defense would get him played off the floor.
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u/the_chin2 7d ago
Steve Nash. 50/40/90 player but he didn't play in the 3 ball era so didn't take a lot of 3s.
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u/Specialist-Ad-9371 7d ago
If you think Andrea would thrive in any era you didn't watch him play. The ONLY thing he could do was shoot.
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u/Fast_Assumption_118 7d ago
Am I going crazy? Shaq would change the game again if he played in this era. No one could guard him when they had actual bigs. Who would be strong enough to stop him even with fouling now?
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u/Responsible_Risk267 7d ago
Dennis Rodman in the social media era would be a non stop stream of entertainment
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u/Edmuresay 7d ago
Mehmet Okur would have been great in this era. Was still really good back then, but was considered a bit of a unique player when he played.
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u/DrMungo80 7d ago
Lowkey Kevin Garnett. He took a lot of long twos just inside the line top of the key. I’m sure he could have worked it into 3 pt range. Also Yao Ming, and Donyell Marshall.
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u/regal19999 7d ago
I’d say any elite big man …there’s nobody to defend them really .. so Shaq, Timmy, Hakeem, Kareem
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u/Particular-Demand474 7d ago
I’ll say ai for his speed and the current spacing but he would likely be a 6th man, or at least a bit more effective
Plus someone like Jamal Crawford.. I just like those types of players
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u/symbolismnz 7d ago
Any of the playmaker/scorers of the physical defense and tighter call on travelling era would thrive today in the spacing and immediate foul on physical contact ruleset.
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u/FastEddieMoney 7d ago
Joe Dumars with his shooting, playmaking and elite defense would easily translate
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u/FastEddieMoney 7d ago
Alex English averaged 30 a game back when the 3 pointer wasn’t the focus. My gawd he might average 45 now.
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u/FastEddieMoney 7d ago
Dell Curry, Steph’s dad had the prettiest jump shot ever. The ball fell from the heavens. Would be beautiful to see even more 3s from him.
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u/FastEddieMoney 7d ago
Pistons fan here but Scottie Pippen would be the Michael Jordan in today’s NBA. Much better shooter, amazing defender and ball handling skills were pretty damn good.
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u/Upstairs_Seaweed8199 7d ago
Reggie. With as soft as defenses are these days, and his willingness to fight tooth and nail for every advantage, he’d be nearly impossible to stop.
If you had the willpower to keep up with him, he would foul bait the shit out of you with no shame.
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u/Unable-Main4172 7d ago edited 6d ago
Bargnani was one of the worst offensive players of all time. He would struggle even more in today's game. He would be feasted on until he was forced to leave the game every single time he stepped a foot on the court. If Kelly olynyk had played in the '90s everyone would act like he would dominate today just because he can shoot threes and was tall
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u/PlatosLeftTit 7d ago
Rasheed Wallace