Tackle NBA ‘different era’ debate with writer Rich Cohen

The author of “When the Game Was War: The NBA’s Greatest Seasons” defends his position on the great Jordan vs. Jordan.LeBron vs.

LeBron James and Michael Jordan are both often considered the greatest players in the NBA.

In the early days of the pandemic, when the country was in lockdown, Zoom was all the rage, where groups of friends would gather virtually to drink, watch TV and discuss various things they could have been doing at the bar in kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms.

Sometimes these discussions are about relationships. Sometimes they talk about vaccines.sometimes, especially after last dance fills content gaps Tiger King Filled out for now, these discussions will focus on a debate as old as time: Would today’s NBA stars have been successful in the past, or vice versa?

There are different ways to phrase this question and frame the discussion, but essentially it all boils down to a Jordan vs. Jordan argument. LeBron, 2015-16 Warriors vs. Warriors 1995-96 Bulls and the 3-Point Era vs. 1995-96 Bulls Decades of big man rule.

According to the book’s author Rich Cohen When the game was war: The NBA’s greatest seasonsThe never-ending debate about the NBA era continues to surface, and for good reason.

“Everyone wants to believe that their era is the best era, that they live in a golden age, and that the people they support are the best,” Cohen’s book delves into the dominance of Magic Johnson, Larry fight. Bird, Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan during the 1987-88 NBA season, InsideHook reports. “TV coverage and picture quality have gotten better, too. My dad was into baseball and he coached me against those old guys. Babe Ruth was before my time and my dad’s time, but I remember being in I had an argument with a kid in high school who said Ruth was running erratic and couldn’t play like that today. I thought, ‘That’s the movie. That’s not really how he ran. ‘He’s not black and white. “It’s an analogy.”

“I think today’s players are more athletic and the edge players today are probably better than the edge players back then,” he added. “But the really good players back then were just as good. Some of them were better. “I don’t think there’s anybody playing better now than Michael Jordan. “

Cohen has also written best-selling books about the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears, and a variety of other topics. What is his opinion based on? We asked him about this and other hot topics.

InsideHook: Not necessarily disagreeing with you — LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo or Stephen Curry might — but why do you believe Michael Jordan is better than anyone playing in the NBA right now? good?

Rich Cohen: Michael Jordan was a freak, but I also don’t think there were many players better than Larry Bird or Magic Johnson. Bird will still be the MVP. Johnson will still be the MVP. They rely less on the 3-point shot and can do more. The rules of the game, the ones that really matter, have also changed. I think it makes the game easier, not harder. Jordan will do better. He will be released. He wouldn’t have three people hanging over him like he did back then. He didn’t need to figure out how to beat the 1980s Pistons, whose strategy was just to knock him down every time he touched the ball.

The rise of the three-point shot, thanks to players like Curry, has really changed the game, hasn’t it?

There is no way to go back. The three-point shot is never something that can be relied on all the time. It’s better used when a team is trailing, keeping the game interesting for fans in the final three minutes. If you’re down nine points with a minute left, there’s still hope if you start shooting threes. Later, someone discovered that if you can shoot three-pointers almost every time on the court and hit 40%, you can beat a team that shoots 60% from the inside.

The unintended consequence is that a missed rebound is an entirely different type of rebound. Everyone started moving outside and it completely became an outdoor game. It’s not fun to watch. For some of us, it’s almost like a carnival game. I saw an interview with Phil Jackson and he said there should be a four-point shot. He was joking, but his point was that this wasn’t the basketball he knew, with half the game being physical under glass. Some guys are masters of the inside game. It’s very similar to watching a forward and defenseman battle in front of the goalie in a hockey game. It’s really fun to watch.

Do you still like watching NBA as before? What did you do when the game became more physical?

I don’t like it very much. Part of the reason is that I no longer watch games as nervously as I did as a kid. I haven’t watched basketball from the 50s and 60s, but I’ve read enough to know that the set of players playing at the same time was different. That’s how I feel about the NBA and that group of players in the ’80s and ’90s. There were more future Hall of Famers playing in the game than at any other time. It was a special moment, all these athletes who might not have played basketball in another era were now playing basketball. It was a unique time with a lot of real stars that you wanted to follow. I’m not a huge Knicks fan, but I loved watching John Starks play Reggie Miller. Who doesn’t like that? I like it now, but I actually prefer college basketball because it still has some intensity and teams try different types of offenses.

Are there any players in the league now who you think would have been successful in the ’80s and ’90s?

LeBron sure. no doubt. Nikola Jokic. Giannis, this version of him is bigger and stronger. He’ll be fine. Julius Randle might be totally fine. I prefer big guys who can also shoot. Kevin Garnett is right in the middle of these times. Obviously, he’s good in both areas, although he may need to get a little bigger to play in the 80s. This is a key thing when you want to argue about what people from the past would do now: overlap. Jordan was never a good role model because he was the best of all time, but he played against guys who had only recently played and performed well against them. There’s no reason to think he won’t do well now. I saw a quote the other day that said Jordan was a better player than LeBron, but he didn’t have a better career. Really? You really can’t say he had a better career? I know LeBron has more points, but there’s something to be said for winning them all with one team and playing with the same people rather than on a series of makeshift teams.

What would a discussion of NBA “different eras” be like without an all-time top 10 list?

this is mine:

1. Michael Jordan
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
3. magic johnson
4. LeBron James
5. Bill Russell
6. Larry Bird
7. Wilt Chamberlain
8. Kobe Bryant
9. Isaiah Thomas (Elder)
10. Stephen Curry

When the game was war: The NBA’s greatest seasons Available now online and in-store.

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