Byron Scott has joined a long list of former NBA players who do not believe the ones playing today would be able to cut it in their era. During an appearance on All Facts No Brakes with Keyshawn Johnson, Scott stated we are witnessing the softest brand of basketball being played in today’s NBA.
“I don’t think they’d be able to compete with us in our era,” Scott said. “Cuz you got to look at the rules too. This is about the softest brand of basketball that you can play, right now. Impeding progress when you run across the lane. Back in our day, you go to the lane, you getting hit, that was a rule in the NBA. You go in the lane, you getting hit and everybody expected that.
“Today’s basketball, like I said, I enjoy the game,” Scott continued. “I’ve been watching all the playoff games and I’m enjoying the excitement of the game but when you compare eras, you got to also think about the rules in those eras as well.
“If you’re going to have teams in the 2020s trying to play against teams in the 1990s, then you’re going to have to adjust the rules,” Scott stated. “Because it’s unfair for them to try to play our rules back in those days. Kind of like it’s almost unfair for us to play their rules because they’re much more athletic than we were back in those days.”
(starts at 13:12 mark):
Scott sounded like the typical grumpy old man at first, but unlike many other former players, he does at least enjoy watching today’s NBA. As for the point he made, today’s players would indeed have had some trouble against the kind of physical defense that was allowed back in the 1980s and 1990s. They wouldn’t be able to score as freely as they do now and would get knocked around a lot more.
At the same time, though, today’s players would just have a big advantage from an athleticism standpoint, as Scott himself admitted. I also think the players are more skilled now than they were back then and those two factors make me believe they wouldn’t struggle as much as some of these ex-players think they would.
Sure, some of today’s players might never have found a way to cope with how the game was played, but certainly not all of them. Also, I firmly believe great players would be great no matter which era they played in. You put LeBron James and Kevin Durant in the 1990s and they’d dominate. In the same way, someone like Michael Jordan would have dominated today as well.
Byron Scott Thinks The 1987-88 Lakers Were The Greatest Team In NBA History
Scott was a member of the iconic Showtime Lakers who had an incredible run in the 1980s, winning five championships. During this episode, Scott was asked if their 1987-88 team was the greatest in NBA history and he felt they were. (starts at the 9:04 mark):
“I think so,” Scott said.” Everybody says well, you’re a little biased, well you look at the team.”
The Lakers, of course, had Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy on that roster, to go with the likes of Scott, Mychal Thompson, A.C. Green, and Michael Cooper. It was quite a formidable group that went 62-20 in the regular season.
Those Lakers would go on to win the title too, although it took them seven games to win each of the last three rounds. Do I think they are the best team ever? No, I’d go with the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, but that Lakers team is in the conversation.
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