If we focus on today’s NBA, we will see striking differences from the earlier eras. Be it the 00s, 90s, 80s, or even earlier than that, each era has had a different style of basketball being played in the league.
Nowadays, the teams are focused on making as many threes as possible. Additionally, entertainment is very important for fans in the modern era, so players try various moves and unthinkable shots.
That being said, in each era, there are players who are simply better than their peers. In the current era, the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, etc. come to mind.
Similarly, during the 90s, players like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Hakeem Olajuwon, etc. dominated the league. But apart from these players, there were many greats who weren’t as successful as them but were still excellent players.
One such player was none other than Gary Payton, who was a beast on the defensive end. Recently, Payton joined for an interview where he was asked which era he thinks is the best. Unsurprisingly, Payton called the 90s the best era and provided the following explanation for his answer.
Via Boardroom:
“It’s different because we were in a different era. Our era was us taking pride in more than one thing; this era is about scoring. Our era was about defense, being rough, getting out there, and getting it done. This era is about shooting threes, getting up and down, and entertainment. It is what it is, and I can’t knock anyone for it. We might have our opinion about it and judge it, but I played in what I think was the best era ever. I think the ’90s was the best era ever.”
Originally, GP was answering a question about his evaluation of the modern NBA from his perspective as someone who made his name as a defensive juggernaut.
Anyway, he ended up answering the question about which era in the NBA is the best. As he mentioned, the 1990s was a tad bit more enjoyable due to the game being rough, which is something that fans seem to enjoy a lot more.
However, that doesn’t mean that fans do not enjoy how players play today. If you are a fan of offensive basketball and just want to see your favorite players stuff the box score, then you will without a doubt enjoy the league in its current state.
