One of the greatest debate questions of those who love the game of basketball, what was the greatest era of the NBA? It is a question that seems to not have a right or wrong answer, but it sure is fun to debate. For me, nothing compare to the 80’s. The style, the talent, the rules, it is just ball to me. The days when Magic appeared on the court and a Bird flew high. Some of the best all time players to play the game played in the 80’s.
It was more of the style of play that grabbed me the most. The physical play, the good ol’ hand check. A move where guys that were so strong could just guide a point guard trying to run their offense. When a guy drove to the hole, he knew contact was coming. When the rule was, a foul is a foul soft or hard, so make it hard. Lets face it, NBA playoff basketball in the 80’s was darn near the WWE. Making it to the title game game in the NBA was a grueling run, sometimes with games the next night after such a battle. AAHH the good ol’ days.
Contrast To Today’s Game
See, today is so much different than the 80’s. Just look at that video, can you imagine Curry taking a shot like that to the hole? The changing of the rules and putting in the different types of flagrant fouls have changed that dynamic forever. The game has just changed, now a guy makes an uncontested dunk and makes a muscle man pose as if he really pounded it. In the 80’s the next time he touched the ball he would put to the floor. Their is one game out there that sort of mimics that old school basketball, 80’s style: the Big3.
The Big3 has old time players playing an old style game, and it works! It is nice to see a guy get challenged at the rim and know he will be. The physical way these guys play and some at the age of 50, is just remarkable to see. Should be the way the G league plays their ball. Think about it, if a guy went to the G league first, learned to play that 80’s game then went to their respective NBA teams they would be ready to ball from the get go. But we are in different times and the focus is more on the health of these players. I get that and don’t want to seem heartless. The game to me is just soft.
Let’s remember super teams were first in the 80’s as well. Magic, Worthy, Abdul-Jabbar, Thomson and Scott. What a five the Lakers put on the floor. If that is not a super team, what is? Bird, McHale, Parish, Ainge and Johnson! That was a super Boston team, not two stars, not three, but five. The 80’s gave us some of the best players and best games the NBA ever had. Today’s game could learn a lot from the old school guys. To me, the 80’s will always be the NBA’s best era.
