Melo was not an elite scorer lmao

He was an elite chucker.

Well, it wasn't me who say he is a elite scorer.

Yeah but the Knicks didn't have to worry about Michael Jordan during the 1994 NBA Playoffs. They beat a Scottie Pippen led Bulls team. They were such a physical and dominant team that could score and defend. Coached by Pat Riley. If Hakeem Olajuwon didn't block John Starks' three-point attempt at the buzzer in Game 6 to force a decisive Game 7. The Knicks would've won it all that year. 4-2 in 6 games over the Rockets.

A lot of those teams in the mid '90s, the entire '80s and '90s in general, were special because back then players took pride in their craft. Nobody complained and played a full 82 games a year. Load management wasn't even in anybody's vocabulary. Up until 2004 you could legally hand check (Gary Payton mastered that) as a defender on the perimeter. Even though I'd say they're starting to allow a little more physicality in today's game. That is what made Kobe Bryant so special. Drafted in 1996 out of high school. But he had that type of intensity and passion that made the NBA so fun to watch and that Mamba mentality carried over into the 2000s. We needed Kobe. He saved the NBA in my eyes.

Honestly guys. I wouldn't even be upset if you said Kobe Bryant was the GOAT. #1 overall. Ahead of Michael Jordan. I just don't think LeBron James is the GOAT.

But Patrick ain't on Hakeem's level

That period was a crazy period

You have

Jordan /Pippen and Bulls
Patrick and NY Knicks
Hakeem at Houston
Reggie Miller at Indiana
John Stockton and Karl Malone at Jazz
Barkley and Kevin Johnson at Phoenix
Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp at Seattle
David Robinson at Spurs

and Anfrenee Hardaway and Shaq at Orlando

we haven't even mention Grant Hill and the Kings dear Lord.

Those were crazy times

This post was edited by Hamsterbaby on May 7 2025 09:08pm

The NBA used to be my favorite sport as a kid and also throughout my teenage years. It was on another level compared to every other sport.
But around the mid 2000s the NFL became my favorite. I live and breathe Houston Texans Football on X (Twitter) 24-7 when I'm not on D2jsp.
But I think the NBA has a chance to become really good again despite some low-rating issues. The future has a lot of young superstars as well.

The NBA is kinda shit now.

The 80s have the Aura
The 90s have the Aura

The 2000s up till now who do they have ?
I can name all of them.

Lebron, Kobe, Tim Duncan, Iverson, Vince, Curry, Dirk, Garnett, Durant, Luka and Jokic and maybe a few more.

Everyone else is just subpar compared to the 90s. During the late 90s you even have a young dual of Vince and T Mac on Raptors.
And even watching 1994 Hornets is exciting as fuck with

Larry Johnson
Alonzo Mourning
Bogues
Curry's dad Dell.

This post was edited by Hamsterbaby on May 7 2025 09:25pm

The Detroit Pistons also had a great team featuring four all-stars (Prince should've been a 5th) in their starting lineup and coached by Larry Brown. Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups. They beat the 'Dream Team' Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals featuring Shaq, Kobe, Karl Malone and Gary Payton. And they took the Spurs to a full seven games in the 2005 NBA Finals. Nearly repeated despite facing so many superstars in both of those series. Also Larry Brown had to coach against two of the greatest coaches of all-time in Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich.

Even as far back as 2004 and 2005 the storylines in the NBA were super fun and intriguing. You had some amazing matchups in the NBA Finals. Now a days you'd be hard pressed to find such a dream matchup in the NBA Finals. It'll just be two teams that got hot in the playoffs. If we're lucky it'll be two teams featuring two all-stars or two or three future Hall of Famers. But you're not going to get all that plus two iconic head coaches. We were spoiled back then. Now it's just a game to cherish and long for the past. Back then we had actual legends playing the game and coaching teams. Right now we've got a lot of 'hit or miss' when it comes to legacy. These players today just want to get super rich and forget about the glory.

This was the dunk from Grant Hill when he was playing for Pistons that kinda got everyone excited.
I am not sure if this was the specific one. But maybe there is another one.

Grant Hill would've been one of the greatest players of all-time if not for annoying injuries derailing a lot of his career.
When people ask which NBA player would you want to stay healthy for 15+ years? Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, Grant Hill.

For me Penny Hardaway.



This post was edited by Hamsterbaby on May 7 2025 09:41pm