MSU Red Cedar Message Board

You cared enough to make endless dumbass arguments in the Heat/LeBron thread, and you cared enough to grace us with your presence in this thread, so apparently you do. Go away.

Yes. It's completely outlandish to suggest that the player who has surpassed every single 1,000-point milestone in record time, and is positioned to contend for several more titles in the next few years, could be considered an all-time great.

Yawn. Not getting into this again.

You really can't compare players skill level in different eras but you can compare them by comparing how they did against the players they played against in their own eras.

And actually looking at some of the players today it is kind of shocking at how little players today appear to work on the fundamentals of their game. Passing for instance. This is why guys like Jeremy Linn, Ricky Rubio, and Steve Nash can come into the nba with little physical tools and play.

Also is a reason why foreign players are coming in and dominating. If you played a U.S. versus the world basketball game now the U.S. would have a hard time winning imo because of a lack of fundamentals.

Guys like carmello and Dwight Howard could be great if they worked harder at developing a couple aspects. Carmello: passing and Howard: a post move or two.

Oscar Robertson? C'mon guys, he's in the discussion for greatest player ever.

If Magic didn't come along, Oscar would be the first team point guard. When comparing the two, Magic is 4" taller, a better passer, and arguably the best player ever.

And you call yourself a Spartan. It's Magic and everyone else.

A very close #2.

If he didn't get his career shortened, he would be 1B.

Funny how down grade guys for longevity,(Kobe) yet down grade guys for not playing long enough.

I didn't downgrade him. Jordan was that good. Kobe is the best player of this era. Way better than Lebron.

Exactly Jordan went to college...lebron has had more years in the NBA to win more titles. Still don't think he's going to accomplish it

I see your point. Closest guys would have to be Duncan and Dirk although they are both power forwards.

Shaq was also a decent back to the basket player.

I think because if the freaks of nature these guys are (over 7 foot tall) it is hard for then to be quick enough to dominate. Howard is probably the one guy who could do it if he dedicated himself...

I think it mostly has to do with the way basketball players develop now. If you're an American-born big man, you're playing AAU ball, spending 8 months in college, and then moving on to the NBA. And you've grown up watching athletic big men like Garnett and Stoudemire. Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, and Eddy Curry didn't even have to go to college. The only one who turned into a good NBA player was Chandler, and that was as a defender. Oden never seemed like a guy who was going to be a great scorer either.

Compare that to the great 90s centers, who all spent 3+ years in college. I don't think guards and forwards have been affected much by the AAU/one-and-done/Euroball shift, but the classic center definitely has.