Obviously today's NBA isn't as driven as their predecessors, but is the AMOUNT of talent  the greatest ever?
339151
I agree their is a great amount of talent in the NBA. Kobe, Dwayne Wade, Lebron, Carmelo, Shaq, Tony Parker, and the list goes on.  It is not like back in the day when single players dominated the game. As for the players of today not being driven, this is so true.  I hate to see it, but what can you expect when they have guaranteed contracts?
1071889
It wasn't so much a bad draft talent-wise...it's just that the level of talent can't compete with that of years past. We've been lucky in the past few years to see the introduction of future superstars such as Lebron, Carmelo, Bosh, Wade, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Amare, etc...to enter the League. Keep in mind that in years past high school stars were allowed to enter the draft...so this year's draft was filled with entries who would have probably stayed in school longer had high schoolers been allowed to enter the draft (this esp. holds true for the big men..we all know Oden is only staying one year at Ohio State, so many college post players sought to "sell themselves" while their stock was still high."\n\nThis year's draft reminds me a lot of the 2000 NBA Draft - certainly less than stellar talent all around and much of it was just one big guessing game. The first 5 picks in that year's draft were: Kenyon Martin, Stromile Swift, Darius Miles, Marcus Fizer, and Mike Miller. Some more obscure/unproductive players that teams picked in the first round of that years draft - Demarr Johnson, Jerome Moiso, Jason Collier, Donnell Harvey, Dalibor Bagaric, Mamadou N'diaye, Erick Barkley, and Mark Madsen. The most productive players (aside from K-mart) to come out of that draft are...Desmond Mason, Q-Rich, Jamaal Magliore, and Michael Redd. 5 Impact players out of 58 players drafted. I would like to hope that this year's draft netted more productive players for their respective teams..yet at the same time I wouldn't be surprised if they just turned out to be a bunch of average NBA players...definitely better than the rookies from the 2000 Draft though.
1084719
No. So far, nobody is better than anybody. The difference is that some teams know how to win without being that much better.
903347
Yeah I do. \nThe good old days were when the kids went to college -- NCAA's March Madness was thrilling when there was talent in the college game and the players learned fundamentals before going pro. \n\nWhile I'll agree that the idea of "college athlete" is a sham, the heyday was when good players played at least three years if not four. Magic at Michigan, Walton at UCLA, Jordan at North Carolina ... geez, I can still remember watching James Worthy play in college, it was a treat. \n\nThen the draft for the NBA was less of a crap shoot and a hope for fulfilled talent, the newer players were better known and it took less time to mature.
418611
I used to be a fan of the NBA in the late 80's into the early 90's.  The Larry Bird/Magic Johnson rival along with Michael Jordan's dominance was a great time for basketball.  Since then it seems as though the game has gotten away from the team concept.\n\nLook at the scores, they isolate one-on-one matchups with the big stars (kobe, iverson, shaq, etc) and NO ONE plays defense.  If they got back to a team game, like the college style, it would be a lot more interesting.  There seems to be no intensity in the game any more.
640803
Hard question to answer when you consider the game has changed so much since it began. That's why I prefer to look at it decade by decade, after all, few players go much past 10 years in the NBA.\n\n1946 ~ 1950 - George Mikan\n\n1951 ~ 1960 - Bob Pettit\n\n1961 ~ 1970 - Wilt Chamberlain\n\n1971 ~ 1980 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar\n\n1981 ~ 1990 - Magic Johnson/Larry Bird/Michael Jordan (tie)\n\n1991 ~ 2000 - Michael Jordan\n\n2001 ~ Tim Duncan (he's got two titles and 2 MVPs) Nash has no titles, Garnett, no titles, Bryant, no MVPs, Shaq, is broken down, Iverson, no titles, James, no titles, no MVP, too young.
464241
I dont feel it is easier. Look at how many rookies fail miserably in the NBA. Every year in the NBA most rookies are not very good. There are exceptions, LeBron, Carmello, D Wade, were all very good 3 years ago as rookies. But look at the Michael Olowokandi's, the Darko Milicic's, the Kwame Brown's. In the NBA, the top 10 picks in the draft are always expected to be great, when in reality very few are. Kobe, Garnett, Jermaine O 'Neal, Tracy McGrady, Illguaskas, Gilbert Arenas, they were all drafted late and didnt blossom until a few years down the road. In the NFL and MLB it is hard to become very good very fast normally due to a lack of PT, or playing time (for the sports impaired). MLB rookies normally go right to the minors and spend some seasons their which improves their game much faster. In the NFL, very few rookies break out onto the scene in a hurry. It all depends on the right player, in the right situation, at the right time in a ny sport.
517667
It depends on how good they are. Some of the best play with the national teams. There is a professional league that is becoming more popular. I went to a game last summer and there were a ton of people there.
493047
I do not think it was more interesting than our NBA basketball today. What would you rather see on a fastbreak? Jason Kidd and Vince Carter running up the court with Kidd throwing up a sweet alley oop pass to Carter who finishes it off with an even sweeter dunk, or Larry Bird in short shorts running up the court with a plain basic lay up. The NBA right now is exciting, and they may not seem like legends now, but 25 years from now ppl will be talking about the glory days of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Shawn Marion, Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, Dwayne Wade and many others.
398518
If you are a basketball fan than it is never boring. Playoffs are more exciting though. And the New York Knicks Fan. No wonder your bored. Lack of superstars NBA has plenty of superstars. I dont think you know what you are  talking about. \n\n       And to the person with the comment of the Olympics. We would win every time if our players were not so cocky and selfish. More than half of the superstars did not play in the Olympics where we won bronze. And still a lot of superstars arent playing. If they had Kobe Shaq Duncan AI WADE LEBRON TMAC MARION GARNETT CARTER Jermaine Amare and Arenas we would be the Dream team and blow out teams by at least 30 points.
1111786
i use to be in love with jason kidd, but now i'm not so sure, there are so many talented basketball players out there...
884454
not even that....look at some of the foreign athletes that have been in the NBA.....like the 7' plus tall ones..... just need some coordination and height.
924686
Good question.\n\nEach sport has it's Greatest performer. The standard changes with each decade.\n\nThere are many ways to measure Greatness in sports. Statistics is one, Consistency of performance is another.\n\nBabe Ruth is considered the greatest Base ball player of all time. \n\nMohammed Ali is considered one of the worlds greatest Boxers in the Ring...Ali was never knocked out.\n\n Sports Records are broken every year. So, the competition to excel keeps increasing.\n\nTiger Woods may be on his way to becoming the greatest winner of all time, both in Golf Matches won and his monetary rewards.\n\nThe Base ball and basket ball Hall of Frame takes the best players from each sport and asks the "Public" to vote for their admission to the Hall of Fame. It is very difficult to be inducted into the "Hall of Fame"....injuries to athletes is a great risk.
836245
The little known secret about the Jazz this year is that they DO HAVE talent. Carlos Boozer is one of the better PF's in the NBA. Deron Williams is flat-out going to be an all-star point guard in the NBA for years to come. Andrei Kirlinko is about the best spot on defender around... everyone else knows their limitations and their roles and coach Sloan puts each man in a position to do what they do best... adding a solid guy like Derek Fisher only rounds out the talent and poise they bring every night. So many teams go for the knock-out... the Jazz pummel their opponents with body shots all game long and in the fourth quarter teams usually run out of gas because of the depth of the Jazz bench.
885491
There are a lot of good basketball players out there.
571161
I agree with you! Even the most "naturally gifted" athlete can't reach optimum potential without hard work.  An average athlete can improve through hard work and a "never say die" attitude.
1160224
Wade...more talent AND a team player