why NBA baketball in 1970-1998 are more intresting than our NBA basketball today?
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.
263736
If you get ESPN Classic on television, you can watch old NBA Games from the 1970's, 80's, and 90's.
78099
See here:\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball#Early_basketball
1001916
hell today's player aren't even as tough as they were in the 70's.  remember this is before the "in the grasp" rule, the helmet slap rule, the roughing the passer rule, before players playing just offense or defense, this is also before helmet and padding, yes I know they are bigger and faster but that on a level playing field they were the same size as their fellow players back then too.
423712
i was glad.. it showed that team basketball and fundamentals still exist in the NBA.. as a youth coach it is very hard to emphasize fundamentals when all the kids see is traveling, dunks, and poor shot selection.
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.
618565
It probably is to people who's memories only go as far back as last week.\n\nI do have to say that the first round HAS been a great round to watch, particularly the Lebron and Kobe games.\n\nAlong with some great series, there have been some duds this post-season though...\n\nWay to early to rate these playoffs in the context of history, but if we continue to get games with all these buzzer beater, overtime games, it may end up being the among the most enjoyable playoffs ever, certainly in recent history.\n\nChamberlain/Russell playoff games were probably the best in history, followed by the Magic/Bird matchups of the 80s.  The Bulls never gave us a decent final. Those finals were all over before they started, you KNEW Jordan was going to get EVERY call.
1014931
I agree in that I prefer college basketball over the NBA.\n\nI feel that the defense and offense in the NBA is formulaic.  Players have seen all the plays, traps, know the ins and outs, and knook and cranny of the basketball court.  I feel that this only limits as to what an accomplished NBA basketball player can do in terms of mobility and shot selection.  The only time is when one of those players (perhaps Kobe, definitely MJ) can break through that mundane mindset and trap, that make the game interesting and worth every minute at the water cooler.\n\nCollege basketball players live for the moment, and play every game with as much enthusiasm, heart, and passion.  Perhaps it is their sense of discovery or purpose as young, budding players that make them hit the floor, make the sharp cuts, and dance uncontrollably when their teammate hits that floater to create that improbable upset.  Stories are defined and created in a single game, reputations earned or destroyed with a buzzer beater, and dynasties created through established traditions.
272556
Can't imagine anyone who'd rather see an NBA game than an NFL one.  The NFL probably has more fans, and certainly has more sports fans.  You can't see better football anywhere. The NBA is a circus, a lot of people who play basketball have no interest at all in the NBA, would rather see a street game or certainly an NCAA game.  No defense allowed, hype, forgiveness of all kinds of ball handling and dribbling violations, six steps for a dunk, etc.  teams of NBA so-called superstars are destroyed by foreign teams, put together a team of Serbs and Lithuanians and you can beat any NBA selection in the past ten years!
54107
Basketball is unique in that it was invented by one person, rather than evolving from a different sport. In early December 1891, Dr. James Naismith, a Canadian-born American physician and minister on the faculty of a college for YMCA professionals (today, Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts, sought a vigorous indoor game to keep young men occupied during the long New England winters. Legend has it that, after rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules, and nailed a peach basket onto the gym wall. The first official game was played in the YMCA gymnasium on January 20, 1892. At that time, it was played with nine players on a court just half the size of a present-day NBA court. "Basket ball", the name suggested by one of his students, was popular from the beginning, and with its early adherents being dispatched to YMCAs throughout the United States, the game was soon played all over the country.\n\nInterestingly, while the YMCA was responsible for initially developing and spreading the game, within a decade, it discouraged the new sport, as rough play and rowdy crowds began to detract from the YMCA's primary mission. Other amateur sports clubs, colleges, and professional clubs quickly filled the void. In the years before World War I, the Amateur Athletic Union and the Intercollegiate Athletic Association (forerunner of the NCAA) vied for control over the rules of the game.\n\nBasketball was originally played with a soccer ball. The first balls made specially for basketball were brown, and it was only in the late 1950s that Tony Hinkle, searching for a ball that would be more visible to players and spectators alike, introduced the orange ball that is now in common use.
664553
Lebron is bigger, a better rebounder and a better passer.\n\nJordan was a more explosive scorer, a much better defender, and had the killer instinct which now only appears to be emerging with LeBron.\n\nLeBron is better than Jordan when compared to their progression based on age, but LeBron has yet to achieve the peaks in basketball (as gauged by championships and individual play) that Jordan did.  Keyword there being yet...\n\nScottie's commentary should be ignored, he was and continues to be jealous of Jordan's greatness and celebrity.  Anyone who ever watched scottie in a playoff game against the knicks knows that he was one of the most over-rated players in NBA history.
440264
You're right.  I tried to watch a game once.  What a waste of time.  Of course, the NBA isn't much more entertaining, but at least you know you're watching the best.  In the WNBA, they make a big deal out of a dunk.  That should tell you about the overall caliber of play in that league.  Won't be around much longer, I shouldn't think.
528515
This is due simply to the fact that the rest of the players are getting too big and athletic for a center to dominate.  It was different when Wilt was out there and he was a foot taller than everyone else.  Now these 7 foot centers are going up against 6'11 Power fwds and 6'8 GUARDS ie. Kobe and Lebron.  There is no way that a true center can really keep up with these guys anymore.  They are truly a dying breed.
566062
Because it is fun to play and watch. It is also pretty easy to learn- bounce the ball, put it in the hoop. It came from Canada, so technically it was exported to the US. Russia always is good in basketball too. They won the olympics in the 80's and Kiralenko and other Russians are still playing well in the league. Now a days there is an influx of basketball players arcoss the globe. NBA multiple players from Brazil, Argentina, Yugoslavia, France, Spain, Nigeria, Sudan, Austrailia, Turkey, China, just to name a few. It's almost everywhere.
300567
Jordan transcended the game just as Oscar Robertson did in his time. To compare them is comparing apples and oranges...the game was different just as the game is played different today than when Jordan dominated. How much triangle offense do we see anymore? Zones in the NBA? Whoda thunk it?!?! There is nobody in the game right now that is transforming the game or taking it to another level. Until that guy comes along, we will all still talk about Jordan. I mean, how many NCAA women did you see dunk the ball in the 90's? Candace has taken the game to the next level. Who do you compare her to, Miller? The game was a lot different then.
716728
lol no they dont have 4 quaters. they simply have 2 halves which is actually the more normal way of playing. they put quaters in the nba for more commercial time back like 35 years ago. in europe and olympics they have 2 halves. and 2 halves speeds the game up very much.
913958
No every generation has gone through this. Baseball is not the same as it was when you or I were kids, nor was that game the same as our parents, but on the basic level of the game it is the same the rosters have been set at 22-25 men since the early 1900s, the mound has been 60 ft 6 inches away from home plate since the early 1900s, basepaths 90 ft from base to base, the changes that have come about the DH, free agency, and unions have been talked about since the early 1900s. One of the biggest changes the BIGGEST in terms of how the game was played is on its way out, artificial turf. About 3-5 teams now have artificial turf, Minnesota, Toronto, Florida maybe or Tampa Bay any way from the early 70s to the 90s turf played a bigger role in baseball than anything it added speed, to both the offense and defense, made the stolen base much more of a threat, in the mid 70s almost every team had guys stealing 30-40 or more bases a year and these were succesful teams look at how the Royals of the 1970s were built and the success they had as a team, Amos Otis, Frank White, Willie Wilson later on even George Brett had some decent base stealing numbers. Just take a look at those teams from the 1970s. Anyway the 70s also had the beginning of free agency and people thought that would destroy baseball, baseball has lumbered on. In the 40s-50s and into the sixties people thought integration was going to destroy baseball, in the 40s it eas the war, before that the depression, and before that the White Sox scandal and many smaller and sometimes bigger scandal we never hear of involving gambling. So in closing  baseball is changing and staying the same it is bigger than the players although very few of them realize that, it will keep on making us happy and sad at the same time, it will keep us entertained and p i s s us off, it will destroy some players lifes by offering too much temptation (ie Pete Rose, Barry Bonds, Joe Jackson) and a lot of the players will rise above the fray and and tantalize us with feats of grace, power, and humility.