NBA player of the decade

[1stBowman]

I like both ways but yeah I hope we get a swing back to the big man dominators one time in the future that would be great. The way the rules are and the amount of money involved now I think most people would be worried about their body/health and image affecting potential huge $ contracts and don’t want to smash it up like Ewing, Shaq, X McDaniels, Oakley etc did. How good was it though. Let em play refs!

Agreed. Basketball is so much more enjoyable when there's some real physicality involved. Joel Embiid's move on Jarrett Allen last year was pretty ordinary but it was a reminder of a previous era when bigs really went at it.

 

[Matt26]

I like both ways but yeah I hope we get a swing back to the big man dominators one time in the future that would be great. The way the rules are and the amount of money involved now I think most people would be worried about their body/health and image affecting potential huge $ contracts and don’t want to smash it up like Ewing, Shaq, X McDaniels, Oakley etc did. How good was it though. Let em play refs!

Agree......actually liked a bit of physicality in the game. The league needs a couple of Laimbeers to teach some of these floppers a lesson!

 

[sgt_pepper]

steph changed the game, but the game changed first. when they eliminated hand-checking the defence turned soft...i think its obivous players today wouldnt be draining 3's like they do if they were shooting pre-2000. and i think players like bird and reggie miller would shoot the lights out every night if they were given the space players today are. and when did the DEF 3sec violation come in? that didnt help either...
not taking anything away from steph. the man did revolutionize the game and hes definitely the only other player on the list that deserves to be in the discussion.

 

[kiwi_in_melb]

Nothing wrong with that... no blood no foul

 

[essalltheway]

Steph had 4-5 elite seasons in the decade.

LBJ had 10 elite seasons, maybe 9 if u dont include last yr.

its not close.

 

[essalltheway]

steph changed the game, but the game changed first.

i dont agree steph changed the game.

the game already had changed. steph was just the glitch in the matrix that had the perfect skill set to exploit the new found efficiencies in the game.

even though steph was better and obviously his team accomplished a lot more, if the main argument for steph is that "he changed the game" then id argue Morey and Harden were more important.

 

[sgt_pepper]

i dont agree steph changed the game.

the game already had changed. steph was just the glitch in the matrix that had the perfect skill set to exploit the new found efficiencies in the game.

even though steph was better and obviously his team accomplished a lot more, if the main argument for steph is that "he changed the game" then id argue Morey and Harden were more important.

that was my point. you even quoted the exact right part...

 

[essalltheway]

yeh, but i disagree with the idea that steph changed the game. he didnt.

 

[GarnettFan4Life]

yeh, but i disagree with the idea that steph changed the game. he didnt.

Baffling take. The game changed yes, then he blew it up. I don’t know how you can say he didn’t. So he has had no effect on the NBA all the way down to your local league and kids team?

 

[essalltheway]

Baffling take. The game changed yes, then he blew it up. I don’t know how you can say he didn’t. So he has had no effect on the NBA all the way down to your local league and kids team?

kids have idolised players for a long time. that doesnt equate to "changing the game".

ive also noticed that the only true argument FOR steph in this debate is this subjective idea of "changing the game" or "kids now copy him in the playgrounds".

thats a diff argument and doesnt really hold any relevance in a debate on the topic of who was the best player of the decade.

 

[sgt_pepper]

kids have idolised players for a long time. that doesnt equate to "changing the game".

ive also noticed that the only true argument FOR steph in this debate is this subjective idea of "changing the game" or "kids now copy him in the playgrounds".

but its not just about kids copying him. its how NBA teams go about scoring and winning games these days. purely by the amount of 3s that teams take now, he's changed things. then because of that, teams started putting more shooters on the floor, which eventually impacted the role of centers, and so on...

 

[GarnettFan4Life]

Stephen Curry has changed basketball. Fact.

 

[essalltheway]

but its not just about kids copying him. its how NBA teams go about scoring and winning games these days. purely by the amount of 3s that teams take now, he's changed things. then because of that, teams started putting more shooters on the floor, which eventually impacted the role of centers, and so on...

all true, steph didnt cause that. he was just the best at it, though you could argue harden is just as good if not better (Given his ability to get to the free throw line).

it also wasn't just steph, it was the entire GSW build. ie, having draymond at C, a unique small that could guard bigs. also having arguably the 2nd best shooter of all time in Klay next to steph, meant that teams couldnt sell out on defense to go all in on steph (ie what teams are doing to harden). not to mention having KD on the team.

more than happy for the debate to be about the cultural impact of steph or who best symbolised how the game changed in the last decade, those are all reasonable arguments.

but in terms of best player of the decade, it is not close.

 

[sgt_pepper]

but in terms of best player of the decade, it is not close.

never said he was...