We’ve heard the question a thousand times: Who is the Greatest Basketball Player of All Time? Are they characterised by the peak of their career, the longevity of their greatness? Is it by rings? Titles? Stats?
Some “old heads” die by guys like Wilt Chamberlin. Others stand with Michael Jordan, citing his 5 MVPs and 6 NBA Championships, three of which he got after coming out of retirement. Younger fans today will stand by Lebron James, arguing he has 4 Rings, 4 MVPs, and surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record.
The list doesn’t stop there. Kareem, Magic Johnson, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, and Bill Russell. All of them were some of the best in the game and deserve to be mentioned in those GOAT conversations. But it’s gotten to a point where having these debates has become the same old song and dance. So why is that?
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Because each era of Basketball has a “GOAT” –
In the same way that millions of people grew up watching Stephen Curry and Lebron, a whole generation grew up watching stars like Jordan and Kareem. But many fans never get to see players from two different eras performing at their peaks, leading them to simply support the greatest player of Their Time.
Fans not only miss seeing these other players from other generations in action, but they also miss out on the bigger picture. They miss out on the type of basketball being played back then. When fans fail to recognize how the game has developed, then we fall into the endless cycle of comparing two players playing different types of basketball. And it is because we don’t recognize how those players excelled at the unique game they were playing back then.
It all really comes down to today’s NBA and the NBA 20 years ago being two different types of basketball.
The changes to the game over time –
Updates to the rules have helped dial back the level of roughness and violence we used to see back in Jordan’s era, and even before. It’s honestly comical how long that level of roughness continued. We still have videos of guys from Kareem to Jordan throwing punches or elbows, maybe that’s what Draymond Green watches in his warm-ups.
Regardless, the game used to be a better balance of defense and offense. Teams would operate their offense to work inside the paint, hence the importance of physicality on the defensive side.
With that in mind, compare it to the game today, where offenses are more free-flowing and players are more consistent from further out.
The turning (three) point(er)
The biggest change between the older and modern game has come with the utilization of the 3-point arch. Teams began to split their offensive strategies between getting in the paint for easy points and utilizing efficient long-distance shooters.
The average team score has only increased by 9 points per game between 1990 and 2023, from 106 points to 115. Not too much of a difference.
In the 89′-90′ season, though, the average number of 3-point attempts per game was 7.1, in the 22′-23′ season it was 34.2. Modern-day players like Curry have demonstrated how effective 3-point shooters can make a more diverse and lethal offense. The average number of 3-pointers per game increasing and so is the number of players capable of effectively shooting from three. The average 3-point percentage in the league last year was ~36%. Of the 546 players in the league right now, ~39% of players are shooting at or above that benchmark. As of the 1996-97 season, only 28% of players were shooting at that level.
The Big Question – Will there ever be a GOAT?
So, the question persists: Is the GOAT discussion a pointless conversation? Can there be a ‘Greatest of All Time’? Or has the ever-changing nature of the game ruined the fun?
Yes, yes, and kind of.
The game of basketball is forever changing. We will probably see some changes to the way the game is played within the next few years. As a result, there will probably never be a time when two phenomenal players can be realistically compared when they’ve never shared a court.
So yes, the GOAT debate has and always will reach a point, where people will tirelessly compare their generation’s star to others, and then it’ll get boring. They will throw up numbers and stats despite changes to the game, saying that facts like a 400% increase in 3-point attempts a game is not a good reason.
As for the possibility of a player truly being the GOAT? Yes, it’s entirely possible.
People will always make the argument for the greatest of all time, based on records, accolades, stat lines, or rings. So it would take a player who can go above and beyond the benchmark set by guys like Jordan and Lebron to claim the title.
With Lebron at the end of his career, it means someone is next in line for the throne, and as we’ve seen in every generation, as one legend retires, another one appears.
