Richard Jefferson suggests NBA legends could've thrived even more with today's technology and nutrition
Many fans contend that many of the NBA’s legendary players would not have performed well today. They claim that players today are significantly more skillful and athletic.
Richard Jefferson had this to say about that debate:
“The players today have it exponentially easier. Now, is the game bigger? Yes, but the players have it so much easier because of the work that those guys put in.
"Oscar Robertson would have been faster. Wilt Chamberlain would have been faster. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would have been in better shape. All of these things are true because they didn’t have the dieticians, they didn’t have all of these things.
Jefferson added:
“There are 25 things that the players have today that put them in a better position than the players [back then] did. NormaTecs. Game Readys. Masseuse. Even when I came into the league in ‘04, what the players had in ‘04, ‘01 to what they had on your exit? To disrespect those players is not cool.”
Jefferson’s point is on the money. Some fans only praise today’s NBA stars as more skillful and athletic without considering what they have had. The players of past eras never had what they enjoy today.
Even so, some of yesterday’s top players such as Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Julius Erving and many others would have thrived. Additionally, a few of them could adapt their game which will make them even more formidable.
Jalen Rose once said Michael Jordan would average close to 50 points in today’s NBA.
In 2020, Jalen Rose was asked how Michael Jordan would fare in today’s NBA. The former player had this to say:
“In an era of physicality, in an era where the players were just larger out on the floor. Today we’re playing a lot of small ball. Players that were wings in high school are playing power forward and the body types are different.
“James Harden is an amazing three-point shooter and scorer and he’s averaging in the late 30s. Michael Jordan was doing that in the ‘80s. I’d say he gets one more basket per quarter and one [more] free-throw attempt per quarter and gets to around 47.5 points today."
Some former players, though, aren’t as impressed as past NBA legends. JJ Redick, also an ESPN analyst, claimed that the stars back then were playing against plumbers and firefighters and would struggle today.
Projecting how players coming from different eras will play in one specific generation is tough. It’s a debate that’s heated and unlikely to end any time soon.