SpeclorTheGreat | Knicks

241 | 6 hours ago

I’m pretty sure SGA would be better in a league where illegal defense rules existed. No one can really guard him 1-on-1 and the inability to help because of illegal defense rules would help him out.

Let’s also not act like stars didn’t get great whistles during that era either. Jordan was known to have a great whistle. There’s no reason SGA wouldn’t be able to get to the free throw line frequently.

Pimpwerx | Heat

80 | 5 hours ago

This. People overrate the defense of that era. Handchecking doesn’t matter when you can’t overload the strong side. You couldn’t stay in front of Jordon 1on1. Nowadays, tons of guys have that agility, so SGA, Wade, Harden, you name it would all feast on that man defense. And don’t give me any shit about illegal defense. It got called plenty. You can get away with it to a limited degree, but modern defenses would never fly in that era. It would be a parade to the FT line for techs. Modern defense overload the strong side multiple times per posesssion. And team move smoothly between zone and man coverage.

Rather than wax nostalgic about era with worse talent and schemes, why not ask how many offenses would grind to a halt when facing a modern scheme. Guys had no range back then. Who the fuck is stretching the floor to make space? You throw a modern defense into the 90s game, and watch scoring absolutely wilt as guys who couldn’t shoot the 3 ball are forced to shoot a bunch of long 2s that they weren’t really good at either, when they’re double-teamed at every turn, and then forced to shoot over the zone if they start moving the ball to beat the pressure.

Modern offenses make modern defenses feel far less effective than they actually are, because modern offenses spread the floor in ways 90s team wouldn’t even think was possible. 1-5 is going to be camping on the 3pt line, and be actual threats. For modern sharpshooters, you’re defending out to 30ft. And those sharpshooters now have handles and hops, so they will beat you off the dribble if you start feeling froggy.

People need to stop romanticizing the past. The game is vastly improved now. We’re getting tired of 3pt volume in games, when in the 90s you’d have 1 or 2 guys on the roster who could hit one reliably. Now you’re lucky to crack a rotation if you can’t clear 30% from distance.

Latter-Reference-458 | Celtics

29 | 5 hours ago

Your point about modern defenses is so true.

I remember when scram switching started becoming prioritized to help on mismatches (a counter to the pick your matchup style popularized by LBJ). It used to be something only top defensive teams did, and literally one of the biggest reasons Smart won DPOY once RWill went down.

Now I see every team doing it regularly. And this is just only one tiny example and I know there are 100s more that I’m not even noticing.

ziggoon | Warriors

5 | 4 hours ago

Also what makes Draymond on defense so good as well.

Latter-Reference-458 | Celtics

3 | an hour ago

You can do a whole documentary series on the little things Draymond does on both defense and offense.

He’s one of my favorite players and I like to think of my play style as clean Draymond lol

ziggoon | Warriors

3 | an hour ago

There is a rhyme and reason why the Warriors have stuck with him despite his negatives he brings

LHamiltonPP | Pelicans

38 | 5 hours ago

Correct

SGA would need to adjust to the ball carrying and gather step rules being called differently MUCH more than hand-checking. SGA’s one of the toughest covers one-on-one in history. I think he’d have been just fine in an era dominated by man defense.

regardedbased

13 | 5 hours ago

The Jordan rules were literally help defense lmao

Le4-6Mafia

41 | 5 hours ago

In that era help defense = hard doubles, because illegal defense rules made real help defense pretty much impossible

StillOutrageous1961

-1 | 3 hours ago

Well you could still help. If you’re defending a guy low post and mj or whoever drives past his defender into the paint you can still contest that layup or dunk. People seem to think outside of double teams that it was strict one on one which just isn’t the case.

Milkboy1516 | Bulls

3 | 2 hours ago

If help cant pre-rotate itll be late help. Thats why the paint could get so clogged in the 2000/10s NBA by just 1 non-shooter.

StillOutrageous1961

1 | an hour ago

Yeah I agree it’s shitty help forced by the rules but still help. Idk people get caught up in the differences between eras talking like it’s a different sport entirely, when they’re all so much more similar then they are different.

Le4-6Mafia

2 | an hour ago

Send the center to the opposite dunkers spot, then there’s no one to help until the ball handler already has a head of steam. Of course it wasn’t one on one the entire game, but teams could get a one on one look whenever they wanted.

StillOutrageous1961

1 | an hour ago

Wasnt intending to say you think that it was mainly one on one but I think other less informed people can get the wrong idea from a comment like yours. What you’re saying is true but theirs nuances the casuals don’t care to understand. Otherwise I completely agree with you.

Different-Mountain58 | Trail Blazers

14 | 5 hours ago

The Jordan rules were how they timed when they brought the hard double in order to approximate a strong side overload, like the ones used today, since back then help defenders had to commit to a double team.

Those highlights of Detroit beating the hell out of Jordan are actually when the scheme failed and the defender got there late. That was the plan B if the double came too late.

hugesploods

7 | 4 hours ago

“illegal defense” is the craziest least talked about thing when mentioning different eras. You had to stand close to “your guy” or it was tech. Like you couldn’t sag off and be ready to help on Jordan, bird, magic like what in the world…. Imagine freight train lebron in Miami heat days with a 5 spread offense just taking it to the basket cuz of illegal defense lololol

BZGames | Heat

6 | 3 hours ago

MJ averaged 8 Free Throws a game for his career and SGA averages 7.8 if you don’t count his rookie season. The SGA stuff is WAYYYYYYYYYYY overblown.

GeneralDebate

2 | 4 hours ago

Not disagreeing Jordan had a great whistle, but what I think people hate are the ways in which he gets the fouls, not the sheer number of free throws. It’s a matter of degree, not kind - ~~Hitler~~Harden and Trey did it a little too egregiously and were hated by many for it. That said, I do think he would have been just fine in previous eras.

dmavs11 | NBA

4 | 4 hours ago

Every single ball handling star today would be better with the illegal defense rules. The amount of attention, blitzes, and help defense these guys face today is so much greater.

lkn240 | Bulls

2 | 5 hours ago

Teams helped all the time in that era. Illegal defense was a terrible/stupid rule that was barely enforced half the time.

Notice that league ORTG didn’t change at all when they removed it.

Eastern_Antelope_832

17 | 5 hours ago

Lockout-shortened 1999 aside, Ortg didn’t change much right away, but then ORtg went into the tank when teams learned how to defend better, up until they cracked down on contact before the 2004-2005 season.

LiamHundley | Thunder

2 | 4 hours ago

He doesn’t go to it all the time but he’s pretty devastating in the post. If he played in that era I’m pretty sure he’d just hand out turnaround jumpers from that baseline mid/low post area he gets to, same way Kobe did.

Krillin113 | 76ers

1 | 3 hours ago

The no help defence would allow the super skilled players to cook so much harder

CK0428 | Pacers

0 | 5 hours ago

Jordan had a good whistle, yes.

But all players used to fight thru the contact and try to convert.

Now players bait the contact with no real concern about whether they make the bucket. They just want the trip to the stripe.

NFL is doing the same shit with deep passes meant specifically to draw a PI penalty. A completion isn’t the priority.

It’s just lazy and unenjoyable to watch.

istandwhenipeee | BOS

-3 | 3 hours ago

Yeah the idea that SGA would struggle? It’s kinda dumb, he’s one of the most skilled players of all time and even with help defense nobody can stop him.

That doesn’t make the way SGA gets whistles less annoying though. The vast majority of fans agree they’d rather see fouls called, for example, when guys get hacked crazy hard on dunks (which somehow never happens) and not when they lightly graze SGA’s shoulder so he pulls up for a middie to get the call.

freshprince44

-2 | 6 hours ago

teams played help defense during the illegal defense era lol, this is the weirdest misconception.

Entire dynasties were build off of aggressive help defense schemes, the rules were hardly enforced and the highlights you see of exaggerated clearouts were more about strategy than anything. the more physicality allowed meant defenses were mostly fine with letting the lead scorer battle with their best defender 1v1 and hope that they tire out by the end of the game.

the lane has never been more wide open. there were regularly 2-3 offensive players (with their defenders) camped in the paint in that era…. everybody was already in help position lol

Old-Shine2497

-2 | 4 hours ago

They could with a hand check, hes to small

ice_cream_funday

2 | 3 hours ago

He’s bigger than other guys who were stars in that era.

SnarfSniffsStardust | Timberwolves

-1 | 3 hours ago

The notion be can’t be guarded 1 on 1 is crazy to me. NAW and Jaden did a fine job whenever they weren’t being incredibly ticky tacky with the calls. A dude like Pippen would steal his lunch money if the physicality was allowed

SpeclorTheGreat | Knicks

5 | 2 hours ago

He literally averaged 31/5/8 against the Wolves in the WCF last year. NAW and Jaden may have slowed him down at times, but it’s not like they locked SGA down.

SnarfSniffsStardust | Timberwolves

-2 | an hour ago

He shot 46% from the field and 32% from deep. He averaged 10.2 FTs. He started the first game like 0/8 then got 10 consecutive FTs in 4ish minutes

LindseyCorporation | Thunder

3 | an hour ago

So still better than the other stars of that era

bad_fortuneteller

114 | 6 hours ago

Anyone who doesn’t think the league’s talent gets better and better every year is just wrong. Any NBA quality player today would be a star in the 70s and would certainly thrive in the 80s and 90s.

Simple-Dingo6721 | Thunder

45 | 6 hours ago

Maybe but there is a serious conversation to be had about how modern stars’ point stats are inflated by refs that can’t hold their whistle. I’m a Thunder fan and I readily admit Shai would not be as good 20 years ago, a time in which refs objectively allowed much more contact.

bad_fortuneteller

29 | 6 hours ago

Players are shooting fewer and fewer free throws every year (except for this year thus far). Shai, and every other great player, would still get to the line just fine.

Imagine SGA with illegal defense rules too. That means you can’t double him as easily or play zone defense. He would be just fine, if not better than he is now.

lkn240 | Bulls

23 | 5 hours ago

FTs are mostly down because of the rise of 3 point shooting. FTs are very rare on 3 pointers.

You have to look at Free Throw Rates and Adjusted Free throw rates.

If you look at FTR+ someone like MJ never drew anywhere near as many FTs as guys like Bulter, SGA, etc (Butler is actually insane - his FTR+ even puts guys like SGA to shame)

lethalizered | Thunder

2 | an hour ago

Butler just wants to shoot free throws, he doesn’t really want to attempt a proper jumpshot inside the paint.

Been that way for a long while, it’s smart hoops but it’s incredibly annoying to watch when MOST of your game is depending on it.

I realize this is me with Shai on his team, but they are worlds apart if you watch them play.

lkn240 | Bulls

0 | an hour ago

Yeah - SGA plays the game, but he does make a lot of FGs. Butler’s main offense is FT baiting half the time.

allyourfaces

10 | 5 hours ago

>That means you can’t double him

You can double him. That’s not what illegal defense did bub. Go look at any Jordan tape he was double or fucking quadrupled if he wanted to go to the rim.

>play zone defense

I love when people bring this up because zone defense pretty much since it’s been allowed is a gimmick defense that is played 1> percent of the time in the NBA.

ImAShaaaark | Supersonics

3 | 4 hours ago

I love when people bring this up because zone defense pretty much since it’s been allowed is a gimmick defense that is played 1 percent of the time in the NBA.

Nobody plays pure zone like an old school college team, but everybody relies on strategies that would be considered illegal defense back in the day (colloquially, if not accurately, referred to as zone).

Soft doubles and camping out in driving lanes and passing gaps away from your man would have been illegal under previous rules, and OKC does that basically all game every game.

They frequently have a single player positioned dead center between their opponents at the wing and corner, while the man responsible for covering the wing shades in and helps the primary defender by being in position to intercept passes to the wing, corner or short corner while being able to quickly slide in and block the driving lane if necessary or collapse on the ball handler for a hard double team.

allyourfaces

1 | 3 hours ago

Yes.

This was the NBA of the 70s, 80s, and 90s seeking to create artificial spacing because the league did not have 3 point shooters to create the spacing. But even with this doubling was obviously possible & used against players like Jordan, so was “paint-packing”.

ImAShaaaark | Supersonics

1 | an hour ago

But even with this doubling was obviously possible & used against players like Jordan, so was “paint-packing”.

Was anyone arguing that double teaming was impossible? Cause that’s clearly not true.

This was the NBA of the 70s, 80s, and 90s seeking to create artificial spacing because the league did not have 3 point shooters to create the spacing.

That’s exactly the point people are trying to make. If you could use the soft coverage that teams use today it would absolutely devastate those teams back then who couldn’t stretch the floor and often had multiple players who were non-threats on the floor at any given time. If you think “packing the paint” (which is overstated, go watch some games and you’ll see the vast majority of the time it wasn’t resulting in a significant increase in challenging contests at the rim by non primary defenders) is bad, it’d be a hundred times worse for iso ball offenses to have every driving lane blocked and have every defender able to collapse on the ball handler or defend space as needed with near-zero transition time.

lethalizered | Thunder

2 | an hour ago

I love when people bring this up because zone defense pretty much since it’s been allowed is a gimmick defense that is played 1 percent of the time in the NBA.

Not anymore it’s not. Every team tries to employ a zone defense against OKC, heck it was the primary defensive strategy employed by the Nuggets against OKC last season.

Wolves barely went zone in the WCF mainly because they don’t have any practice doing it along with not having the personnel for it and they got absolutely smoked.

Zone is on the up and up and will continue to be so, it’s a great way to pack up the paint and force the offense to hit their outside shots all the time.

darkenmoonz

1 | 5 hours ago

Nokia Angel

allyourfaces

1 | 4 hours ago

knower

Midichlorian_counter | OKC

0 | 4 hours ago

You could double today with illegal defense rules, but the improved talent and shooting in the league today would make it far less tenable.

Zone defense is definitely a curveball for all teams, but theres definitely an increasing trend of zone use since 2020. Miami has employed it about 12% of the time since then, Denver used it over 70% of the time against okc in the playoffs, and many teams are beginning to use hybrid zone to man principles, like OKC.

allyourfaces

2 | 4 hours ago

Yes you could double under illegal defense, it was the league’s attempt at creating an artificial spacing which the league just has real spacing now with shooters.

>Zone defense is definitely a curveball for all teams, but theres definitely an increasing trend of zone use since 2020. Miami has employed it about 12% of the time since then, Denver used it over 70% of the time against okc in the playoffs, and many teams are beginning to use hybrid zone to man principles, like OKC.

I’m still pretty sure it’s like maybe a 1% of total plays defense.

Midichlorian_counter | OKC

1 | 4 hours ago

My point is that doubling with illegal defense in today’s league would be untenable. Obviously it was legal to double during illegal defense.

Zone is about 3% the last couple of years, but frankly the more integellent and defensively talented teams use it a lot more than that. It’s used enough now that it isn’t just an irrelevant and gimmick defensive strategy and has a place in the modern nba

KevonAtWork | Kings

2 | 4 hours ago

check this out to better understand illegal defense. I don’t disagree with your take, but your explanation of illegal defense is not accurate.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/3iyhcf/can_someone_explain_the_illegal_defense_rule_and/

Simple-Dingo6721 | Thunder

1 | 5 hours ago

That’s a good point. Is it true that stars had lower usage rates back then (20 years ago, specifically)? That’s another factor.

attersonjb

0 | 4 hours ago

You can’t just look at raw FT numbers because defenders adjust not to foul and there’s still the limit of 6 personal fouls. It just means they stop doing things that get called.

As has been mentioned elsewhere, players also don’t get fouled often on 3PA. SGA had 37 FTA related to 3PAs last year. Remove that, and his 2P FTr% is 52% - ie he shot 52 FT for every 100 2P FGA. Nobody was getting those number of calls in the 90s - Jordan himself peaked at mid-40s

SGA would be great in any era, but he’s not going the the line 10 times a game playing the way he does now.

Loop_Within_A_Loop | Bulls

14 | 5 hours ago

yes, but would shai play the same way if he didn’t get the whistles?

i believe he’s good enough and smart enough to adapt

ironykarl | Pistons

4 | 4 hours ago

He’s undoubtedly good and smart enough to adapt. He would be a great player in any era.

That said, it’s still worth acknowledging that the way the game is officiated greatly influences (inflates) stats and our perception of how much better current players are than players of the past

ExpressionAlone5204 | Thunder

5 | 4 hours ago

This is it. Jordan would too. SGA didn’t have this playing style when he entered the league, he developed it to win games

IronPhilosopher_23

7 | 4 hours ago

You’re not enough of a Thunder fan then apparently. Shai uses contact for fouls because they allow it. Stating that he’d be worse if they didn’t is completely non-correlated and is a great example of a logical fallacy. There is no reasoning behind it or evidence to support it at all whatsoever.

This is akin to saying “he eats a lot of chicken tenders, which means if chicken tenders didn’t exist he would die of starvation.” It is an illogical and baseless conclusion with no correlation.

CocoaNinja | Nuggets

2 | 3 hours ago

I highly doubt SGA would be any worse as a player. His numbers may not be as gaudy as far as scoring and efficiency, and it would be harder to get some of those shots off, especially with a bunch of bigs who only touch the 3pt line when they’re running to the paint. But his skills outside of foul-baiting are still All-NBA worthy in any era, and his ability to draw fouls would still be rewarded more often than not 20 years ago. Kobe, Wade, AI, hell even Corey Magette were still having seasons with 8-11 FTA per game. I think he’d still be a 25+ppg guy at worst, potentially with a couple of 30ppg seasons in there.

Adorable-Bike-9689

1 | 4 hours ago

The game has been opened up to benefit offense nowadays. It’s not glorifying the old days by saying that. Of course SGA would ball in any era, but he would absolutely feel the difference in getting pushed around and muscled by defenders.

Shai doesn’t have to do the flail and head snap thing, it works so he does it like every other superstar. Max Kleber clearly doesn’t try that because refs barely know his name. They won’t call that lol.

ice_cream_funday

1 | 3 hours ago

but there is a serious conversation to be had about how modern stars’ point stats are inflated by refs that can’t hold their whistle

SGA shoots fewer free throws than Jordan did.

AhtoCityFC

1 | 2 hours ago

shai would eat in the 90s and beyond lol

Serious-Wish4868

0 | 6 hours ago

100% truth

CircledSquare7 | Lakers

10 | 6 hours ago

The rules got less and less in terms of dribbling etc. Lets also factor in rule changes and a more relaxed schedule. Lets not act like players of today getting rewarded for missing 17 games with most being “rest days”. Lets not also act like players arent getting injured much more frequently. So just to make blanket statements that players automatically get better. Teams aren’t built as good I can tell you that. Everyone looks at individual highlights and “bag” which makes todays fan automatically think the NBA is just so much better now.

ForneauCosmique | Spurs

8 | 6 hours ago

You’re right which why it’s dumb they’re giving players more leeway. They should be getting LESS leeway considering players are more skilled and athletic than ever

freshprince44

3 | 6 hours ago

https://www.ted.com/talks/david_epstein_are_athletes_really_getting_faster_better_stronger

watch this please, this idea that humans are evolving to be better at sports by the decade is so silly

improvements are on the margins, the rules have changed how the game is played and looked WAY more than any sort of talent jump. FT% has been about the same pretty much the entire history of league, isn’t that a decent enough measure of talent?

dplath | Lakers

12 | 5 hours ago

I mean, those things he talks about are why the players are better today, idk if anyone thinks it’s like their body evolving or something.

And the league is more talented now then ever simply based on the fact that scouting is so much easier today then it would have been in the past. There is just greater access to talent in general, which is on average going to lead to more talented players.

One mistake people make about this is focusing on the top talent(shai in old era, wilt in this era etc.) But the bottom of the league is the biggest difference, the bottom of the league is way better then what it used to be.

Forshea | Spurs

8 | 5 hours ago

The top 5 seasons for FT% in NBA history are in order: 2025-2026, 23-24, 22-23, 24-25, 20-21.

So yeah if you want to use that for a proxy, players are more talented.

eFG% is also up like 4-5% and offensive rating is up like a full 10 points over the last decade, btw. What rule change made that happen?

freshprince44

-1 | 5 hours ago

by how much percentage…..? lol, we are playing more shooters, a 1% difference is nothing and easily explained by shooting being prioritized over size and rebounders/defenders

freedom of movement….. started the entire trend. Carrying, travelling, and dislodging defenders are all still illegal by the books but hardly enforced at all compared to previous eras

come on….. this is some real nitpicking stuff, we’ve gone from 75% in the 70s to a massive jump of 77% in the 2010s lol, which is easily explained by shooting being prioritized more than ever. guys get WAY more time per shot in the modern era too lol

have you actually watched the past eras??? spreadsheets can’t explain everything

Forshea | Spurs

6 | 5 hours ago

a 1% difference is nothing

Good thing we’re not talking about 1% of any of these stats.

easily explained by shooting being prioritized over size and rebounders/defenders

Yes you’re right, we do have better shooters in the NBA by a significant margin than we’ve ever had before, and offensive stats have jumped through the roof because of it.

Carrying, travelling, and dislodging defenders are all still illegal by the books but hardly enforced at all compared to previous eras

This is nonsense. Jordan travelled and pushed off, too. His game winning shot to seal the 1998 finals was literally him pushing off his defender.

have you actually watched the past eras??? spreadsheets can’t explain everything

I kinda think you weren’t watching in the 90s if you don’t think the refs swallowed their whistle for stars back then.

freshprince44

-3 | 5 hours ago

??….. lol, okay

Muted-Woodpecker-469

3 | 5 hours ago

Imagine if all world records at Olympics were broken every 2-4 years?

We have measurable and then your intangibles.

ice_cream_funday

3 | 3 hours ago

Imagine if all world records at Olympics were broken every 2-4 years?

A lot of them are…

Muted-Woodpecker-469

1 | 2 hours ago

I’m talking if we’re moving on as an entire species as we’re all better/stronger/faster, there are some records that have not been broken

dsalmon1449

1 | 5 hours ago

Not trying to discredit this. Id love a modern version looking at the nba. 2014 was still pre Warriors dynasty and basketball is different now. I think I still arrive at the point here that it’s improvements made on the margins, even if we have better nutrition science and all that. Takes a long time for changes

jettieri | GSW

1 | 3 hours ago

Who the hell is talking about evolution?

It’s that players train harder, have more knowledge about training, have more resources and lots of other things like that that add up.

The quality of player in the league is significantly higher. Now if you gave the older players that stuff they probably would be on a similar level but the reality is they weren’t.

toggl3d

1 | 44 minutes ago

It’s always funny when people link this because I assume they don’t have the attention span to watch the second half. He says as part of his presentation that athlete body types have become less general and more specialized. That’s one very relevant to basketball because one of the recentish evolutions in scouting is looking for wingspan/standing reach over height.

attersonjb

3 | 4 hours ago

Certainly the skill development is higher, but it also functions in an environment that allows for it. I’ll make an analogy with hockey because it’s a lot more obvious. In 90s/00s, defenders could grab, hack and stickwork an offensive player with impunity. It made skill less valuable because you rarely had the space to use it and being able to withstand that physicality was more prioritized. It’s 100% undeniable that hockey players today are better skaters (just like basketball players are better outside shooters), but those skills wouldn’t have been 100% utilized in a different era.

lkn240 | Bulls

2 | 5 hours ago

Statements like this are meaningless because time machines don’t exist and modern players simply could not exist in the 1980s. They would be worse versions of themselves if they grew up then.

It’s like saying that most modern physicists are better at physics than Albert Einstein….. like you aren’t making the point you think you are.

jettieri | GSW

1 | 3 hours ago

Hmmm. Maybe apply that same logic to the original quote that sparked this conversation?

The point is valid in critiquing the original quote but the entire discussion of comparing eras has always been dumb as hell.

atl1057

1 | 6 hours ago

coaches and vets would not let them have that freedom on offense . you used to get benched for taking dumb ass shots no matter who u were

players in the paint would also do whatever to send a message as well .

they would be able to hoop in any era for sure but the physicality would wear these dudes down fast

Spiritual-Bar-5618

3 | 5 hours ago

If a player is taking his “bad shots” at 45% efficency, the coach let them do whatever they want

atl1057

1 | 4 hours ago

coaches and owners had more power back then. there are plenty of dudes who had shot great but had to sit on the bench because they didn’t adjust to the coaches play

JMEEKER86 | NBA

1 | an hour ago

Yes and no. The average talent level has gone up immensely, but the top is still generally about the same because the top has always been pushing the limits of human capabilities anyway so improvements will always be pretty marginal. But the 9-12 guys on the bench these days are on par or even better than many of the 3-5 starters on any given team back then.

vladimir_pimpin | Nuggets

0 | 6 hours ago

So jok is the goat?

bad_fortuneteller

9 | 6 hours ago

Greatest and best are two different things. And I’m not sure Jokic is the best player in the world right now. It’s at the very least a debate.

ChaunceyToPrisonNow

0 | 6 hours ago

Best offensive player of all time. No debate.

vladimir_pimpin | Nuggets

3 | 5 hours ago

Well I’ll agree to that lol

chef_iblocka | Thunder

86 | 6 hours ago

Hmmmm. A 6’6 elite iso-scorer who lives in the midrange, has a strong post-game, is a plus on defense and doesn’t turn the ball over?

I don’t think we have ever seen that in the past so theres no evidence his game would translate.

Huh? Kobe and Jordan? Those were bums who didn’t have any success in the league.

lkn240 | Bulls

12 | 5 hours ago

The thing is MJ was a lot more naturally athletic than SGA… for anyone who thinks he wouldn’t be good now if he grew up in this era with all the modern advantages.

Some_Black_Guy_ | Thunder

60 | 5 hours ago

Anyone who thinks Michael fucking Jordan wouldn’t dominate in any era shouldn’t be taken seriously anyways

Virtual-Database-238 | Lakers

1 | 43 minutes ago

Babe Ruth wouldn’t make the MLB today

SnooChipmunks469 | Knicks

12 | 4 hours ago

SGA is also a freak athlete in other ways. He doesn’t have the vertical pop but his stop-start ability and body flexibility are better than pretty much anyone. He’s such a hard guard because he’s so jittery and moves through such tight angles with ease.

Blistersonmytoes | Thunder

64 | 6 hours ago

With how easy it is to score 20 every night and flop your way to 33 ppg it’s weird we don’t have more players doing it.

dragonrider5555 | Celtics

18 | 4 hours ago

We do got a lot more 20pp and 30ppg than before

Razatiger

5 | 2 hours ago

Yeah and FTs are overall down from the 90s, thats the funny part.

I remember back in 2012 when we had Derozan on the Raptors everyone was so happy because we finally got a guy who could draw fouls and get to the line.

Not even 15 years later and all people do is cry about FTs

FormalDisastrous2467 | Thunder

1 | an hour ago

Some of this is offenses getting better but there are also just more high level players.

There are about 30 guys who are good enough to lead good team offense today. 30 years ago there were around 15.

ice_cream_funday

3 | 3 hours ago

We do though lol.

Safe_Lemon8398

43 | 6 hours ago

Not a Shai fan, but acknowledge is greatness. I know a lot of these headlines are clickbait, but I take issue with “he is built specifically for this era….”

Top performers look for competitive advantages and make adjustments to exploit them. If the rules or style of the game changed, I have no doubt he would make adjustments and find other ways to win.

FantasticAnus

12 | 6 hours ago

This is it. Same as dropping prime Jordan into today’s league with no time to prepare his game. Yes, he’ll be exceptional, but he won’t be Michael Jordan again until he has had time to adapt.

demmellers

8 | 6 hours ago

Especially when you consider that every player is built for this era. All the drills and training these highschoolers do is predicated on the rules of the league and what a successful player looks like. Everyone need to be able to shoot 3’s now, not so much in the 80’s, 90’s, 00’s

Safe_Lemon8398

2 | 6 hours ago

Great point.

resumehelpacct | Heat

2 | 5 hours ago

Eh, I think it’s backwards. Like swimmers all have mostly the same body type because that’s the body type that’s good at swimming. I think SGA would’ve been a great player in 1994 and Hakeem would’ve been a great player in 2025 but I don’t know if either are winning MVP in those years.

NegativesPositives

37 | 6 hours ago

Yep, a 6’6 rangy guard with an elite midrange and can drive at will will never succeed in the earlier eras. Never happened before.

AIaska | OKC

32 | 6 hours ago

It’s so awesome that Shai is good enough that he’s attracting this kind of brain dead take, that’s how you know you’ve really made it

Ill_Speaker8851

33 | 5 hours ago

You know you’re absolutely cooking the league when this is the kind of stuff they’re saying about you.

frecklie | Trail Blazers

-1 | an hour ago

Ultimately you can pretend its just baseless hate but his game is simple not fun to watch. He efficiently takes advantage of the modern rules, which naturally results in writers asking questions like this. It would be awesome to see him play a different version of his game because this is Harden 2.0 and everyone hates it

Jason_B_Kidding

27 | 6 hours ago

If the era was more physical than Shai could use his shoulder even more than he does now.

Acting like Shai is protected by the rules and not a physical player himself is jokes. There are not many ball handlers who deal with contact better than Shai.

LongjumpingMonitor23

19 | 6 hours ago

If SGA played in the 1990s we’d all be wearing Air Shai’s

JonEnterprise | Timberwolves

18 | 6 hours ago

It’s Shaun Powell that’s all you need to know

SwimFar1221

16 | 6 hours ago

Nostalgia fans gon be very very disappointed if current superstars just got dropped into prior eras via time travel. They’d be wrecking balls out there bruh

CloudySkies64 | LAC

3 | 6 hours ago

Till this day I still ponder about Curry in the 90s. I just genuinely don’t believe there’s a coach during the time period ahead enough stylistically to let him just shoot that bitch from 3 everytime.

Would just be relegated to being a super version of his first few years on steroids

afnorth | Rockets

4 | 6 hours ago

Theres guys from previous eras you can say the same about being dropped into todays game.

Sam Perkins would Be a max player in todays era

Rashard Lewis would be a legit star in this era.

Greats would always be great. Its the specialized guys on the edge of great or on the margins who can go either way.

Never_Uses_Slash_S | Cabo Verde

9 | 6 hours ago

Yeah, there’s no way a 6’6” athletic strong slashing guard who can also shoot and play defense could play in any other era but this current one. Guy would get dominated in 2005 by Brevin Knight.

bubbasnub | Magic

10 | 5 hours ago

He’d be great in any era lol.

SeaCounter9516 | Thunder

8 | 6 hours ago

I really do wonder why the nba (both players and media) has such a difficult time accepting the new talent. You don’t see that in the nfl.

resumehelpacct | Heat

2 | 5 hours ago

NFL fans have to reserve at least half their hate for their division rivals. You may only play a team 3 times in a decade, so has time to write a thesis on why their QB is over-rated.

vballboy55 | Bulls

1 | 5 hours ago

Because NBA players are talked about more than their teams. No other sport focuses on and markets the players more than the NBA. That is why they are also criticized the most.

Adorable-Bike-9689

1 | 4 hours ago

Nah this occurs in NFL and it’s fair. QBs play a different game than QBS in the 70s 80s -90s. Rules were already changing but once Brady got injured in 2008 refs were on defenders asses if the QB got touched.

Now it’s you cant hit them high, low, or fall on them. Joe Montana playing in a league where he’s only allowed to be hit certain ways would greatly benefit his career

SeaCounter9516 | Thunder

2 | 4 hours ago

Okay but in your scenario you described how people from the past would play so much better in the modern game. That’s fair. But my point is the nba discourse is the opposite of that. It’s “this modern player wouldn’t be able to play in the past”. It’s not a logical argument imo. Athletes are always improving.

steakburgerhotdog | Thunder

7 | 5 hours ago

People are getting anxious because they didn’t like Shai’s face once when he drew a foul they didn’t like and Shai is winning enough to start some conversations they don’t want to have about his greatness.

aggelosbill | Bucks

6 | 6 hours ago

People hating on today’s era basketball is just so stupid. Basketball has evolved so much and to even think that these players would not score in the 90s is utterly insane.

Eastern_Antelope_832

6 | 6 hours ago

Every player should be built for his era.

I mean, I don’t enjoy watching OKC, but it would be monumentally stupid to tailor your style to the rules from years ago so that your fans can win arguments on social media.

knowledgeseed1992

6 | 4 hours ago

lol man ppl never say anything positive about sga it’s always a think piece on how he isn’t really this good lol

afnorth | Rockets

4 | 6 hours ago

The Driving looking for contact complaint is always funny because I grew up going to basketball camps in the late 90’s and early 2000’s and it was almost always taught that Driving to the paint should be either a Layup for you or a foul. We were told basketball is a contact sport so dont shy away from it. Do someguys embellish? yea, sure, I only have a problem when guys are trying to draw fouls without actually intending to make the shot. Atleast from what I’ve seen Shai is generally trying to make the shot each time.

ObiOneKenobae | Knicks

5 | 5 hours ago

He has a good amount of old school to his game, I don’t see why era would be a big problem.

IronPhilosopher_23

5 | 4 hours ago

How was Shaun Powell able to get an NBA.com job as an ignorant reddit poster?

Infamous-GoatThief

4 | 4 hours ago

All of the greatest scoring guards ever have been great foul baiters.

The difference between Harden averaging 26 and 36 in 2019 were his 10 FTM per game

The difference between Kobe averaging 26 and 35 in 2006 were his 9 FTM per game

The difference between MJ averaging 27 and 37 in 1987 were his 10 FTM per game

And the difference between SGA averaging 24 and 32 last year were his 8 FTM per game

Honestly not bad at all in the grand scheme of things. I think the reason so many people find it so grating when he baits fouls is just because his rise has been concurrent with OKC’s fouls per game skyrocketing and their defense becoming more physical.

There was a great post here the other day about how they’ve essentially abandoned ‘hands up’ defense and are willing to risk committing more fouls to cause more turnovers, thereby getting more shots when it’s all said and done, and how pretty much every team in the league is now copying that in a similar fashion to the 3PT wave.

I really think that has a lot to do with this narrative, because eye-test wise I can see where people are coming from when they complain, but on paper SGA isn’t even top 3 all-time when it comes to foul-baiting lol. It’s just jarring to watch Lu Dort or Caruso manhandle somebody on one end and get called maybe ²⁄₃ out of 5 times for it, and then see SGA foul baiting on offense, but he’s not doing it that much relatively, and the refs can’t whistle a reach every time OKC is on defense. Just kinda creates the feeling that they can do things other teams can’t, but really it’s Daigneault (or however u spell it) just forcing the officials into a tough position and capitalizing. If there’s a problem, it’s in the rulebook or the way the rules are being applied, not in SGA’s game.

blackspidey2099 | Raptors

2 | an hour ago

All of the greatest scoring guards ever have been great foul baiters.

Not Steph and that’s why he’s the greatest

Infamous-GoatThief

2 | an hour ago

He is definitely the exception to a certain extent. Averaged 32 in 2021 (his highest-scoring season) with only 5.7 FTM per game, has never averaged over 6.3 FTA per game. That is pretty insane. Granted, he plays off-ball and catch-and-shoots a lot more than all of those examples, so he’s gonna get fouled less naturally, but I also agree that he doesn’t really go out of his way to bait fouls. On top of that he just has a shitty whistle

Lots of greats in this era that I’m thankful to have witnessed, and I hated the Warriors w a passion in the late 2010s lol but being alive and sentient for Steph is a huge W as a basketball fan

ice_cream_funday

-1 | 3 hours ago

and the refs can’t whistle a reach every time OKC is on defense.

They definitely can, they just don’t.

Strange1130 | Thunder

3 | 6 hours ago

imagine if you used a time machine to drop current Nyjah Huston into a street skating contest from the 90s. That’s what dropping any of these current MVP caliber guys into the 90s would be like. Old heads literally would not know what hit them.

Le4-6Mafia

4 | 5 hours ago

Old heads are so tiresome. Today’s players are better than the players of the 80s and 90s. It’s just the truth.

IndoFountainPenner | Lakers

4 | 5 hours ago

MFs acting like shai wouldn’t drop 50 on single coverage. Whole ass systems are developed to stop today’s stars

Le4-6Mafia

1 | an hour ago

Yep. The Jordan rules are just another Tuesday in today’s league.

Usrnameusrname

4 | 4 hours ago

Every fucking old guy is obsessed with claiming they were 100x tougher than the younger generations.

This was a meaningful sentiment 2,000 years ago in Rome.

Sure man…you guys were smaller, slower, & didn’t lift (and also couldn’t shoot + ran elementary school schemes) but fortunately every guy who isn’t a pussy was magically born in your era so you’d win.

I hope I never turn into these guys.

CoolAsTheUnthawed | OKC

6 | 3 hours ago

People don’t want to acknowledge it cause they want to run with the “defenders are too scared to get near him that’s why he’s able to score so much” narrative, but Shai gets hand-checked on a good chunk of his drives already…

FantasticAnus

4 | 6 hours ago

People who think the game is easier now are really dumb.

sctthuynh | GSW

3 | 6 hours ago

Yes, superstars today would STILL be GREAT (if not greater) in other eras.

Yes, the different rules and play style of certain eras would effect their play.

SGA would be a superstar in the 80s, 90s and 2000s.

The clogged lanes, increase physicality, slower pace, lack of spacing and stricter ball handling rules would lower his scoring output.

But the illegal defense rules, lack of premier perimeter defenders/athletes overall compared to today would be advantages for SGA.

Similarly Jokic and other big men of this era would be affected by the more clogged paint, different rules and pace of previous eras. There was a ton more elite post defenders in the league prior since the game was much more heavily focused in the paint.

At the same time, Jokic,, Gianni’s, EmBiid, AD, etc would benefit from their wider skill sets, versatility and range.

Basketball skills and talent as a whole are better than they have ever been. But differing rules and focus of different eras will imo have a significant impact.

First_Inspection_478 | Bucks

4 | 5 hours ago

he’s the closest modern archetype to MJ. He’d be fine lol

brnccnt7

1 | 5 hours ago

His game is somewhat similar but not his body type

Kobe was the closest thing and as far as today, probably Kawhi because he plays in the post more due to his size and strength like MJ

First_Inspection_478 | Bucks

1 | 4 hours ago

i meant archetype positionally. kawhi is a good comp but he’s not really a guard and isnt as consistent as mj was. kobe was inefficient af. shai has mj’s consistency, and efficiency.

brnccnt7

2 | 4 hours ago

I get that, valid

But Kawhi is consistent too, he’s just injured all the time

First_Inspection_478 | Bucks

1 | 4 hours ago

yeah his peak is up there fr, just wish his body could’ve held up

SwizzGod | Lakers

3 | 3 hours ago

He’s an all time great. He’d be good in any era

CircledSquare7 | Lakers

2 | 6 hours ago

Hes one of the few players of today who I can definitely see excelling in any era. Has enough variety to his game and plays at his own pace along with his obvious willingness to improve his game.

HisExcellency20 | 76ers

2 | 5 hours ago

I think Joel would have dominated AND been able to stay healthy in an era like the 2000’s when he doesn’t have to move on defense nearly as much and as quickly.

Trust me, it’s good to have a superstar built to dominate and stay healthy in the era that he currently plays. I don’t even know why this is considered a bad thing. He absolutely should take full advantage of the rules and what’s allowed lol.

veksone | Knicks

2 | 3 hours ago

As does every player so why not criticize everyone?

farewellyo | Thunder

2 | an hour ago

The NBA can’t decide whether they like SGA or not

The smear campaigns are insane

CluelessSwordFish | Thunder

1 | an hour ago

It’s passive aggressive hate. Singling him out as a guy who apparently couldn’t survive in the 90’s is wild.

rumblegod | Thunder

1 | 6 hours ago

Nah he would have more free throws lol. I don’t think yall want to see Shai average 45 a game

jcheeseball | Heat

1 | 6 hours ago

Another reason you don’t compare eras.

RadiantReply603

1 | 6 hours ago

It is weird given that Shai has a similar skill set as Tmac, but just better.

caulpain | Lakers

1 | 5 hours ago

thats just describing every generationally great player

Wi11iams2000 | Lakers

1 | 5 hours ago

Players adapt. Jordan and Olajuwon took full advantage of the anti-zones rules, you get isolated in the left baseline against Olajuwon? Good luck, there’s absolutely no way a solo defender can even bother Olajuwon, you need at minimum two or even three defenders to contain him, but that opens the 3pt shot, etc.. Shai is a mid-range assassin, so he could take advantage similar to Jordan and others, just drive to his hot spots and go 1v1. The FG% will drop, FT attempts as well, etc.. but Shai would remain a star player in the 90s, he has enough size and skill. One player that is a complete fabrication of the soft era, that is Trae Young, just too weak to play real basketball

DungeonsAndUnions | Knicks

1 | 5 hours ago

I feel like saying he is built for this era means he would be built differently for a different era.

HOFredditor | Warriors

1 | 5 hours ago

SGA is very physical lol. He’s not Giannis, but he initiates and receives contact a lot

ComfortableGlass3238

1 | 5 hours ago

“clogged lanes” lol

lanes became far more clogged because of zone defense. Then players got better at shooting to create more space. Imagine how much worse you would be punished for double teaming someone in 90s rules with modern shooters.

These guys comparing eras always wanna just focus on one or two differences and ignore everything else.

Defiant_Regular3738

1 | 5 hours ago

He’s my villain player, but his footwork, speed, balance would end garbage man careers. Hes a fucking monster.

No_Engine7583

1 | 4 hours ago

Another dumb take, just face it current age players would wipe 90s

suburban_homepwner | South Sudan

0 | 4 hours ago

some of them for sure. At least with atheletics. But if you forced modern players to play by 90’s rules, maybe not. Especially with the disciplined dribbling and the enforcement of the traveling rule, the hard fouling, the lack of flopping, i don’t see too many of these lanky broccolii headed fools doing to well, esp in the paint when there were thugs like Mason and Malon and Oakly and barkley down there. A few modern players would adapt, but i must say, many of these youngins simply dont’ want nor can handle that. I really don’t see it.

No_Engine7583

1 | 2 hours ago

I will put very simply every sport evolves every professional player improves through decades. Sprinters ain’t running the same pace they did 20-30 years ago to expect 90s nba player to be on the same level as current generation is simply putting blindfolds on

hugesploods

1 | 4 hours ago

Should he have trained to play in a 1980s NBA when he was born in 1998

j1h15233 | HOU

1 | 4 hours ago

A player tailors his game to how game is played today. Certainly it stands to reason he could have done the same then.

twrs_29 | Thunder

1 | 4 hours ago

Let’s bring back the no zone rule as well, would love to see how that ends up

Ok_Dimension_708

1 | 4 hours ago

Anything negative they talk about him can be told about any other player at some degree imo. I think the only ‘problem’ is he is bit boring to watch for entertainment purposes that is it. No circus shots, no 360 dunks, no logo threes, no funny moments etc. Does he need them? In OKC game plan not really.

AdComfortable4677 | Thunder

1 | an hour ago

I’m old enough to have watched the tail end of the Bulls era and the amount of exaggeration regarding that time is out of control. People saying SGA would’ve been clotheslined, powerbombed, and then hit with a DDT just on a drive is straight up nonsense.

toggl3d

1 | 6 minutes ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GchTzQFCNi4

I’ve posted this several times recently because I find it so funny. I honestly don’t know if this is supposed to be a joke or not.

Defenders didn’t play tight and body up drivers like they do today. It’s so weird to watch a ball handler put his back to the basket and the defender decide now is the time to play tight when he can’t shoot. The second they face up the defenders drop back and give them space to shoot, but they don’t.

Magicnik99 | 76ers

1 | an hour ago

Great players are great in any era.

HatefulDan

1 | 5 minutes ago

Yes. His skill level is high-high.

Guardsred70

0 | 6 hours ago

I think he’d probably adapt just fine. I mean, he plays in an era that rewards the fouling and gives free throws.

If he played in the 80s or 90s, I’m sure he would have managed just fine. He’d put on some muscle and dunk on people and get plenty of And-1s.

All this stuff of how certain players would/wouldn’t be as good in other eras is stupid.

siphillis | Spurs

0 | 2 hours ago

Shai is a less athletic Jordan. He’d be fine in any era

true_morgan

-1 | 3 hours ago

Shai would not be MVP of league where he couldn’t get to the line like this.

Patriots9210

-1 | 3 hours ago

I think he could play in any era that being said he does get way to friendly of a whistle a lot of stars do now a days. I think the sweet spot for superstar calls was mid 2000s to 2014 now a days the whistle for fouls is annoying

wifefuu

-4 | 3 hours ago

I think hes a bench guy in handheld era. Regardless of his speed he cannot handle actucal contact and is not shooting 10 FTs a game to inflate his stats. His defense is sub par as well

Natural_Elevator_829 | Rockets

1 | 6 hours ago

SGA would be the best guard in the 80’s/90’s

Apprehensive_Ruin692

8 | 6 hours ago

What? No

unchangedman

2 | 6 hours ago

Jordan would still be. SGA would have to be able to play with his back to the basket.

Spiritual-Bar-5618

4 | 6 hours ago

You think he cant post up?

unchangedman

-1 | 6 hours ago

I think he’d be fine. Probably the second or third best though. Jordan, Drexler, Richmond were dunking on people, posting up - and shooting middys and drawing fouls.

twovles31

1 | 6 hours ago

Maybe, I mean he wouldn’t have the advantages that he has today in the 80s/90’s in training and nutrition advances. He would be on the same playing field as the other guys in that time.

MrMeritocracy

-2 | 5 hours ago

More like “when flopping was consistently called as a technical foul, would Shai still have the same success”?

No, he’d foul out of many games

twovles31

-3 | 6 hours ago

Getting the occasional closeline from the bad boy Pistons, or some of the tougher guys would send some of the guys in the league today into their safe space. But the players today would adapt and figure it out.

IndoFountainPenner | Lakers

-4 | 5 hours ago

This is dumb. Every single sport has admitted their current players are better than the past. Except basketball. I’ll say it, MJ would not be in the all nba first team today or the second team for that matter, not because he’s bad but because that’s just how sports evolve.

brnccnt7

2 | 5 hours ago

Please delete your account

Kid just said MJ who is arguably the best athlete ever would not be a top player today…….

IndoFountainPenner | Lakers

0 | 5 hours ago

Try telling badeball fans babe ruth is better than shohei lmao. Rose tinted glasses. There’s a reason the debate is always greatest, not best of all time

brnccnt7

1 | 5 hours ago

The difference is Jordan played only 22 years ago

And he was the best athlete at that position the games ever seen

Combined with his fundamentals and skills, he would absolutely shred teams today

There would be no shooting guard better than him

IndoFountainPenner | Lakers

1 | 5 hours ago

No he would not, defenses today build systems to stop players. MJs skills are amazing in the 80s, today? Imagine putting KD in the 80s, he would easily be more skilled than every single player including MJ.

Also talk abt fundamentals are so asinine. You ppl really think SGA, Luka, Steph, all these ppl can do what they do because they ignore fundamentals? Cmon

brnccnt7

2 | 4 hours ago

It’s crazy to think he wouldn’t adjust to defenses today… that’s the same argument of old heads saying sga wouldn’t adjust to 90s defenses…

Great players dominate any era

freehugshuman

1 | 5 hours ago

The best SG in the game today is ANT or Booker maybe? Technically SGA is a PG so let’s throw him in there. Is MJ not better than all of them?

Let’s look at the other best players on the wing - Doncic? Can MJ score like him and defend better?

Can’t see a question where the answer is no

brnccnt7

2 | 4 hours ago

That’s what I’m saying

MJ is better than Ant and Booker, more athletic, more moves, better defender etc, more clutch

I agree

He’d essentially be prime Kawhi with a 40”+ vertical who doesn’t get injured lol

Not sure why kids today can’t see that and see how dominant that would be

freehugshuman

2 | an hour ago

I’m agreeing with you. Im disagreeing with the person whos saying is MJ wouldn’t be able to dominate in this era and comparing with Babe Ruth ffs. Thats like comparing with the plumbers from the 60. MJ has verifiable comps. He was literally only a year away from Bron in his Wizards years

Wise_Ad_112 | Lakers

-3 | 4 hours ago

It’s why ppl who compare him to Kobe are stupid. That era wasn’t guys just falling all over the place and getting babied. Shai is 195, imagine he went in the lane and flopped, the guys would literally take shit personal and lay his ass out. They use to do it to guys who didn’t flop. Imagine sga getting clotheslined or guys literally just stepping under him like rose or Bowen was infamous for it. Ppl don’t realize what the nba was and the type of players that exited and the mentalities.

One_Seaworthiness323

-2 | 3 hours ago

It’s true. SGA isn’t dominating like this 20-25 years ago. The league was just different. He is a product of this era through and through

Muted-Woodpecker-469

-4 | 6 hours ago

He’s been chosen imho

It’s odd new rookies try the same antics and can’t get away with it.

Spiritual-Bar-5618

12 | 6 hours ago

Yes the magical whistle has the chosen their future faces of the leauge: benedict mathurin, deni adijka and zion williamson

chef_iblocka | Thunder

0 | 6 hours ago

Shai haters of this variety are genuinely hilarious. The idea that the league executives all gathered in some dark and secret room to decide who to crown with the next magic whistle is so ridiculous that all you can do is just laugh

Spiritual-Bar-5618

3 | 6 hours ago

I hate when warriors fan try to pretend like the leauge is intentionally conspiring against at worse their second most popular player

Muted-Woodpecker-469

1 | 5 hours ago

There’s an odd benefit of doubt that pushes many guys to the bench, while others literally rise above. Been seeing it for decades

Sga years ago just wasn’t getting these calls. It’s not that he’s worlds better now. Check the old footage.

[Shaun Powell] “With more physicality and hand-checking and clogged lanes, as was the case two decades ago, would Shai be as effective?” “He is built specifically for this era. He takes full advantage of what is allowed.”