There is very little that raises the volume of a sports conversation more that comparing athletes from different generations. Especially when it comes with any sense of dogma or certainty. Like saying that Joe Namath would be the best quarterback in the NFL today – which I’m not suggesting. Or that Babe Ruth would hit 60 home runs this year. Also not my thoughts. These kinds of unanswerable hypotheticals challenge people’s convictions and sense of truth. Because if you’re certain to your core that Jerry Rice is the best wide receiver to walk the face of this earth, then a counter argument threatens everything you believe.
That can be even more pronounced when it’s the athletes themselves in the conversation. Like when a pitcher from 20 years ago gets asked how he’d fare against Aaron Judge. Or if someone tells a linebacker of today he’s not as tough as the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970’s. Many athletes current and past, not all but many, take considerable pride in their prowess not only in their playing era, but also across the span of time.
That is what sparked a bit of a brouhaha between current Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards and pretty much every former NBA star. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Edwards said – in reference to the past NBA compared to today’s game – that Michael Jordan was the only one that really had skill. And now, everyone has skill. Meaning, the NBA of today – Anthony Edwards’ NBA – is far better than that it was, when one guy with skill could just dominate a bunch of hacks. And I’m interpreting there.
Not surprisingly, some of those so-called unskilled players took offense, namely Magic Johnson, who many consider the greatest point guard of all time and a future prototype for the position. At an event with Stephen A. Smith, Magic said that he doesn’t respond to people who haven’t won a championship – either in the NBA or college. Of course, Magic won at both. Isiah Thomas, also a legendary NBA point guard and former champion, went a bit deeper, saying that the emphasis on the three-point shot has created an illusion that today’s player is somehow better. And Kevin Garnett – also a former NBA champ – said that what Edwards said “don’t make no sense.” Those are just a sampling of what I’m sure are countless rebuttals to Edwards’ bold claim, one he made after admitting he hasn’t watched much NBA from the past. Sports commentators have been equally harsh, including Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser of ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption collectively calling the comments “somewhere between naïve and stupid” and that Edwards “sounds like a fool.” If nothing else, Anthony Edwards did give sports radio hosts a chance to talk about something other than 24/7 speculation of how NFL teams will do this year based on unwatchable pre-season games.
So there’s a few things to consider here. First, Anthony Edwards is no stranger to bombast. So it’s worth taking anything he says with a pound of salt. Second, and this is not a new or hot take, but what Edwards said was clearly and obviously false. All you have to do is watch old games from the 80’s and 90’s to realize that the league was stacked with skilled athletes. And while I do believe that the influx of European athletes has widened the talent pool, don’t pretend that Hakeem Olajuwon’s Dream Shake wasn’t completely unguardable.
Third, and perhaps more to the point, is that sport lives on the same evolutionary continuum as the rest of humanity, a trajectory that’s far more nuanced that Anthony Edwards would care to consider or, to be fair, than Magic Johnson might acknowledge. I do believe that as an aggregate, the NBA of today is likely more athletic and agile than that of the past – even if somewhat marginally. So while I’d say today’s Boston Celtics would likely beat the Celtics dynasty of the 80’s – and that is just conjecture – let’s not pretend that Larry Bird wouldn’t be an all-star today. And even then, remember that Clyde Drexler didn’t have the benefit of new medical and training techniques, all of which Anthony Edwards has in endless supply. So the general premise of his comments aren’t just wrong – they’re simple.
That doesn’t take away from the more salacious part of this story – athletes from different generations getting defensive of their own prowess. That is what makes them great in the first place. And, of course, the stuff of heated sports conversations.
Keith Strudler is the director of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. You can follow him at @KeithStrudler
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