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The history of the NBA

History of the NBA & the spread of misinformation

Too many on social media don't have the expertise to talk about historic players but it doesn't stop them

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Estimated reading time: 13 minutes

The history of the NBA and the spread of misinformation. There is too much garbage pertaining to the history of the NBA. Many takes lack proper knowledge and are nothing more than a generational misconception.

Social Media has led to the misinformed spread of knowledge on the history of the NBA and it continues to get worse at a steady pace.

The spreading of misinformation

When it comes to the NBA, the amount of misinformation being spread around on social media is staggering. It speeds past all borderlines directly into the ridiculous.

You have people comparing a current team or player to ones from the past without knowing the latter’s skillset well enough to properly speak intelligently about it.

This ignorance is maddening, absurd, and turns laughable, when other people cut from this same cloth, backup these far-fetched, illiterate views regarding the history of the NBA.

Michael Jordan soaring through the air  with the ball in one hand, behind his head. This is part of the iconic history of the NBA

Does it make them stupid to spew nonsense without historical context?

In Understanding Stupidity, James F. Welles defines stupidity this way: “The term may be used to designate a mentality which is considered to be informed, deliberate and maladaptive.” Welles distinguishes stupidity from ignorance; one must know they are acting in their own worst interest.

I’ve watched tape on the history of the NBA. I became obsessed with watching certain games, teams, and players. If my friends came over they knew they might be watching old NBA games for 12 straight hours. Rewinding plays over and again for evaluation purposes.

I viewed it as an art form. After around a decade, it all starts to be seen through a different lens. It’s probably the way a coach watching game film would view it.

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02/18/2024 09:27 am GMT

In a generation filled with Info shouldn’t people’s knowledge be based on the factual?

Allen Iverson & Kobe Bryant at the 2001 Finals. The Lakers & Sixers have battled for supremacy throughout the history of the NBA.

We don’t have to wait for NBATV or ESPN Classic to air these games anymore. Today, you can go on YouTube and watch any game you want, whenever you want.

This informs and then develops a proper opinion on the history of the NBA. It spawns accurate credence and makes a person’s thoughts sensible.

Too many opinionated fans don’t watch the games and convince themselves that their take isn’t worthless.

You don’t have to be a historian of the game to talk about the NBA, but If you’re going to talk about historic moments from the past, you should watch the players and the games they played in.

If not your view on the history of the NBA is worthless.

Knowledge = Wisdom

To speak with expertise requires the knowledge to do so. Otherwise your opinion holds no weight. You can be wrong or in disagreement with other people but if you have knowledge from practical practice, then your take won’t appear to be nonsensical or foolish.

Many times when one of these outlandish statements is expressed, these other idiots online agree in ignorance. That’s not the worst though, the worst is some kid who doesn’t know and isn’t trying to pretend to be knowledgeable, see’s this and assumes these idiots are stating facts and they trust in it as fact and pass it on as such.

Iverson VS. Zeke

The #1 thing these cats do is just look at stats and compare them. PEOPLE DON’T JUST RELY ON THIS. I’m a Sixers fan who grew up during the Iverson era. I got nothing but love for Bubba. He was my favorite player and I still love his raw lightning game.

Joe Dumars & Isiah Thomas became members of the championship history of the NBA. Winning 2 straight titles '(89,'90)

Last year, I was in a conversation on social media, where this guy tried saying Iverson was a better player than Isiah Thomas. I told him about being a Philly fan, then let him know this wasn’t accurate.

Thomas won in high school, he won at Indiana and won back-to-back NBA championships.

I used the Denver Nuggets as an example, stating that in 2007 and 2008, with Iverson, the Nuggets were a 6th & 8th seed in those seasons respectively. Getting beat in the first round easily both times.

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02/18/2024 04:37 pm GMT

Billups VS Iverson?

As 2009 got underway, Chauncey Billups, the 2004 NBA Finals MVP was traded from the Pistons to Denver in exchange for Iverson.

Billups went to two NBA Finals, won a championship and played in the Eastern Conference Finals for six straight seasons as the Detroit Pistons starting point guard.

Not much else changed for the Nuggets, just the Iverson for Billups trade.

From the 8th seed

The first season with Billups, the Nuggets were the 2nd seed in the West and went to the Western Conference Finals.

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers had to work to advance past Billups and get to the NBA Finals. The Pistons haven’t reached the east finals or anything even close since Chauncey Billups was traded to Denver.

Brown & Bubba

The team Larry Brown constructed in 1999 as Sixers head coach is the only way to win a title with a player like Allen Iverson.

Chauncey Billups with the 2004 Larry o'Brien trophy and Finals MVP trophy. Posing in 2004.

Brown put four scrappy players around Iverson. These players weren’t the most efficient offensive players but the guards could hit an open jumper and the front court players were tough, physical defenders, who were all over the offensive glass, looking for put-backs

These Sixers were tough, didn’t care if they got the ball and played gritty defense.

To be effective, Iverson had to dominate the ball. It wasn’t that he was selfish either. For him to not have the ball would make him a liability on the floor.

For him to have the ball doesn’t work for a championship team with multiple scoring options. It’s just the way it is.

Chauncey showed his winning ways, the leadership, and his point guard skills in direct comparison against an Iverson, whose stats were always better but never really made a team as a unit better.

In the end, this guy shows Iverson and Zeke’s stats and to him this was the defining reason to why he was correct in saying Allen Iverson was a better player than Isiah Thomas was.

Only the numbers mattered to him. Nothing else was needed for him to win this debate. SO FOOLISH.

I knew by him doing this and his brazen attitude that he never saw Isiah Thomas play. Probably never seen A.I play either.

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Lou AL-Who?

Using his method of evaluating talent, I asked him was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the greatest player in the history off the NBA?

He said “no”. I guess his method follows no rules and works for him when it’s convenient. When your method lacks any manner of validity and is entirely baseless, I guess their aren’t any guidelines to be followed.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Oscar Robertson won a title for the Bucks in 1971.

Is he aware Jabbar won a title in Milwaukee? He probably is, surely it can be found within his stats.

I wonder since he was so sure Iverson was better than Zeke, what would come into his mind if I said Reagan assassination attempt, Bernard King or the ankle game?

Jabbar was one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA

Most Talented

These people are of a hive mentality, when it comes to this era being the most talented in the history of the NBA. It is not.

The 1980’s, 1990’s and 2000’s had better overall talent than the league has today. I’m referring to the superstars. The number of historic players and the extent of greatness they represented.

That doesn’t mean I’m saying that the current crop of NBA superstars aren’t legendary. LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Anthony Davis are as good as it gets. They are legends. In today’s NBA, there are 5-7 legendary talents in the league.

Players who are certified all-time greats. After the 2021 NBA Finals Giannis Antetokoumnpo took his potential into that pantheon of greatness

Potential to be a legend is different than actually becoming one. Ben Simmons is on this level too. Like Giannis, Simmons has what it takes to become legendary.

If Ben develops a jump shot he is the best player in the NBA by 2025. If he stays healthy, Simmons will probably be the best perimeter defender of his era and likely be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall-of-Fame even if he doesn’t work on his weaknesses.

The point is that potential is not greatness, it’s only the perceived ceiling of a player’s talents.

It’s the untapped, unrealized, undeveloped possibility of greatness. Until that potential is realized or until it isn’t.

LeBron’s Brain

Comparison to LeBron, Jordan, and Kobe.A tale-of-the -tape on who was the best in the history of the NBA

A couple months ago, I was again having a conversation with someone who thought themselves an NBA historian. I can’t recall the specifics but this person said LeBron James was the greatest of all-time.

LeBron James is one of the greatest basketball players in the history of the NBA. He’s a true legend. Today Bron is what Michael Jordan was in his time.

LeBron being the greatest player of all-time isn’t one of the more ridiculous comments I’ve heard. There can at least be an argument made to support it, even though I don’t agree with it.

He then says “James has the greatest basketball mind ever and he knows what the other team is going to do next”. “No one before ever had the knowledge and leadership of James”, he explained. “A coach on the floor”. Coach Bron.

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LeBron isn’t alone

A poster showing Michael Jordan's accomplishments for the history of the NBA

I’m not bothering arguing, I just figure I’ll give this guy some advice and let him know that Michael, Magic, and Larry Bird are just some other players who also had great minds for the game of basketball.

Bill Russell too. Russell was the Celtics center and it’s actual head coach during Boston’s final two championships of the 1960’s.

I told him “LeBron does have one of the best minds ever but he doesn’t sit alone”.

The reply was “yes he does and it isn’t even close”. So once again I say:

In Understanding Stupidity, James F. Welles defines stupidity this way: “The term may be used to designate a mentality which is considered to be informed, deliberate and maladaptive.” Welles distinguishes stupidity from ignorance; one must know they are acting in their own worst interest.

The Last Dance

Since the Last Dance aired, it seems that some fans are starting to understand that the NBA existed before they were alive. This is a good thing. It shouldn’t have taken a pandemic that led to a documentary for this epiphany to WOW people. A generation with all the facts and data at their fingertips and they can’t process their MINDTHINK TO DO BRAIN THOUGHT.

Naw that’s not it, they’re just being lazy. In which case let it rest. It’s insulting that you would say and believe such idiotic ideas of nonsensical garbage. Sometimes they crack me up and it even livens my mood. In which case I thank them for that but if a student is too lazy to do his homework, he doesn’t raise his hand and ask the teacher if they collected the homework yet.

A couple of days ago someone tweeted something along the lines of What Have You Learned from The Last Dance?

There were numerous replies. As I scrolled down I noticed every single one had a reference to LeBron James. Some Pro-James and some negative.

I went back to the top to see if I misread the tweet, I hadn’t.

misinformed history of the NBA

The Chicago Bulls six championship rings is apart of the history of NBA.

LeBron James had nothing to do with the question but his name was littered within each and every reply. WTF!

Then I saw a tweet that made me go ahead with this post. It read along the lines of Jordan said “Joe Dumars was the toughest defender he ever faced, imagine if he had to contend with 6’7 Klay Thompson, Durant, or Draymond Green”.

WTF! Michael Jordan had to play against the Bad Boy Pistons driving his head into the floor. He annually had to defeat teams like The Knicks, Pacers, and the Heat, just to get to the NBA Finals. If that doesn’t mean anything to you then you’re one of the people that this post is about. Go out and learn more about the history of the NBA or leave it out your mouth.

The players from these teams would have been suspended almost every game under today’s rules. These teams believed in no easy baskets, which means if a player drives the lane, he better hit the floor as hard as possible every last time.

Certain coaches even imposed fines if a score happened cleanly against his basket or any of his players helped an opponent up after committing a hard foul.

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What if LeBron and Jordan switched?

Allen Iverson practice

I just want to start off by saying I’m a LeBron James fan. He’s the best player of his generation but he’s not Michael Jordan. If LeBron was to take Michael’s spot on the Bulls, I don’t know how many rings he would have, but it wouldn’t be six.

On the flipside, I don’t know how many rings Jordan would have in LeBron’s stead. What I do know is in 2009, Michael would’ve made it to the NBA Finals. He wouldn’t have lost against an Orlando Magic team led by Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkolgu. In 2011 with Wade and Bosh, he would have beaten the Dallas Mavericks very easily. Nowitzki wouldn’t have a ring and neither would the 2014 San Antonio Spurs.

Michael Jordan wasn’t going to let anyone else eat. Not at all. The Magic defeated Chicago in 1995 but paid for it in 1996.

Many teams have taken food off of LeBron’s plate. Biting for his fingers like the walking dead. That is the difference. That is the history of the NBA.

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I provide highly opinionated sports articles. Most of these are featured articles. They will likely differ from the thoughts, stories and ideas, recycled by TV, radio, etc.

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