Bucks: A case for "Big O" to be best PG ever?

[N0 LyF3 ScRuB]

And yet the shocking thing is that very few players can consistently pull up from mid range and nail a jumper with a hand in his face these days. Those were quality shots, and they are disppearing from the league because:
a) Those shots are not available anymore due to improvement in defense
b) Players do not practice them anymore because of a)

The marksmanship of players are generally the same over the years. The most accurate indicator is the FT% as it is an uncontested shot from 15 feet. Things such as defense, speed, movement, decision making are generally taken out of the entire equation, and the only challenge is a player from 15 feet. In 1960, the league average FT% was 73.5%, in 2014, it was 75.6%. Put in the variable where big men were a much bigger piece of the offense in the 60s vs 2014, and that big men are generally worse FT shooters, those two numbers are basically identical.

There weren't a lot of awe inspiring moves in that video, but when you look at Big O, he had very good quickness and handles, and he had a deadly mid range game. These are things that translate very well to today's game. Players such as Brandon Roy played a very similar game priior to his injuries (a few feet out), and yet he was one of the best players in the league when he was healthy.

Not to mention there wasn't a three point line. You needed to have a great mid-range game back then.

[spurraider21]

The defense at 0:13 was fine. It was a classic go under the screen move, and keeping your hands up on a shooter is the right play. Not using his left hand is not a huge deal, it's not like a lot of players today are ambidextrous.

In talking about where the defender in the baseline literally didn't move.

And in a conversation about point guards, being able to use both hands is more important

[-21-]

there's nothing impressive about players that played in the 60s, tbh..

Most of their opposition was White American players, too..

Man, if Patty Mills had played in the 60s, today's fans would view him as an elite legend..

I have to agree.

Yeah.. but people consider Wilt and Russell as one of the greatest.. and Robertson was clearly above everyone's level.

Wilt and Russell are overrated. As Harlem said, the compe ion was weak and the game was different. The stars from that era would not look as good if you put them in Magic's era. They were great players for their time and because of that they have their place in history. But Magic > Oscar.

[ambchang]

In talking about where the defender in the baseline literally didn't move.

And in a conversation about point guards, being able to use both hands is more important

That happens all the time in today's NBA as well. Help doesn't come, and a lot of that has to do with the deceptiveness of the offensive player.

As for the left hand, you don't use it if you don't have to. It's not like it's something difficult to develop if necessary in today's game.

[Arcadian]

Bill Walton frequently said that "Tim Duncan is like a 7 foot version of Oscar Robertson."

So, to reverse the analogy, Oscar Robertson was like a PG version of Tim Duncan.

[lefty]

I dont care what era he played in; Oscar what consistent

Which is rare in any era

[FuzzyLumpkins]

maybe Mills was hyperbole, but the only argument that gives credibility to players from the 60s is if you're comparing them to modern players by eliminating all advancements/progression(physical advantages, better supps, knowledge of nutrition and exercise, coaching strategies, etc)..

If you're comparing them side-by-side without ignoring the peripherals, then they don't stand a chance, tbh..

It's also difficult for me(somebody that hasn't reached the latter part of my 20s) to watch these videos in awe, not only based on the individual's skills/athleticism/talent, but also due to the opposition..most of the opposing players' in these videos are unathletic, White Americans..there's a reason that the number of White American NBA players has progressively declined dramatically from the 60s until today..

The change in the 1960s was the civil rights act. It was a legislative change that effected the country. There is zero doubt that as children grew up using the same facilities and with the same access matriculated into the NCAA and NBA but that would take a generation. Your brand new super black athlete is asinine.

If you want to say that the nutrition means for a broader base then that means one thing but I don't think it would effect the outliers which is what we are talking about. Nutrition is commercialized and not exactly hard science. Frankly it sounds like hyped technology worship that is impossible to quantify.

Don't even mention coaching and training because clubs had much more control and its been widely discussed that between expansion which diluted the base and free agency which made consistent training almost a bygone the quality of play of the NBA is actually quite poor. 18 year olds regularly not just on rosters but starting as on the job training became necessary.

Magic got to play the Clippers and Kings whereas in the 60s there were very few (8-10) teams. You ended up playing Chamberlain, Lucas, Bellamy, Thurmond, Unseld, et al night after night. As opposed to now you can get Plumlee, Vucevic, Antic and the PF playing out of position night in and night out.

Robertson was getting triple doubles in that league. Not the legion of white men you try and portray.

[Thebesteva]

there's nothing impressive about players that played in the 60s, tbh..

Most of their opposition was White American players, too..

Man, if Patty Mills had played in the 60s, today's fans would view him as an elite legend..

Man I pissed off some old timers at the gym when I told them the NBA was a joke prior to the 80s. They kept telling me about how Pistol Pete would own Kobe and Lebron

[Raven]

OR was a ing boss, he gets all my respect.

[da_suns_fan]

Most people give that award to Magic right off the bat, and there's a good logic behind that. Magic was one of the best ever, and was considered the best before MJ showed up. What a lot of people don't realize about Magic, was that coming in he wasn't 'the guy' like LeBron, Bird, etc.

But if there was a mirror image of Magic and his game, I'd have to say it was Oscar. Oscar averaged a triple double his first 6-7 seasons. He averaged nine rebounds a few years too. I did a little research., and I found out he won his lone MVP in the middle of the Russell/Chamberlain rivalry, and was the last non-center to win the MVP until Dr. J won it in 81.

Yes, Magic owns a 3-1 MVP edge over him, but Kareem said he was the best player of all time, and Bill Russell said he was the smartest player he ever played against, just ahead of Wilt.

I suggest people interested in reading more about it, to read the top comment of his page. Pretty insightful:
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/i...8032653AAJJwas

Who do you think is the best PG? I'd probably go with Magic in a slight edge just because of the compe ion. But you cannot deny that Robertson is one of the few players that have a case for being the greatest of all time.

O played his entire career pre-merger. Not impressed with averaging a triple double against weaker talent in a divided basketball world.