Reply With Quote
1970s: Eastern bloc training methods are introduced to the USA. One of the first uses in professional sports were the 1970's Raiders. They hired Marv Marinovich, who studied these training methods, one of the first NFL strength and conditioning coaches. He helped revolutionize NFL training, these workouts were also applied to help in basketball workouts. The 1970 Raiders also had a load of success, which I don't think is a coincidence.I typically champion the modern game over the past game, since it's more than obvious that basketball has come a long way with regard to strategy, scheming, and theory, and the proliferation of advanced stats has helped tremendously in more accurately determining a player's worth, but this notion that past athletes (in any sport) were exponentially less athletic than modern "super" athletes is beyond re ed. Human beings don't magically evolve better athleticism over a generation (or even 10), and while sports science has "come a long way," the returns are still pretty marginal.
Very few people actually had knowledge of these. As the decades go on, and our technology evolves (Internet, cellphone, tv, etc.) the spread of information increases, more and more people have access to this information.
From this point on it was a gradual process, players like Jordan, Barkley, Pippen, etc. started benefiting from it, a very small % of the league, same as the NFL.
We didn't evolve, we simply unlocked more of our physical potential through proper workouts, nutrition, and rest, through knowledge. Explosive workouts (bloc) transformed the NFL/NBA into what it is today, guys with huge size and athleticism, everywhere instead of just a small % of guys.
You factor in the massive popularity of basketball now and the talent pool, combined with the fact that almost anyone has access to this information, coaches and sports trainers using these methods regularly, you're going to get a much bigger talent pool and through sheer numbers alone you will get better players, more genetic freaks.
Explosiveness is what the NBA is all about these days, it's usually what separates stars from the scrubs, the creation of space through exploding lol. It's what scouts look for. It's even what the NFL is all about, that's all they look for. Explosiveness was the result of these methods.
- A long jump mark set in 1968 is still the 2nd best of all-time, and the World Record (set by Mike Powell 24 years ago) hasn't even been sniffed by modern athletes.
- The High jump World Record has stood for 21 years.
- The Shot Put World Record has stood for 25 years.
- The top 10 400m hurdle times were all set in the 80's and 90's.
Sure, we have Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps today, but overall, modern athletes don't significantly outperform their past counterparts, if at all.
These sports all have 1 thing in common. They all rely on technique. They do not have anything to do with bodily contact either. Not only that, these sports have been around for a pretty damn long time so they've pretty much perfected everything, basketball is in it's infancy.
Pippen took years to fill out, many of these players did because eastern bloc training methods were just being introduced in the late 70's/80's. He was a 200lb stick early in his career, Jordan was a stick as well as a 190lb rookie. Both guys hooked up with Tim Grover who applied these bloc methods to bball workouts. They became more widespread in the late 80's. McHale was far more experienced than Hakeem who was just 2 years pro, that entire Celtics team was, of course he was going to get picked apart.And to answer the question, yeah, a great player from the 80's would have no problem getting his shot off against modern players. Bird routinely busted Pippen's ass on the block, and he's one of the least athletic players of all-time going against one of the most athletic players of all-time. I love Kawhi, but his athleticism is garbage compared to Pippen's. In addition to that, McHale crucified the Dream in the '86 Finals, and Hakeem is one of the quickest and overall most athletic 7 footers of all-time, while McHale probably had a vertical under 2 feet.
Kawhi does not have Pippen's vertical that is the difference between he and Pippen, but he's 235-240lbs locking down guards on the perimeter and you're saying his athleticism is garbage compared to Pippens? lol. Do you realize the athleticism it takes for a man his size to be that nimble? He's not guarding the guys that were glued to the floor like many old nba players either, these guys are athletic. Nor has Leonard fully filled out, he's 23, at that age Pippen was 200lbs.
This isn't about vertical leaps, anyone can jump high. It's about explosive movements, lateral movements, agility in combination with size. How fast you can recover from being off balance on defense, your ability to explode to compete for rebounds, loose balls, run the court, challenge shots, explosive first steps, etc.Vertical leaps have also stagnated. Players don't jump any higher now than they did in the 60's. I remember Apalisoc making fun of the fact that Wilt's 28" standing vertical got a mention in a Sporting News article, citing it as "evidence," of the relatively poor athleticism players had back then. Funny enough, Wilt's standing vert would be the highest in today's league among 6'11" and taller players. Dwight Howard's standing vert is lower. As is Javale McGee's. Serge Ibaka's, etc, etc.
Now, I'm not suggesting sports science and medicine hasn't advanced, but the advancements have only produced very marginal gains. If you want to celebrate anything in today's game as far superior to the past, celebrate the increase in skill level. Once upon a time dribbling with your off hand was a feat. Now, it's a mandatory skill every player, even bigs, need to have.
