Dennis Rodman: LeBron would be "average" in the 90's

[polandprzem]

no... if you saw the physical interior and perimeter defenders back in the day. LeBron would get is ass shut down... Starks would be draped all over him Xavier McDaniel would be shoving him all the way back to half-court.... hand checking was legal then........
I'm 36 years old and really remember the players being better and the game being more exciting then too...

Handcheck is nothing when you can play 1on1.

[Cry Havoc]

He brings up great points, in today's game, you can't even breathe on a guy without fouling him, the game back them was very physical and Lebron would not be putting up the numbers he does now.

They also played very lax defense in the 80s. Unless they were fouling you hard, they gave you a LOT of room to breathe and operate. LeBron would have destroyed faces with the "defense" they played in the 80s.

As I've said before,

Hard fouls != good defense.

The 80s had the former. Not the latter.

[lefty]

Rodman is right TBH





After game 1, LeBron said he wished defenses woudnt focus on him so much ........







If thats the case in 2013, LeBron would have suffered a nervous breakdown in the 90's

[PÒÓCH]

I thought this was SPURS forum?

[JRHernandez88]

Dumb...

[jmanu20]

Most of you posting about how "dumb" and "ignornant" Rodman is for this remark probably:

a) Started watching the NBA in the mid to late 2000s
b) Based your remarks solely on Rodman's off-court behavior

Those of you who actually watched 90s bball will remember that Rodman was one of the best rebounders the league has ever had and was also a pretty nasty perimeter defender who could guard multiple positions. Players were allowed to be much more physical in the 90s than today.

For Lebron being 6'8'' 260 or so, he must not truly be as indestructible as some of you believe he is. A player who believes he is honestly "indestructible" wouldn't about FOUR of his 6 fouls in a PLAYOFF game. Any "physical" defense Lebron gets are love taps compared to what teams like the Bad Boys gave Jordan in the 90s.

Rodman is a lot more right here than most of you think.

[DarrinS]

I'm 44, so I've been watching bball for a long time. LBJ would be a badass in the 90's.

[z0sa]

Rodman just being his ing crazy self, with some overbearing emotionally clouding nostalgia thrown in for good measure. LeBron would still be a top 5 player in the League without a doubt.

[SA210]

Rodman is right TBH





After game 1, LeBron said he wished defenses woudnt focus on him so much ........







If thats the case in 2013, LeBron would have suffered a nervous breakdown in the 90's

[dg7md]

In general, in almost any sport, the top elite players from now would beast in any situation two decades or more earlier. LeBron would have dominated the 90s even more than he dominates now, due to the persistent progress in sports science and athleticism.

That's very true. There's no debating that at all, however I think it's more that he's referring to the skillset that LeBron has more so than his athleticism when you compare players of the past versus present.

I'm not saying Rodman is right, but if you take out everything but the pure game aspect, then he might have more of a point. Defense was a lot more raw and gritty back then, which would provide many problems for LeBron's offense.

[TheSullyMonster]

This stuff is so silly. Compare rookie lebron to lebron today. He's added a lot to his game.

If he started playing in 1985, and dealt with different gameplay, then he would've added different things to his game.