A widely accepted view of Basketball is that the 90’s were a tougher time to play the sport. We will figure out if that is true. Also, we discuss what made both decades.
Both decades have had some great moments, and great players. However the sport was more physical in the 90 and the game today is more about offense. What makes both decades great, we will discuss that now.
The Physicalness
Basketball in every generation has been about two things: scoring the ball in the basket and stopping the other team from scoring. In the 90’s the sport did look different, but the heart of the game is the same as nowadays. Both era’s have more similarities than not.
The biggest difference was the physicality. Just watch a game from 1992 and a game from 2012 and tell me what era was more physical. Some fouls would not be called like they are today.
The hard ball defense definitely had a major factor of games being a more low scoring game. Nowadays games easily go over 120 points back then it was different. Games from the nineties scored under 100 points often (a common score would be 86 to 90).
The last major difference is the three balls. For that era Reggie Miller would be considered the best 3 point shooter. He even didn’t shoot threes as much as some players today. We even have big men and whole offenses that are based around the 3 (no team had an offense based on the 3 back then).
Greatness between era’s
In the nineties it was all about Micheal Jordan and the Bulls. They won six out of ten possible during that era (could have been 8 if Jordan didn’t retire). Nowadays the sport is about flashy offense and Lebron is the greatest player.
That being said, the team of 2010 was the warriors. Both eras might be different in a few ways but the sport as a whole is the same. Both era’s had a “goat” and a team that would be considered a dynasty (both dynasties had Steve Kerr in common).
The game still has great players, and the nineties had two. Lebron and Jordan are highly respected in all of American Sports. The game might not be as physical, but the game and players are scoring great and better than ever.
Conclusion
The 90’s and 80’s are my favorite decades for basketball. The game is still fun to watch, and the game is still played to a higher level. Personally I just like defense more than offense. What era you enjoy more is more about personality.
If you love offense, then you will probably love the 2010’s. If you like more defense, then you’ll prefer the 90’s. The game will always be fun to watch and is a great sport overall. That doesn’t matter the era or decade.
