I’m curious of NBA players ahead of their time. I’m trying to think and find NBA players who are role players or out of the league because they don’t fit the era they are in. I’m not looking for superstars that could also fit in another era. For example, Kawhi Leonard or LeBron James would do well in most if not every era. I’m not looking for those guys. I’m searching for players such as Boban who could’ve played in the 80’s and 90’s. Or Meyers Leonard in the early 10’s. Or Alize Johnson in the 90’s. Or Pat Bev in the 90’s/00’s. Or Montrezl in the 90’s. Or Nerlens Noel in the 80’s/90’s/00’s. Stanley Johnson 80’s/90’s. Or Jarrell Brantley in the 90’s.
Any help would be appreciated! Thank you so much!
Mahmoud Abdul Raouf
I agree with some solid perimeter defense around him
Jonathan Bender would’ve been pretty good in todays game I think.
In my head I call Giannis “The actualization of Johnathan Bender” lol
Toni Kukoc - dude could do everything except defend, would likely be easier to hide now with zone defenses legal.
Ben Simmons. Basically every player that can ball but with an awkward shot?
Raef LaFrentz as a stretch 5 now and Nick Anderson and Eddie Jones (kind of cheating since he was an all star) as plus 3 and D guys.
No no no I like all of that first group you named. I agree. I think you put the 2011 Mavs team with LaFrentz in 2018 they run it! Who would you compare Nick Anderson and Eddie Jones too? I’m not too sure about Eddie House tbh. Correct me if I’m wrong but I didn’t see many guys his size or play style succeed in the 90’s. As for Ricky Davis I’m not too sure. If you could compare him to a current player what would you think?
It’s not a great comparison but I see Eddie Jones a bit like Mikal Bridges. When given the chance he was able to score a bit but was a very good defender. I remember Nick Anderson like a dollar store and young Jaylen Brown, could slash and had defensive potential. Agree with guys his size having his play style back then. There were guys that had success that were his approximate size, guys like David Wesley, Mookie Blaylock, Nick Van Exel. But those guys tried to do more than just score like House. Blaylock was a pitbull on d and Wesley fought hard on D too. I mention Ricky Davis simply because he could score but they were not quite looking at efficiency just yet.
Ricky Davis would be out of the NBA in a few years
He was known to be a Ball hogger and stat padder. There’s a reason why the Cavs didn’t kept him
Lamar Odom
Tracy Murray would have been a star today.
Bill Walton, pre-injuries
Jahlil Okafor would’ve been an all star in the 90s. Monta Ellis in the early 2000s as well.
No he wouldn’t have. He would have been a solid starter at best.
You cannot have an undersized, unathletic Center who ONLY does post-ups. In any era. Even if he did average 20 ppg he wouldn’t have had much of an impact at all, because he really wasn’t capable of much else.
Jahlil would get eaten alive in the 90s and definitely isn’t making an all star team over the likes of Shaq, Hakeem, Ewing, Robinson, Mourning and Mutombo.
Oh my I can’t believe I forgot about Okafor! You’re totally right! Thank you
Not sure If He would be an All-Star, His defense is really bad for a Center.
Zach Edey would be unstoppable if he played in the early 00s-10s
Dell Curry would’ve been better utilized in recent times.
I wouldn’t describe those players ahead of their time. That would be players like Mark Price, Reggie Miller, Chris Jackson etc
Most the players you described I think actually fit best in the era they’re in
I’d say a guy like Jahlil Okafor would’ve been given more chances in the 80s/90s/00s, but his defense was nonexistent and he was a black hole offensively. He also had a poor attitude and work ethic. These things mattered in any era, so he’d probably not be that great regardless
Bosh had a good career but I think he would feast in today’s NBA
I agree. Stretch 4 small ball 5
Bosh is a hall of famer if he doesn’t have the blood clot issue, and he might still be,
You all are fucking wild if you think that a 2 time champion, 11 time all star, 1 All NBA guy is not a hall of famer.
Yeah you’re right. I always seem to lose track of just how good he was pre-Miami. Crazy to think he could have ended up around 15-16 all-star games without the early retirement.
he’s an easy HoFer but raptors bosh gets heavily overrated. Those all star appearances came wayyyy easier out east
11 is still ridiculous. Especially considering he had to retire at 32 while still playing at an all star level.
There is only one guy with 8+ that isn’t a hall of famer/probable hall of famer, and he played in the 50s.
Bosh perfected his game right before the blood clot, he was solid on defense and somewhat switchable on 3s, 4s and 5s and could shoot out to the 3 point line.
Maybe Scal will be allowed to shoot more.
Although not a role player, Brian Taylor is always the first name comes to my mind when thinking about “ahead of time”.
What about the other Skal lol? Teach me about Brian Taylor
You mean Skal Labissiere? Maybe if he was born earlier he could actually be another Aldridge.
As of Brian, he’s a PG who shot 37% from 3 on 3.1 3PA back in 79-80 when NBA first added 3 point line.
Oh wow I never knew that. I’ll have to do some research on him. Any reason why he doesn’t get brought up as much as others from that era?
Scal was not that good. His efficiency was bad
Andrea Bargnani would be all NBA today
Nah, He played in the 2010s and wasn’t that good