Minnesota Sports Forum

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Fri Aug 23, 2024 5:16 pm

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Fri Aug 23, 2024 3:53 pm He almost has a point though. Certainly Jordan had crazy skills being the GOAT. So he got that right. Jordan was far and away the best player. Even Magic and company would say so.
ai
Not too his point but the avg guy to bench warmer back in the 80's and 90's wasn't really that skilled like in todays game. The depth of talent is super high now especially with so many international superstars. If you just took Americans of today and played NBA it would still be higher skilled but pretty close, but with the addition of so many good guys from all over the world, the talent increase is huge.

Certainly the Birds, Magic Johnsons, Isaiahs, not to mention Shaq, etc. would still be sensational now. But the difference between them and say Durant, LeBron, Steph. I still would take the latter by just a bit (except Shaq was probably better then Durant as far as domination, nobody could stop him kind of like Jokic but with the physicality versus all pure skilled footwork and moves, passing, decent handle). Then we add in Giannis, Jokic, Luka, Embiid, etc... Todays game is way more skilled across the board.

Nah he doesn't have a point. The 3 pointer is the biggest difference in today's game, and that's because bright minds like Rick Pitino saw the mathematics and promoted shooting a lot more of them. There were a lot of unreal shooters back in the day who never relied on the 3 point shot. You take Jokic, I'll take Olajuwon. You take Giannis, I'll take Duncan, you take Luka, I'll take Magic, you take Tatum, I'll take Jordan, you take Shai, I'll take Isaiah. We can go on and on and I'll bring just as much skill as you can.

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 22, 2024 10:03 pm Before Ant said or did something stupid that would damage his brand. His take that MJ was the only skilled player in his day is one of the stupidest takes one could have. With multiple baby mamas across the league and the new-found attention he is getting, his knuckleheadedness was bound to reveal itself. Guys, he's just not that bright. I know the reaction will be who cares, as long as it doesn't affect his performance on the court, all is good. There have been some good players who have been knuckleheads. Names like Stephon Jackson, Shawn Kemp, Demarcus Cousins, Michael Beasley, Darius Miles to name a few. But I don't remember a true superstar who was one, with the possible exception of Isiah Thomas of the Pistons. And even he ended up paying for it by not getting selected to the Dream Team.

I'm going to keep my expectations in check for Ant. His type seem to always short circuit their careers or fail to live up to the massive potential. I hope I'm wrong, and between the lines I will root for him as hard as anyone. I'm just seeing a negative pattern and don't believe he has the smarts to overcome future problems, whatever they may be.

WildWolf2813 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 26, 2024 4:24 pm

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 22, 2024 10:03 pm Before Ant said or did something stupid that would damage his brand. His take that MJ was the only skilled player in his day is one of the stupidest takes one could have. With multiple baby mamas across the league and the new-found attention he is getting, his knuckleheadedness was bound to reveal itself. Guys, he's just not that bright. I know the reaction will be who cares, as long as it doesn't affect his performance on the court, all is good. There have been some good players who have been knuckleheads. Names like Stephon Jackson, Shawn Kemp, Demarcus Cousins, Michael Beasley, Darius Miles to name a few. But I don't remember a true superstar who was one, with the possible exception of Isiah Thomas of the Pistons. And even he ended up paying for it by not getting selected to the Dream Team.

I'm going to keep my expectations in check for Ant. His type seem to always short circuit their careers or fail to live up to the massive potential. I hope I'm wrong, and between the lines I will root for him as hard as anyone. I'm just seeing a negative pattern and don't believe he has the smarts to overcome future problems, whatever they may be.

First of all, Allen Iverson would like to say HELLO!

Secondly, these are things you shouldn't care about.

Lastly, why do I get the feeling that if Ant got moved tomorrow, you wouldn't be too heartbroken about it as long as the guy that came back was a nice guy?

kekgeek wrote: ↑Tue Aug 27, 2024 12:50 am This is a pretty big nothing burger in my opinion. I think people romanticize things they loved when they were younger. When you could bullshit with your friends about how great your favorite athletes were. I was born in the early 90s and I know there are multiple people who are older here and I completely understand defending your generation. However I mostly agree with Ant that today’s generation is more talented. In my opinion the average nba basketball player today is significantly more skilled than back in the 90s and before. Now it is so hard to compare generations though and I think MJ is the GOAT but I think players today are significantly more skilled. I do believe all time great players if born in today’s generation would succeed and be great with the extra resources the new generation has. However i don’t think if you took 80s version magic Johnson and just put him in the NBA today i think at best he would be solid.

Also I think it’s ridiculous to say that Ant won’t be successful because he is to much of a knucklehead because of these comments and comparing him to the likes of Stephen Jackson and Boogie.

To bad Magic Johnson having 300 sexual partners a year, Wilt having 20k sexual partners, Charles Barkley picking Auburn because because they had the best strip clubs and being a gambling addict who would be bankrupt without TNT, Karl Malone having a relationship with a minor, Scottie Pippen marrying a person who dated Malik Beasley and MJ son, Kobe Bryant rape case, Bill Walton love of drugs, KD having burner twitter accounts and attacking people online, Allen Iverson off the court distractions, Tim Duncan getting his money stolen from his business partners, Tony Parker cheating on his wife, Larry Bird having multiple marriages, Dennis Rodman leaving games during the year to go to Vegas, James Harden addicted to strip clubs, Jason Kidd abusing his wife, Hakeem refusing to play after getting medically cleared that lead to the rockets suspending him, Michael Jordan having a gambling problem where he would be out to the wee hours of the morning at casinos ruined all these all time greats careers because they were knuckleheads. Good thing all of those players kept a squeaky clean record in a social media less era. Just think where those knuckleheads would be now.

Ant will take a slight hit now because the old heads are the ones in the media. I mean Magic Johnson took a completely fair shot at Ant this week (Ant did win in HS by the way), however these comments have nothing to do with Ant future success. He has respect of his peers, don’t change Ant be yourself, be smart. Sure he could F it up but so many all time greats were dickheads and had a lot bigger issues than Ant did personality wise and I hope that sticks

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 27, 2024 8:50 am

kekgeek wrote: ↑Tue Aug 27, 2024 12:50 am This is a pretty big nothing burger in my opinion. I think people romanticize things they loved when they were younger. When you could bullshit with your friends about how great your favorite athletes were. I was born in the early 90s and I know there are multiple people who are older here and I completely understand defending your generation. However I mostly agree with Ant that today’s generation is more talented. In my opinion the average nba basketball player today is significantly more skilled than back in the 90s and before. Now it is so hard to compare generations though and I think MJ is the GOAT but I think players today are significantly more skilled. I do believe all time great players if born in today’s generation would succeed and be great with the extra resources the new generation has. However i don’t think if you took 80s version magic Johnson and just put him in the NBA today i think at best he would be solid.

Also I think it’s ridiculous to say that Ant won’t be successful because he is to much of a knucklehead because of these comments and comparing him to the likes of Stephen Jackson and Boogie.

To bad Magic Johnson having 300 sexual partners a year, Wilt having 20k sexual partners, Charles Barkley picking Auburn because because they had the best strip clubs and being a gambling addict who would be bankrupt without TNT, Karl Malone having a relationship with a minor, Scottie Pippen marrying a person who dated Malik Beasley and MJ son, Kobe Bryant rape case, Bill Walton love of drugs, KD having burner twitter accounts and attacking people online, Allen Iverson off the court distractions, Tim Duncan getting his money stolen from his business partners, Tony Parker cheating on his wife, Larry Bird having multiple marriages, Dennis Rodman leaving games during the year to go to Vegas, James Harden addicted to strip clubs, Jason Kidd abusing his wife, Hakeem refusing to play after getting medically cleared that lead to the rockets suspending him, Michael Jordan having a gambling problem where he would be out to the wee hours of the morning at casinos ruined all these all time greats careers because they were knuckleheads. Good thing all of those players kept a squeaky clean record in a social media less era. Just think where those knuckleheads would be now.

Ant will take a slight hit now because the old heads are the ones in the media. I mean Magic Johnson took a completely fair shot at Ant this week (Ant did win in HS by the way), however these comments have nothing to do with Ant future success. He has respect of his peers, don’t change Ant be yourself, be smart. Sure he could F it up but so many all time greats were dickheads and had a lot bigger issues than Ant did personality wise and I hope that sticks

You can't just decide to "be smart". There is a little more to it than that, don't you think?

kekgeek wrote: ↑Tue Aug 27, 2024 12:50 am

To bad Magic Johnson having 300 sexual partners a year, Wilt having 20k sexual partners, Charles Barkley picking Auburn because because they had the best strip clubs and being a gambling addict who would be bankrupt without TNT, Karl Malone having a relationship with a minor, Scottie Pippen marrying a person who dated Malik Beasley and MJ son, Kobe Bryant rape case, Bill Walton love of drugs, KD having burner twitter accounts and attacking people online, Allen Iverson off the court distractions, Tim Duncan getting his money stolen from his business partners, Tony Parker cheating on his wife, Larry Bird having multiple marriages, Dennis Rodman leaving games during the year to go to Vegas, James Harden addicted to strip clubs, Jason Kidd abusing his wife, Hakeem refusing to play after getting medically cleared that lead to the rockets suspending him, Michael Jordan having a gambling problem where he would be out to the wee hours of the morning at casinos ruined all these all time greats careers because they were knuckleheads. Good thing all of those players kept a squeaky clean record in a social media less era. Just think where those knuckleheads would be now.

AbeVigodaLive wrote: ↑Tue Aug 27, 2024 1:39 pm

kekgeek wrote: ↑Tue Aug 27, 2024 12:50 am

To bad Magic Johnson having 300 sexual partners a year, Wilt having 20k sexual partners, Charles Barkley picking Auburn because because they had the best strip clubs and being a gambling addict who would be bankrupt without TNT, Karl Malone having a relationship with a minor, Scottie Pippen marrying a person who dated Malik Beasley and MJ son, Kobe Bryant rape case, Bill Walton love of drugs, KD having burner twitter accounts and attacking people online, Allen Iverson off the court distractions, Tim Duncan getting his money stolen from his business partners, Tony Parker cheating on his wife, Larry Bird having multiple marriages, Dennis Rodman leaving games during the year to go to Vegas, James Harden addicted to strip clubs, Jason Kidd abusing his wife, Hakeem refusing to play after getting medically cleared that lead to the rockets suspending him, Michael Jordan having a gambling problem where he would be out to the wee hours of the morning at casinos ruined all these all time greats careers because they were knuckleheads. Good thing all of those players kept a squeaky clean record in a social media less era. Just think where those knuckleheads would be now.

Just some additional context for some of these:

- Tony Parker didn't just cheat on his wife. Tony Parker cheated on his wife with his teammate's (Brent Barry) wife. Ewww.
- Larry Bird was married at 19... divorced at 20. He got remarried once and has been married for 35 years. So I can't give you that one. But I might give you that he's allegedly a deadbeat dad.
- While Barkely's recruiting visit included a visit to the strip club, which made him realize academics weren't really part of the deal... his primary reason for going there was more playing time because they sucked.
- Karl Malone's baby mama was only 12 at the time. That's not a relationship, considering he was in college.
- Sorta unfair to knock Pippen for what his ex-wife did 20 or even 30 years later.
- Duncan allegedly lost $25M to his adviser... fellow HOFer, Kevin Garnett, allegedly lost $77M to shady partners. Hopefully, Dirk and Chris Webber fared better among legendary PFs.

kekgeek wrote: ↑Tue Aug 27, 2024 2:03 pm

AbeVigodaLive wrote: ↑Tue Aug 27, 2024 1:39 pm

kekgeek wrote: ↑Tue Aug 27, 2024 12:50 am

To bad Magic Johnson having 300 sexual partners a year, Wilt having 20k sexual partners, Charles Barkley picking Auburn because because they had the best strip clubs and being a gambling addict who would be bankrupt without TNT, Karl Malone having a relationship with a minor, Scottie Pippen marrying a person who dated Malik Beasley and MJ son, Kobe Bryant rape case, Bill Walton love of drugs, KD having burner twitter accounts and attacking people online, Allen Iverson off the court distractions, Tim Duncan getting his money stolen from his business partners, Tony Parker cheating on his wife, Larry Bird having multiple marriages, Dennis Rodman leaving games during the year to go to Vegas, James Harden addicted to strip clubs, Jason Kidd abusing his wife, Hakeem refusing to play after getting medically cleared that lead to the rockets suspending him, Michael Jordan having a gambling problem where he would be out to the wee hours of the morning at casinos ruined all these all time greats careers because they were knuckleheads. Good thing all of those players kept a squeaky clean record in a social media less era. Just think where those knuckleheads would be now.

Just some additional context for some of these:

- Tony Parker didn't just cheat on his wife. Tony Parker cheated on his wife with his teammate's (Brent Barry) wife. Ewww.
- Larry Bird was married at 19... divorced at 20. He got remarried once and has been married for 35 years. So I can't give you that one. But I might give you that he's allegedly a deadbeat dad.
- While Barkely's recruiting visit included a visit to the strip club, which made him realize academics weren't really part of the deal... his primary reason for going there was more playing time because they sucked.
- Karl Malone's baby mama was only 12 at the time. That's not a relationship, considering he was in college.
- Sorta unfair to knock Pippen for what his ex-wife did 20 or even 30 years later.
- Duncan allegedly lost $25M to his adviser... fellow HOFer, Kevin Garnett, allegedly lost $77M to shady partners. Hopefully, Dirk and Chris Webber fared better among legendary PFs.

Thank you for the additional context. I appreciate your posts on nba history. Ya pippen wasn’t fair, the reason I had Barkley was because in the book about his draft class they say he picked Auburn because of the strip clubs that could have been played up for the book.


My main point still stands though, there have been all time great players who are successful today and in the past who did dumb shit (sometimes illegal). At the end of the day Ant has shown he has the personality to be a winner on the basketball court. Does he win it all, who knows but I don’t think his personality makeup is a reason he can’t succeed in the league.