Typically when you talk to older people about basketball, you hear about the “Golden Era”, when the players didn’t flop, and participated in “real basketball”. They talk about how the players were better, how the NBA was more physical, the moments more memorable. 

They are unfortunately blinded by nostalgia. When comparing the modern era to this “golden era”, it’s clear that the NBA currently is greater than the NBA of old. 

To compare the two, first I need to define exactly what greatness is. To be great, obviously, is to have an era where the skill ceiling is high. Secondly, how recognizable are your superstars? Third, how much revenue does your business generate?

The 80s-2000s was an era mainly dominated by big men, like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Shaquille O’Neal. The presence of many big men near the post made driving to the basket extremely difficult, so brute strength was often required to score. There were a couple of rare stars who appeared like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, or Magic Johnson, but generally speaking the floor was dominated by centers. 

In today’s era, there is both the presence of dominant big men and extremely skilled guards. Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo are all big men superstars who drive their teams to greater levels on both offense and defense, much like the Kareems or Hakeems of old. But there is the presence of guards like Curry, Lilliard, and Luka, who are offensive weapons, nearly generating the entirety of their team’s offense single-handedly. The existence of both kinds of superstars in the modern NBA proves that the skill ceiling has drastically increased. 

The superstars of this era are increasingly recognizable. Due to the presence of social media, there are more interactions/appearances of superstars which allow people to recognize them easier. The easier accessibility to NBA games creates more opportunities for people to watch new teams, through the NBA pass. In contrast when there were maybe 5 or 6 well known superstars back then, now due to easier accessibility there are a ton more. This can be quantified by one very specific index. The amount of superstars who have their own shoe brand. Back then it was two. This was Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Now over 25 athletes have their own recognizable brand.

The NBA is a business at its core. Profit is what defines success for a business. In the 2022/23 season, the NBA has broken its record for profit in a season, with $10 billion in revenue due to both ticket sales, deals with networks, and sponsorships. Even accounting for inflation doesn’t even the playing field. During the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s, network deals with the NBA gained about $600 million, which is $1.7 billion accounting for inflation. Nine  years ago, the association signed a deal with ESPN and Turner Sports, which guaranteed them $2.7 billion a year. 

Comparing two eras is hard to do. The fact is that we cannot say for certain that players from this era would dominate back then or vice versa. There obviously are arguments for both, but due to the aforementioned reasoning, this author feels comfortable in declaring a winner.