Michael Jordan Believes Only LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, And Dirk Nowitzki Could Compete In His Era

One of the biggest factors held against players in the modern era is how they would survive the 90s and early 2000s NBA. Unlike today, the NBA was a lot more lenient with physicality at the time, meaning players could get away with playing a much more violent brand of basketball.

As time has gone on, the NBA has discreetly intervened, and given instructions to referees to call the game a lot stricter, not allowing for much physicality. This is because the NBA knows that their superstars are a big part of their popularity, and protecting them from injuries and pain is essential to their sustained growth.

This brand of ‘soft’ basketball has been criticized by fans and analysts who experienced the 80s and 90s. Because of this, they take the greatness of players in the modern era with a pinch of salt, thinking that they cannot perform at the same level with the kind of defense that was being played during the older era of the NBA.

On the other hand, people have argued that the NBA game today doesn’t require the kind of physical defense that it did in the 90s. During the 90s, most dominant players would try to take the ball to the hole or get close to baseline for a mid-range jumper. Whereas today’s NBA game is more focused on perimeter shooting.

But could anyone in the post 2010s NBA era survive in the 80s and 90s? Michael Jordan thought there were only 4 players that could. During an interview in 2013, MJ identified LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Dirk Nowitzki as the only players who could compete in his era.