Comparing eras is a favourite pastime for those around basketball. Every era carries its own flavour, but some pull harder than others, according to John Starks.
Starks played from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. The bruising intensity of that period shaped his stance on the game. For Starksy, his playing era was enough to make his case as the best.
Starks on the Physicality of the ’90s Game
Starks made his case in a “Players’ Tribune” piece, where he named the five toughest players he’d ever defended. He set the tone by explaining that back then, you weren’t just matched up against an opponent. It was a war.
“The way we played the game was incredible. Even if you were watching the game on TV, you could feel the passion on the court,” he wrote. “Players were getting after it every night. Pro basketball used to be a contact sport.”
That was the appeal for a competitor like Starksy. It’s exactly what fuels his conviction that “my generation was the best.”
To pinpoint that generation, Starks joined the league in 1988 as an undrafted player, retiring in 2002 after a stint with the Utah Jazz.
‘I Still Get Nostalgic’
People still tell Starks they miss that game. He emphasizes, “I still get nostalgic.”
He misses the tougher, more physical style and the real anchors in the paint back then, such as Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O’Neal, David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon. Everything was just harder than what you see today.
Starks Acknowledges Today’s Skill Level
Starks wasn’t taking shots at the modern game. The skill level of today’s players is “incredible,” he remarked, from the ball-handling to the pace.
The TV ratings, the league’s reputation and the global attention all speak to the modern league’s success, he added.
But even with all that, it matters to Starks that people don’t forget “just how good the NBA was back when I was playing and how hard we competed with one another.”
Other Voices Agree With Starks
At least two more legends from that era have made the same point.
Gary Payton put it plainly, saying their era wasn’t about scoring like today. It was about “defense, being rough, getting out there, and getting it done.”
The Hall of Fame point guard left little doubt about where he stood, stating, “I think the ’90s was the best era ever.” Shaquille O’Neal once t
Starks isn’t alone in feeling this way.