Need Opinion on Robert Horry's Claim?

Question

What do you guys think of this comment made by Robert Horry after the Spurs 4th championship win?


"Horry is an authority on all things NBA championships, and Big Shot Bob had a message about his San Antonio Spurs for the great Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics teams of the 1980s.

"We would beat them," he boasted.

No disrespect to the guys back in the 80's and the 70's, but the guys now are so much better than those guys," Horry said. "I don't care what they say. If you look at old films, guys only went right. They turned and kept it in their right hand. Look at the things LeBron (James) can do, Tim (Duncan) can do, Tony (Parker) can do, Manu (Ginobili) can do. Little (Daniel) Gibson over there. There's no way you can compare those guys. We watched what they did and expanded on that."

Answer 1

There is SOME truth to his statement (although I agree he shouldn't have said it, never diss the legends of the game)

There's no argument that today's players are much more athletic and physically stronger than the players of that era. College players these days can perform dunks that in the 80's, only Dominique Wilkins could pull off. So I think the guys on the bench, the average players are much better now than then.

Back in those days weight training & attention to nutrition was the exception, not the norm. Look at guys like Michael Cooper of the Lakers, Jamaal Wilkes, George Gervin - they are stick figures by today's standards. And yes, today's superstars are much better at going to their off-hand in traffic.

But the dynasty teams of that era were stronger TEAMS because they were able keep 3-4 elite players together on the same team. In the current environment with the salary cap and free agency, you could never keep Magic, Kareem & Worthy or Dr J, Moses & Toney, or Bird,McHale & Parish together.

Today every team hs one superstar and if you manage to get two, you're making a run at the title. That's why the Spurs are unique- they've got 3 stars in Duncan, Parker and Ginobili plus guys like Finley & Horry on the bench. Everyone else has two superstars max - McGrady/Yao, Kidd/Carter, Nash/Amare (imo, Marion is very good but not great) The Pistons have no superstars- they have 4 guys who are just a notch below that status, which works damn well.

But the majority of today's players aren't as game-smart or fundamentally sound as the players of the 90's and 80's - this again is where the Spurs are an exception, and why they win so much.

MJ wasn't any more athletic than Kobe, but his decision making, his ability to set up opponents and mentally play them- to make them react in the way he wanted to get the shot he wanted, remains unmatched.

You want defense? Bill Russell would take Ben Wallace to school. You want dominance? Wilt would wear Shaq out. You want Amazing? Dr J took over games in ways that Vince Carter only dreams about. And do any players out there today remind anybody of MJ and Charles Barkley in their primes? Only Kobe comes close...

Today's superstars are more physically gifted specimens, but by and large, not better PLAYERS. Duncan is an exception to this rule.

I agree with Horry that the 2001 Lakers are the most impressive single-year championship team of the past 10 years, and these Spurs the best over the past 5 years...

But vs Air Jordan's Bulls? Or those great Lakers/76er/Celtic teams of the early 80s? That would be some tough sledding even for the 1999 Spurs with a young Duncan & David Robinson... I'd love to see it though. Crank up the time machine!

As Moses said, Fo-Fo-Fo!!!

Answer 2

Horry's won what 7 rings now. The guy knows a lot about winning. I'll say he's pretty close. Duncan is flat out the best player in the NBA. He may not be the guy that gets the attention but he gets the wins. They have a great backcourt and a bunch of hard vetrans Finley, Bowen,Barry and Horry who get the job done.

He's right too the players of the current era are more complete than the guys 20 years ago. Training, coaching etc have all come a long way. If you raised the 80's guys in todays world then thats different but if you had a time machine and brought them forward to today a lot of them would struggle with the atleticism.

Back in the 80's Mark Eaton was a big C. Today he'd be too slow. Today Yao, Garnett etc destroy guys inside with size, strength and speed and yet they dont win championships because the standard overall is so high.

Answer 3

I've liked Horry since his Houston days......

that being said...

He's out of his mind. Seriously.

Look at the matchups if those teams could actually play.

Celtics . Spurs

Parrish . Oberto
McHale . Duncan
Bird . Bowen
Ainge . Ginobili
D. Johnson . Parker


Looks like 4 Hall of Famers vs. Duncan and a solid (not great) backcourt.

btw, Bowen's a great defender, but Larry was 6'10" and the smartest player ever.

Now the Lakers,

Lakers . Spurs

Kareem . Oberto
A.C. Green . Duncan
Worthy . Bowen
Scott . Ginobili
Magic . Parker


Again, looks to me like it's 3 Hall of Famers, and 2 great role players vs. Duncan and the backcourt.

Magic would absolutely dominate Parker, and Oberto would have no chance of stopping Kareem.
.

Answer 4

The NBA has better pure athletes now, especially with the way the game has expanded internationally. I don't know if an NBA team would've even taken a chance on a Steve Nash or a Tony Parker in the mid-80s, let alone watch them become stars. But games are played differently now, coached differently now, and officiated differently now. Apples and oranges, in my opinion...really no point in Horry bringing it up.

Answer 5

Horry has his points and I am not sure if they could win that series but remember most people (media and Spur haters) seemed to think Cleveland was about to whoop the tar out of San Antonio. At the very least the Spurs have just secured fourth on the all time list of NBA Final victories. They also, seemingly unkown to most, have the best ever Finals record in the history of the NBA!

Answer 6

Horry was and always will be a below average NBA player. He was just lucky enough to have been on teams that won a ring for him. The only thing he ever contributed to an NBA title was the cheap shot to Nash. HA HA HA its so true.

Answer 7

big shot bob is completely right. but remember. we understand more about the body and how to fine tune it (eg lebron is bionic). The game evolves like everything else it grows and becomes better with age. We shouldn't say how would this team be then. rather bring those players like oscar robertson, wilt, bill russel forward and give them todays advantages and sees what happens. (if we could do that)

Answer 8

I think it's true. Players back in the day were stick thin. Players now are A LOT stronger and faster. Only player I'd give credit to back then was probably Kareem.

Answer 9

He must have been drunk. No sober player on the Spurs would ever be stupid enough to say something like that in public.

Wait, maybe..

True or not, he should not have said it. Those are true dynastys and NBA legends. Magic and MJ would still destroy the NBA of this era. What would Kareem and Wilt do? How about Larry Bird. They werent as flashy, but they know how to get the job done.

Oh, and he said this for the first time after game 3, not when the series ended.

Answer 10

You must realize that he is in the midst of winning his #7 ring It is only his opinion. I think it would be a great thing to watch!