Relative Greatness

A few weeks ago, a couple of buddies and I were at a sports bar talking about today's athletes versus the athletes of the last generation.

Specifically, we were talking about basketball. One of the arguments being made by my buddy who we will call "C-Mart" for the purposes of this discussion made the claim that even a second rate NBA player could absolutely dominate in the time of Bird, Jordan, etc.

C-Mart is slightly younger than myself and the third gent in this discussion (who we will call "Guns"). Both of us strongly disagreed with this notion, claiming that Jordan and Bird would still dominate in today's NBA, particularly with the way the game is played now.

It was as if ESPN was eavesdropping on our conversation that night, because just a few days ago Jemele Hill wrote an article making C-Mart's exact claim. Bill Simmons, also writing for ESPN, responded with the exact argument Guns and I were making (you have to scroll down a bit to see it: point #5 in his links).

After further debate via email, the three of us have decided to settle this nonsense once and for all.

Tonight we will be playing a game of 21 (basketball, not blackjack) at a local park. I am hereby dubbing the event:

Twenty One to Rule Them All

Featuring....

Guns as Larry Bird!

C-Mart as Kobe Bryant!

And me, Yeager, as Michael Jordan!

It will surely be a fabulous display of athletic prowess.

Don't worry Jordan, your legacy is in good hands. I'll even make sure to bet at least $50,000 on the game to get into character.