NBA's best: It was the new wave in the 80s

Good morning. Our point guard is 6-foot-9, rebounds, shoots 50 percent and may be the best passer of all-time. What say you?

It could be that simple when making it clear the 1980s was the divine decade in NBA history. Start with Magic, mix in some Bird, Kareem, Barkley and Jordan. Additional ingredients include Dr. J, McHale, Worthy and Dominique. Throw Moses, Isiah, and the Chief into further all-decade ramblings.

In 1987, the Eastern Conference All-Star team had nine Hall of Famers on the roster. They scored 149 points in the game. And lost. In overtime. Bird was pissed.

If that's not enough, in keeping with the era, here's a Clubber Lang right hook: Hakeem Olajuwon fouled out of the game. You know, the guy who was on the All-NBA first team and All-NBA Defensive first team that season? Yeah, fouled out. Of an All-Star game.

Desire as much as skill defined this decade, as is proven by the three overtime All-Star games and annually ferocious playoffs.

There were less teams and subsequently more talent than the 90s or now. That combination led to better basketball.

It was a decade of Norman Dale efficiency fused with rising athletic ability. Star players set standards with wins and work ethic, not shoe contracts and bling. High scores, high competition, high drama. The best product the NBA has produced.

A league struggling with image and skill problems (sound familiar?) in the 1970s, morphed into a runaway gravy train. The beautiful basketball made fans (and Pat Riley) go all Gordon Gecko. Gimme more, more, more.

It was a time of ascension for basketball, with the first step the fateful intersection of Bird and Johnson.

Their backgrounds made for a coupling of counter cultures, bringing masses together. Black, white. Demonstrative, grumpy. Fast, methodical. West Coast glam, East Coast grind. A storyline befitting of those who wrote on Papyrus rather than authors draped in tinsel.

They also brought every fan's favorite attribute: wins.

The drive and smarts of individuals were far superior to today's coddled, 400-thread-count soft product. SportsCenter hadn't tainted the game and personalities. Upcoming game promos used team names first. Really, they did. Discussions centered around the better team prior to the better player.

Even the announcers are still in your head. Dick Stockton calling the Finals, Tommy Heinsohn alongside trying to keep the leprechaun under his seat quiet. Johnny Most, Chick Hearn. "Now there's a steal by Bird ... underneath to DJ, he lays it in!" "Here's Worthy on the break, slammmmm dunk."

Guarantees meant something. They came from Hall of Fame coaches, not players who perennially lead the league in consumption of Krazy Pills.

Passing the ball wasn't a result of being triple teamed, it was a means for success.

Superstars in the dunk contest, trash talk during the 3-point contest. Such skilled players participating, the contests fell into mediocrity afterward because it had all been done.

There were no frauds in the Finals, like last year's Cleveland team. No team led by Charlie Ward played for the big prize.

You can have the Iso Era '90s, a time that provided Luc Longley with multiple championships. You can watch everyone run pick-and-roll the rest of this season, a style causing fans to strike the same pose as your uncle does after Thanksgiving dinner.

A Casio synthesizer for Christmas, Bird, Magic and the boys testing wills in the spring, that will do it for me, thanks.

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Check out Brandon May's defense of the current generation here http://brandonmay.newsvine.com/_news/2007/11/11/1090327-nbas-best-the-current-era, and Jordan Rivas' take on the 90s here http://jordanrivas.newsvine.com/_news/2007/11/11/1082535-nbas-best-the-jordan-era.

Thanks to them for writing.

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