This is why I have little to no faith in the younger crowd....

[Jeffx]

i would argue that lebrons body with birds mind would be the most unstoppable player imaginable

Correction: Bill Russell's mind. No one had a higher basketball IQ than him.

i guess we should break it down more. when i said birds mind i really meant his work ethic, his killer instinct. if bird had lebrons frame and athleticism it would be down right scary. the way he sacrificed his body and still played at an elite level is amazing. with lebrons frame he would freight train people and remain mostly injury free. i will agree on the basketball IQ, i would go with Russell or even rodman over just about anyone who ever played the game though lebron is no slouch either in this department

I think LeBron has a terrific work ethic - I just don't feel he has the "take-your-heart/assassin" mindset Jordan, Bird, Kobe & Isiah had. You can't manufacture it if it's not in you. Although I do wish he'd get in the post more.

[NovU]

It's not a question that today's players and league are more health informed/aware and have better resources to attend to for the purpose of conditioning. Think about what if the past players had all those niceness available back then, perhaps they could have reached another level as they had more fierceness in them as most people claim.

But also talent pool has gradually grown larger decade by decade. Foreign scouting was rarely done in the past. Just listen to a story about Kukoc. But now days the world's become smaller and basketball popularity has risen, giving more reasons to acquire talents through bigger and more diverse markets. It's reasonable to think the NBA plays higher level of competition than in the past though it does not mean past players couldn't excel in today's league given better circumstances to play better ball in today world.