vr,
I grew up on the NBA, so I guess I just remember what it used to be. I know, not every game is bad now, and not every player is bad now, but my point is if you put your list against another era, like Chamberlain, West, Havlicek, Unseld, Reed, Monroe, Frazier, Robertson, Jabbar, Russell, or Bird, Magic, Erving, Barkley, Jordan, Malone, Stockton, Olajuwon, Drexler, etc. I don't think personally that it's much of a comparison. Back then, players played more team basketball, hit 50% from the floor, and hit a free throw once in a while. I think personally the game is in a down period like it was in the late 70s, when not many claimed to like it or watch it either. But, along came Bird and Magic, then Jordan (and others), and the league had an unprecedented upsurge (they were then where the NFL is now). So, you now have Kobe, and now maybe with LeBron and Mello we will see the same thing. But I'd personally watch an entire season from the 80's before I watched one playoff series now.