most of the older guys would presumably suck, for two main reasons: 1) the athleticism is entirely different nowadays (it's largely what made Jordan so good, he was the first like true modern athlete at that size to enter the league, and he also mastered point 2), not counting like Wilt, Dr J and a few others 2) they literally didn't even dribble facing forward in the NBA until really Isiah Thomas and Jordan. Go watch the NBA finals highlights from even the mid 80s and you'll see exactly what i'm talking about.
Virtually every player backed down from even the perimeter, the lateral movement with the ball was virtually nonexistent, and obviously they didn't allow carrying but the entire way the ball was handled was absurd.
Even now, how many players on any average NBA team REALLY have good handles? like they could facilitate if say the PG was out, or if trapped/pressed in the backcourt? 3? So i'm not sure 'being raised in modern era' would necessarily solve that per se
I still think Bird and a few others would be pretty legit, even though slow as shit, b/c he had master body control like Luka does and could still create enough space to get shots off. Plus he averaged an absurd amount of rebounds for a dude w/ zero hops, and his passing was amazing, and clearly he could shoot. He was just slow. If Ryan Anderson could be a borderline AS in modern times than why couldn't Bird actually be one? Footwork and basketball IQ still go a loooooooooooooooooooooonnngg way in today's game (see: Jokic)
