Ok, this NBA postseason has been as suspenseful as an Astros game is these days.  Too many sweeps/5-game series.  The best playoff rounds were Dallas/San Antonio and LA/OK City thus far.  We can talk all day long about LeBron-Gate, but the truth is, its just BORING and annoying. 

So one of the first basketball video games I played when I was younger was NBA Live 1997.  I think it had Mitch Richmond's picture on the front of it, but it gave the 1996-97 rosters of the 29 teams (at the time).  It was the year where Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, AI, Antoine Walker and others were rookies.  Anyways, I just thought it would be creative to do some comparisons to see if we have any similarities.

Best Player:
Now-> Kobe Bryant or LeBron James
Then-> Michael Jordan (listed as "Roster Guard")
Was there some rule that denied EA Sports from listing Michael Jordan in their games?  I can't tell, but the Bulls had the best player in the league on their team.  Nowadays, the best player is a wing as well, be it "Cutthroat Bitch" Kobe or "Marketing Mogul" LeBron.

Best Team (by statistical rankings):
Now-> LA Lakers or Cleveland Cavaliers
Then-> Houston Rockets
You pull up the statistical listings, and the Houston Rockets are the #1 team in NBA Live 1997.  Funny right?  #2 was the Seattle SuperSonics and #3 was the Bulls (granted, "Roster Guard" wasn't listed as a starter or even a regular reserve).  Today's best two teams are LA and Cleveland, though the Cavs are not good in the postseason as constructed.

Player's still on same team from 1997 game to today:
Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Allen Iverson (also listed as "Roster Guard"), Steve Nash, Jason Kidd and Zydrunas Ilgauskus.  They were the only names that I could remember offhand that were playing in the NBA and are on the same team in 1997 as they are now in 2010.  However, only Kobe has played for the same team in that span. Z has too, but Kobe wasn't traded, released and resigned.  The worst teams were the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies (yes, the Griz used to play in Canada eh?)

Shortest Player
Now: Earl Boykins at 5'6"
Then: Muggsy Bogues at 5'3"

Tallest Player
Now: Yao Ming at 7'6"
Then: Gheorghe Muresan 7'7"

Notable Players today-->Then and Now
Ray Allen: Milwaukee (then); Boston (now)
Kevin Garnett: Minnesota (then); Boston (now)
Grant Hill: Detroit (then); Phoenix (now)
Michael Finley: Phoenix (then); Boston (now)
Stephon Marbury: Minnesota (then); Chinese League (now) -->that last one was a stretch, but you could say something about Kenny Anderson (Boston then, College graduate now), Chris Webber/Charles Barkley (Wash/Phx then, TNT pregame team now) and Robert Horry (Houston then, UH Campus Rec Center now).

Also, certain teams have certain tendencies in looking for players from the past and in today's league

Atl: Strong athletic shot blocking big man (Mutumbo then, Josh Smith now)
Hou/SA: interior post presence who does lots both on and off the court (Dream/Admiral then and Duncan/Yao now)
LAC: talented team but mediocre records shown
Utah: PG and PF are two of the game's premier guys
NJ: Terrible team (I couldn't think of anything else)

Well that's it for memory lane.  Now back to our regular scheduled LeBron chasing, Bosh lamenting, trade suggesting readings that we've grown accustomed to.  (I'd ask for a thread about the other playoff series, but then again, I did say that the Astros games are more entertaining at this point.)