NBA and sports fans in general love to compare generations and who actually belongs to which generation. This would be my list of NBA generations.
By Birth Years:
1932-1944: Old guy gen (feat. Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Rick Barry, Walt Bellamy, Bob Pettit, John Havlicek, Walt Bellamy, Nate Thurmond, Willis Reed)
- Why the name? These players dominated from the late 50's and throughout the 1960's. They were probably the first group of mainstream NBA superstars
1945-1954: Merger gen (feat. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Erving, George Gervin, Pete Maravich, Bill Walton, Elvin Hayes, Walt Frazier, Wes Unseld, Bob McAdoo, David Thompson)
- Why the name? These players were in their primes during the 1970's when the NBA/ABA eventually merged
1955-1960: Magic/Bird gen (feat. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, Dominique Wilkins, Ralph Sampson, Adrian Dantley, Kevin McHale, Sidney Moncrief, Mark Aguirre, Bernard King)
- Why the name? Magic and Bird's generation + all their main peers
1961-1966: Jordan gen (feat. Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Isiah Thomas, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Reggie Miller, Clyde Drexler, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, Dikembe Mutumbo, Dennis Rodman, James Worthy, Chris Mullin, Joe Dumars, Drazen Petrovic)
- Why the name? MJ's generation + all his main peers
1967-1971: Transition gen (feat. Gary Payton, Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, Penny Hardaway, Shawn Kemp)
- Why the name? No generational talents during this few year stretch
1972-1980: Y2K gen (feat. Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Allen Iverson, Steve Nash, Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, Chris Webber, Yao Ming, Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobili, Ray Allen)
- Why the name? This group was the face of the NBA during the turn of the century shortly following MJ's retirement from the Bulls
1981-1986: LeBron gen (feat. LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Tony Parker, Gilbert Arenas, Amare Stoudemire, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kyle Lowry, Rajon Rondo, Marc Gasol, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Deron Williams, Joakim Noah, Tyson Chandler)
- Why the name? LeBron + all his main peers
1987-1993: Offense gen (feat. Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, Damian Lillard, John Wall, Derrick Rose, Paul George, DeMarcus Cousins, Kyrie Irving, Blake Griffin, Jimmy Butler, Bradley Beal)
Why the name? This gen produced some of the best and most unique offensive talents we've ever seen
1994-2000: Next gen (feat. Giannis, Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson, Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis, Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker, Pascal Siakam, Nikola Jokic, D'Angelo Russell, Ben Simmons, Ja Morant, Brandon Ingram, Trae Young, R.J Barrett, Jayson Tatum)
Why the name? This gen is the future of the NBA and so far, they're all looking really good
Do y’all agree?
By Birth Years:
1932-1944: Old guy gen (feat. Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Rick Barry, Walt Bellamy, Bob Pettit, John Havlicek, Walt Bellamy, Nate Thurmond, Willis Reed)
- Why the name? These players dominated from the late 50's and throughout the 1960's. They were probably the first group of mainstream NBA superstars
1945-1954: Merger gen (feat. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Erving, George Gervin, Pete Maravich, Bill Walton, Elvin Hayes, Walt Frazier, Wes Unseld, Bob McAdoo, David Thompson)
- Why the name? These players were in their primes during the 1970's when the NBA/ABA eventually merged
1955-1960: Magic/Bird gen (feat. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, Dominique Wilkins, Ralph Sampson, Adrian Dantley, Kevin McHale, Sidney Moncrief, Mark Aguirre, Bernard King)
- Why the name? Magic and Bird's generation + all their main peers
1961-1966: Jordan gen (feat. Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Isiah Thomas, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Reggie Miller, Clyde Drexler, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, Dikembe Mutumbo, Dennis Rodman, James Worthy, Chris Mullin, Joe Dumars, Drazen Petrovic)
- Why the name? MJ's generation + all his main peers
1967-1971: Transition gen (feat. Gary Payton, Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, Penny Hardaway, Shawn Kemp)
- Why the name? No generational talents during this few year stretch
1972-1980: Y2K gen (feat. Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Allen Iverson, Steve Nash, Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, Chris Webber, Yao Ming, Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobili, Ray Allen)
- Why the name? This group was the face of the NBA during the turn of the century shortly following MJ's retirement from the Bulls
1981-1986: LeBron gen (feat. LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Tony Parker, Gilbert Arenas, Amare Stoudemire, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kyle Lowry, Rajon Rondo, Marc Gasol, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Deron Williams, Joakim Noah, Tyson Chandler)
- Why the name? LeBron + all his main peers
1987-1993: Offense gen (feat. Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, Damian Lillard, John Wall, Derrick Rose, Paul George, DeMarcus Cousins, Kyrie Irving, Blake Griffin, Jimmy Butler, Bradley Beal)
Why the name? This gen produced some of the best and most unique offensive talents we've ever seen
1994-2000: Next gen (feat. Giannis, Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson, Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis, Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker, Pascal Siakam, Nikola Jokic, D'Angelo Russell, Ben Simmons, Ja Morant, Brandon Ingram, Trae Young, R.J Barrett, Jayson Tatum)
Why the name? This gen is the future of the NBA and so far, they're all looking really good
Do y’all agree?
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