There has been a dilution of talent generally as the league has expanded. The addition of the three and the emphasis on the dunk have changed the game (for the worse, in my opinion).
The Celtics dynasty with Russell, and the two Chamberlain champion teams (Sixers, Lakers) were so fundamentally sound, and had such cohesive teamwork, that I would hesitate to put any modern team on their level.
The tyranny of recency makes people think what is current is vastly superior to what has been before. Sometimes, yes, but sometimes no.
I have never seen a player that can compare to Wilt Chamberlain - no one, ever. Russell, for all his own greatness, needed the full supporting cast against Chamberlain’s teams. O’Neal ran over people - and was allowed to get away with it. Chamberlain dominated physically, but not by thuggery. He never fouled out of a game!
He spent a year with the Globetrotters. He led the league in scoring seven times; he led the league in assists after that. For all his athleticism, and being dubbed The Stilt and The Big Dipper, he preferred a finger-roll layup to the dunk because he was a finesse player.
If he were to come into today’s game, he would seem to be a man among boys.
Great observation I would add the Knicks with Reed,Bradley and Frazier.
I’m going to stay with my assessment of the current Warrior team but certainly not the franchise. And I am in slight disagreement with your assessment of Russell and Chamberlain. But we are certainly in agreement on Shaq and (I’m assuming) Lebron.
Yes, Russell and Chamberlain we’re dominate players and great athletes but it was primarily their height that lead to that dominance. Take a few inches off either and you would have two better than average players.
And Shaq and Lebron, for example, just plow their way to the basket. That’s not the basketball I remember. The league could change with the simple expedient of calling more offensive fouls, what we used to call charging. But I don’t expect that soon. OTOH, it hard to not to concede that Lebron is one of the great physical specimens on earth. But watching him play basketball is just boring. He is a great athlete that should be playing football.
As to the dunk I have mixed emotions. I could live with or without it. But I love my three pointers particularly if the shot by Klay or Steph. What they and others have done is master a difficult skill. In sports it is skill (not height or muscle) that I admire most.
Bottom line: I prefer West and Goodrich to today’s muscle basketball. But I still love the sport and the Warriors are my team.