The league lacks superstar talent

[Donoghus]

I think there is a bit of East Coast bias seeping in here.

A lot of talent out west.  If they were in NY, Boston, Detroit...it would feel different.
 

I think this is part of it.

Also, ESPN/TNT really needs to pump up Davis more.  Give him increased exposure to the national fan base.  New Orleans isn't exactly a "face" franchise but this kid is the future of their league and is already showing it.  He should be the "guy" within 3-5 years.  Team success would obviously help him too.

[GreenGoggles]

I think there is a bit of East Coast bias seeping in here.

A lot of talent out west.  If they were in NY, Boston, Detroit...it would feel different.
 

I think this is part of it.

Also, ESPN/TNT really needs to pump up Davis more.  Give him increased exposure to the national fan base.  New Orleans isn't exactly a "face" franchise but this kid is the future of their league and is already showing it.  He should be the "guy" within 3-5 years.  Team success would obviously help him too.

Team success is the largest reason he hasn't been over hyped by anyone by the fans yet. TNT and the media will pay more attention once he leads his team to the playoffs.

[Donoghus]

I think there is a bit of East Coast bias seeping in here.

A lot of talent out west.  If they were in NY, Boston, Detroit...it would feel different.
 

I think this is part of it.

Also, ESPN/TNT really needs to pump up Davis more.  Give him increased exposure to the national fan base.  New Orleans isn't exactly a "face" franchise but this kid is the future of their league and is already showing it.  He should be the "guy" within 3-5 years.  Team success would obviously help him too.

Team success is the largest reason he hasn't been over hyped by anyone by the fans yet. TNT and the media will pay more attention once he leads his team to the playoffs.

Certainly that will help but playing for a small market Pelicans team hasn't helped either when they're getting 2-3 ESPN/TNT appearances this year while a team like the Lakers is getting 20 or so simply for being the Lakers.

[billysan]

I think there is a bit of East Coast bias seeping in here.

A lot of talent out west.  If they were in NY, Boston, Detroit...it would feel different.
 

I think this is part of it.

Also, ESPN/TNT really needs to pump up Davis more.  Give him increased exposure to the national fan base.  New Orleans isn't exactly a "face" franchise but this kid is the future of their league and is already showing it.  He should be the "guy" within 3-5 years.  Team success would obviously help him too.

Team success is the largest reason he hasn't been over hyped by anyone by the fans yet. TNT and the media will pay more attention once he leads his team to the playoffs.

Certainly that will help but playing for a small market Pelicans team hasn't helped either when they're getting 2-3 ESPN/TNT appearances this year while a team like the Lakers is getting 20 or so simply for being the Lakers.

All true and not saying he is Lebron James, but look at Cleveland when Lebron came into the league. Arguably a smaller market and yet his face was everywhere. I think it is Marketing and hype as much as anything else. Bigger market helps obviously but Paul Pierce wasn't well known outside New England.

[Donoghus]

I think there is a bit of East Coast bias seeping in here.

A lot of talent out west.  If they were in NY, Boston, Detroit...it would feel different.
 

I think this is part of it.

Also, ESPN/TNT really needs to pump up Davis more.  Give him increased exposure to the national fan base.  New Orleans isn't exactly a "face" franchise but this kid is the future of their league and is already showing it.  He should be the "guy" within 3-5 years.  Team success would obviously help him too.

Team success is the largest reason he hasn't been over hyped by anyone by the fans yet. TNT and the media will pay more attention once he leads his team to the playoffs.

Certainly that will help but playing for a small market Pelicans team hasn't helped either when they're getting 2-3 ESPN/TNT appearances this year while a team like the Lakers is getting 20 or so simply for being the Lakers.

All true and not saying he is Lebron James, but look at Cleveland when Lebron came into the league. Arguably a smaller market and yet his face was everywhere. I think it is Marketing and hype as much as anything else. Bigger market helps obviously but Paul Pierce wasn't well known outside New England.

Definitely true about marketing.  The league and its sponsors could certainly do more to put Davis out there.  Same with whatever endorsement deals Davis has too,

[Moranis]

There are currently 3 former league MVP's still in their prime in the league (James, Durant, Rose) as well as 4 other former league MVP's in Duncan, Garnett, Bryant, Nowitzki (and I'm not counting Nash).   We have 9 Finals MVP's playing in the league right now, 5 of which were not league MVP's (Parker, Leonard, Pierce, Wade, Billups).  We have a 3 time defensive player of the year playing right now who was neither MVP or finals MVP (Howard).  And that is just the award winners and doesn't count: Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony, Paul George, Steph Curry, Chris Paul, Demarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo, Marc Gasol, Damien Lillard, Lamarcus Aldridge, James Harden, John Wall, Blake Griffin, Chris Bosh, etc.

I think the demise of the NBA Superstar is quite simply nonsense. 

[SHAQATTACK]

We got Avery Bryant   

[D.o.s.]

I also think that the way the playstyle of the NBA has shifted in the last 20 years has discouraged some of that individualistic hero ball type play. Go back and watch some of those games from the late 90's and early '00's. Much more iso, which leads to many more sneakers sold. 

[bdm860]

Eh, I don’t know, I feel like this is a cyclical thing that happens often, but most of us use revisionist history when we look back at it.  The current generation is rarely as good as “the prior generation” in most people’s minds.

Man coming out of the 80’s, where you had legends like Bird, Magic, Isiah,  Kareem, Moses, Dr. J etc., all you had to pick up the slack from them was Jordan.  Guys like Barkley, Karl Malone, Ewing, they were nice, but they’re not superstars, they can’t carry a team, let alone carry the league.

Then going into the late 90’s, people thought the league lacked superstars again.  You had real superstars like Jordan, Hakeem, Ewing, Barkley, Pippen, David Robinson, etc. all on their way out, with only Shaq to take the torch.  Look at who was finishing top 5 in MVP voting in the late mid-to-late 90’s, guys like Tim Hardaway, Alonzo Mourning, Glen Rice, Gary Payton.  Again, nice players, but not “carry the torch” type guys.  That Iverson guy definitely can’t be the face of the league, and let’s see how that Duncan kid does without Robinson next to him.  Guys like Kobe, Dirk, Garnett, Kidd weren't widely considered superstars.  They were at the top of the list to take the torch, sure, but so were guys like Stackhouse, Sheed, Marbury, Antoine, Carter, etc.

Though I do think the league had a pretty smooth transition in the mid 00’s with guys like Shaq, Kobe, Duncan, Dirk, Garnett, etc. at the top with LeBron, Wade, Yao, Howard, Carmelo, Durant, etc. waiting to take the lead.

Really though, I think people will probably be having this same conversation 10 years from now in 2025.  Ya LeBron James Jr. is a stud, but the league doesn't have as many superstars like Lebron Sr., Anthony Davis, Durant, Blake Griffin,  Steph Curry, etc. as it did 10 years ago…

The prior generation is usually always considered better, it's just the way it goes.

[Donoghus]

I also think that the way the playstyle of the NBA has shifted in the last 20 years has discouraged some of that individualistic hero ball type play. Go back and watch some of those games from the late 90's and early '00's. Much more iso, which leads to many more sneakers sold. 

That was a pretty terrible era, IMO.  The game today is much better. 

[JBcat]

This is a golden era for point guards IMO.  Has there ever been this many top PGs at once playing? Paul, Curry, Westbrook, Rose, Wall, Parker, Irving, Rondo, Conley, Lilliard, and maybe a couple more.

[slamtheking]

I also think that the way the playstyle of the NBA has shifted in the last 20 years has discouraged some of that individualistic hero ball type play. Go back and watch some of those games from the late 90's and early '00's. Much more iso, which leads to many more sneakers sold. 

That was a pretty terrible era, IMO.  The game today is much better. 

worst years in the league.  Team play has come back in vogue to an extent thankfully.

[Donoghus]

I also think that the way the playstyle of the NBA has shifted in the last 20 years has discouraged some of that individualistic hero ball type play. Go back and watch some of those games from the late 90's and early '00's. Much more iso, which leads to many more sneakers sold. 

That was a pretty terrible era, IMO.  The game today is much better. 

worst years in the league.  Team play has come back in vogue to an extent thankfully.

And I actually think the talent level is better too.  Especially with the guards. 

[fairweatherfan]

I also think that the way the playstyle of the NBA has shifted in the last 20 years has discouraged some of that individualistic hero ball type play. Go back and watch some of those games from the late 90's and early '00's. Much more iso, which leads to many more sneakers sold. 

That was a pretty terrible era, IMO.  The game today is much better.

What, you didn't like 20+ possessions of Mark Jackson spending 15 seconds backing a guard down from the 3-pt line to the post and either taking a baby hook or kicking out to Miller if the double came?  Philistine.

[Vox_Populi]

Durant? He's only 26 and is probably the best all-round offensive player the league has seen since...whomever. He and Davis would probably be superstars regardless of era. Also, it seems you're detracting guys who won with help. The only guys out of the list you mentioned who won at least one chip without another All-Star are Duncan and Nowitzki.