Some of these projections aren’t too bad. Still waiting for the 4 point line
ThingsAreAfoot
that’s an outstanding clip, a good bit of it was pretty close if not just on point. international NBA is a great prediction in ‘88 because while we knew about monsters like Arvydas Sabonis, that was still a few years before the Dream Team really popularized the sport worldwide
higher hoop is funny but it doesn’t seem impossible eventually lol
fuel injected sneakers, can you imagine?
grimace24
Fuel injected sneakers. That would be interesting.
Pat O’Brien got fired because he left a voice mail message to a woman that said ” i want to suck your pussy and beat off in your face, Lets do some coke, get some hookers and go crazy!”
That dude knew how to party.
BigFatModeraterFupa
The fake keyboard clacking intro… classic move
SnooPies5622
Some masterful type-acting
Pizzachomper874
I’m actually stunned about how many of these things they got right (or at least really close to right)
Though the World-NBA teams would be super cool, and Kareem having 100K cracked me up
RadiantLilyBloomin
The athleticism and speed today would overwhelm 1988 teams.
WhoShotMrBurns
Stupid computer couldn’t even predict the 2020 NBA playoffs being confined to an isolated bubble at Disney World
FreakGnashty
Love this! Awesome post OP
pieman2005
Why does David Stern pronounce champion and champeen
bmeisler
$90 tickets? Lakers floor seats $1000? That’s crazy, nobody would ever pay that much for an NBA game!
Indian_Bob
You know he’s smart because he’s using a keyboard
fishiouscycle
Kareem got the same old man jokes in 1988 as we’re making about LeBron right now lmaooooo
k1ngkoala
Honestly not bad
richardlulz
LOL what was bro typing
ItsATrap112244
Charlotte representing the US in the international basketball tournament somehow the worst prediction on here
Daily_edging
Amazing
SonicTheOtter
A lot of great predictions!
Uk_KingsStar
The biggest missed prediction is referring to twenty-twenty as “2000-20”
Key_Fox3289
The on-court product would’ve been difficult to predict because it’s actual change wasn’t just predicated on player progression but also significantly changed by rule changes. Which are hard to predict
The above article is from 1985. In it, they talk about defense of the time and how illegal defense rules were barely understood/enforced and teams were zoning. So they were basically saying the league should just do away with it. Their theory on how the game would look getting rid of those rules is a pretty good representation of the modern game. To quote:
>It would be worth the NBA’s while, it seems, to experiment for a season, or a preseason, with all-out zone. This would make life easier on the refs and take some of the hypocrisy out of their calls. However, most NBA people absolutely cringe at the suggestion of a legal full-fledged zone because they fear the kind of zone that would be played. They see teams stationing their big men within finger-roll distance of the basket, arms spread, pterodactyl-like, all the way across the floor, discouraging any kind of penetration to the basket. “We don’t want a jump-shooting league,” they say.
>Why not?
>Why is the NBA hierarchy so sure that fans don’t like jump shots, especially long ones? “Jeez, every time somebody lets a three-point shot go,” says Pacers vice-president Wayne Embry, “the whole crowd’s on its feet.” Why not move the boundary in a foot or two and make outside shooting a more important part of the game? Players are far better shooters than they were a couple of decades ago, when 40% from a guard would be acceptable. Now there are guards shooting better than 50%. Go ahead, you clowns on defense, sit back in a zone and just watch us shoot you right out of it.
>And wouldn’t zone defense encourage transition basketball, the NBA’s real calling card? The way to beat a zone, better than bombing it from outside, is to zap it before it sets up. Granted, once a zone is set up, 24 seconds isn’t much time. “Big deal,” says Newell. “So just start the clock when teams get it past midcourt.”
“Teams that don’t win now wouldn’t be able to win with the zone,” contends Portland G.M. Stu Inman. Says Detroit forward Kent Benson, “I just don’t think it would change the game that much.”
Real quick you’ll see how the scenario described in the first paragraph was basically countered with the Defensive 3 Seconds rule (Remember the Jordan quote about how zone would change his career? Defensive 3 was basically added because of that)
With an emphasis on shooting and transition, which are staples of the game today
bulakenyo1980
“Enhance”
inthehottubwithfessy
The typing had me DEAD
Abject_Type7967
Could have also predicted that the Knicks will be championship-less
burnrcuzacctsuspnded
4 year old me would come up with exactly that in 1988 lol
Remytron83
They got the player heights right, for the most part.
Drakilgon
Pretty much all wrong…except for ticket prices. They hit that spot on.
instantur
It wasn’t wrong about point guards getting taller
Hand_of_Doom1970
Damn they really overestimated on FG% and average height, both of which actually have stayed at 1988 levels. Also, off on all the tech stuff, though not sure how serious they were in predicting those. In reality, the game hasn’t changed much. Mostly just a higher percentage of offense coming from 3s. Other than that, game has pretty much remained as is.
auzzie_kangaroo94
Someone should redo this but with clips of NBA 2K glitches
32 Comments
Some of these projections aren’t too bad. Still waiting for the 4 point line
that’s an outstanding clip, a good bit of it was pretty close if not just on point. international NBA is a great prediction in ‘88 because while we knew about monsters like Arvydas Sabonis, that was still a few years before the Dream Team really popularized the sport worldwide
higher hoop is funny but it doesn’t seem impossible eventually lol
fuel injected sneakers, can you imagine?
Fuel injected sneakers. That would be interesting.
[and for a look at 2045…](https://youtu.be/jNgivwJlMbo?si=BLI6mUVkuFWfXULz)
Pat O’Brien got fired because he left a voice mail message to a woman that said ” i want to suck your pussy and beat off in your face, Lets do some coke, get some hookers and go crazy!”
That dude knew how to party.
The fake keyboard clacking intro… classic move
Some masterful type-acting
I’m actually stunned about how many of these things they got right (or at least really close to right)
Though the World-NBA teams would be super cool, and Kareem having 100K cracked me up
The athleticism and speed today would overwhelm 1988 teams.
Stupid computer couldn’t even predict the 2020 NBA playoffs being confined to an isolated bubble at Disney World
Love this! Awesome post OP
Why does David Stern pronounce champion and champeen
$90 tickets? Lakers floor seats $1000? That’s crazy, nobody would ever pay that much for an NBA game!
You know he’s smart because he’s using a keyboard
Kareem got the same old man jokes in 1988 as we’re making about LeBron right now lmaooooo
Honestly not bad
LOL what was bro typing
Charlotte representing the US in the international basketball tournament somehow the worst prediction on here
Amazing
A lot of great predictions!
The biggest missed prediction is referring to twenty-twenty as “2000-20”
The on-court product would’ve been difficult to predict because it’s actual change wasn’t just predicated on player progression but also significantly changed by rule changes. Which are hard to predict
[GIVE THE ‘D’AN A-PLUS – Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com](https://vault.si.com/vault/1985/10/28/give-the-dan-a-plus)
The above article is from 1985. In it, they talk about defense of the time and how illegal defense rules were barely understood/enforced and teams were zoning. So they were basically saying the league should just do away with it. Their theory on how the game would look getting rid of those rules is a pretty good representation of the modern game. To quote:
>It would be worth the NBA’s while, it seems, to experiment for a season, or a preseason, with all-out zone. This would make life easier on the refs and take some of the hypocrisy out of their calls. However, most NBA people absolutely cringe at the suggestion of a legal full-fledged zone because they fear the kind of zone that would be played. They see teams stationing their big men within finger-roll distance of the basket, arms spread, pterodactyl-like, all the way across the floor, discouraging any kind of penetration to the basket. “We don’t want a jump-shooting league,” they say.
>Why not?
>Why is the NBA hierarchy so sure that fans don’t like jump shots, especially long ones? “Jeez, every time somebody lets a three-point shot go,” says Pacers vice-president Wayne Embry, “the whole crowd’s on its feet.” Why not move the boundary in a foot or two and make outside shooting a more important part of the game? Players are far better shooters than they were a couple of decades ago, when 40% from a guard would be acceptable. Now there are guards shooting better than 50%. Go ahead, you clowns on defense, sit back in a zone and just watch us shoot you right out of it.
>And wouldn’t zone defense encourage transition basketball, the NBA’s real calling card? The way to beat a zone, better than bombing it from outside, is to zap it before it sets up. Granted, once a zone is set up, 24 seconds isn’t much time. “Big deal,” says Newell. “So just start the clock when teams get it past midcourt.”
“Teams that don’t win now wouldn’t be able to win with the zone,” contends Portland G.M. Stu Inman. Says Detroit forward Kent Benson, “I just don’t think it would change the game that much.”
Real quick you’ll see how the scenario described in the first paragraph was basically countered with the Defensive 3 Seconds rule (Remember the Jordan quote about how zone would change his career? Defensive 3 was basically added because of that)
With an emphasis on shooting and transition, which are staples of the game today
“Enhance”
The typing had me DEAD
Could have also predicted that the Knicks will be championship-less
4 year old me would come up with exactly that in 1988 lol
They got the player heights right, for the most part.
Pretty much all wrong…except for ticket prices. They hit that spot on.
It wasn’t wrong about point guards getting taller
Damn they really overestimated on FG% and average height, both of which actually have stayed at 1988 levels. Also, off on all the tech stuff, though not sure how serious they were in predicting those. In reality, the game hasn’t changed much. Mostly just a higher percentage of offense coming from 3s. Other than that, game has pretty much remained as is.
Someone should redo this but with clips of NBA 2K glitches
They’re not THAT far off