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[Highlights] The physicality of 80s/90s defense, and the fights that transpired because of it.(in light of Adam Silvers recent comments)



[Highlights] The physicality of 80s/90s defense, and the fights that transpired because of it.(in light of Adam Silvers recent comments)

by Syndana23

39 Comments

  1. Syndana23

    Some of those hits against Michael..my goodness lmaoo

    Why did it look like Dennis Rodman tried to punch him in the stomach during that play where Isiah Thomas was on his back/neck trying to get the ball?

  2. 00812533

    Players being dirty AF back then: oh man it was so physical and great basketball.

    Draymond doin that shit now: he’s a dirty player. Kick him out lol

  3. BigSleep7

    Laimbeer is the punchable face GOAT and it’s not even close

  4. Gristle__McThornbody

    Almost every play involves Bill Lambeer.

    But yeah todays player would not survive in that era.

  5. Blunted-Shaman

    Olajuwon just punching that dude in the face towards the beginning cracked me up

  6. eagles1990

    The Hakeem one was funny as hell

    Utah dude: (exists)

    Hakeem: Bitch!!! (Throws punch)

  7. PuntyMcBunty

    Weird way to spell Laimbeer Career Highlights, but okay

  8. Zombiepirate86

    I think when people complain about the league being soft today, I don’t think they want to go back to this, I think they want to go to an NBA where if you create the contact then its defaults to a no call not a defensive foul, or at least I do.

    No one wants to watch Chris Paul running full speed and stopping in front of a defender to draw the foul call, no matter how smart and aware of the game he is.

    No one wants to see a 3 pt shooter jumping forward 5 feet to try to get a foul called.

    No one wants to see a player jump sideways into another player for a foul.

    No one wants to watch an NBA player grab a defenders arm then launch themselves creatively at the ground.

    No one wants to watch a team have to play defense with their hands behind their backs, because it doesn’t matter if they are in proper guarding position cause they will just get rammed into with a foul called anyways.

    Is it all smart basketball, sure… but its not entertaining. The Harden era in Houston to me felt more like Harden vs. the refs, than Harden vs. the other team. That’s just not entertaining.

    Nostalgia is a hellava drug, people aren’t remembering the blatantly dirty plays through the lens of nostalgia, they are remembering a time when offensive players couldn’t run into defenders and get calls like they can today. That’s why people lament the league is soft, only a few crazies want to go back to the days in which you have “enforcers” on the court and there are only a few “enforcer” type players today. That’s better basketball, but the other stuff in worst basketball. The NBA needs a middle ground.

  9. tigernet_1994

    Parish with the ole one two. Laimbeer in the middle of most of these. Good times.

  10. ZztermzZ

    The Hakeem one has me crying. Just slapped the shit outta him.

  11. Torkzilla

    I started watching the Pistons in the mid-90s basically after the bad boys era had ended. I always remember people talking about how violent they were, but it really wasn’t until I watched the Last Dance that I got to see really high-quality highlights of Bulls/Pistons games from back then. Jesus Christ it was like Mortal Kombat. Laimbeer is in like all of these highlights in this post but I think Mahorn may have thrown more illegal hits than anyone.

    As an aside, I think this explains a lot of why there was so little player movement between marquee teams back then. Players/teams genuinely hated each other and had thrown down against each other multiple times.

  12. AngryNephew

    And people then compare scoring between eraa. You can adjust for pace and shit all you want, there is no adjusting for Mahorn/Laimbeer smashing you to the ground every drive.

  13. gumarik

    The talk of physicality of the 80s 90s wasn’t this shit it was the elbows knees that would go unnoticed and not called. The norm was to get as many hits as possible until they call it.

  14. yall_crazy

    How do they not get injured from all these awkward landings, it’s a miracle

  15. fat_bjpenn

    Imagine gettin’ 3-pieced like that, please tell me that was a flagrant.

  16. olorin9_alex

    Driving to the lane in the 80s NBA is the COD Lobby on 360 of sports

  17. CO_PC_Parts

    One of the reasons the rules started to change was because of one of these clips. The Bulls Knicks brawl that spilled into the crowd. David Stern was at that game and was fucking livid. It wasn’t because of the fight itself but that it spilled into the crowd, he said the players can never risk getting into it with fans. And as we later saw in the Malice at the Palace, he was right.

  18. ThePlainWhiteTees

    This isn’t “physical defense” it’s just hard fouls and fights lol

  19. sowak2021

    From that extreme to what it is now. Both are terrible for the game.

  20. I-Am-NOT-VERY-NICE

    This just a compilation of Jordan getting hammered lmao

  21. TheOvercusser

    Word on the street is AD has to sit out 10 games every time he watches this video.

  22. Away_Sun_3040

    Jordan held his own in a physical Era. He is goated for a reason.

  23. Ttthhhccc

    Jordan wasn’t soft, that’s for sure. He got pummeled by the opposition.

    I like even back that, Rodman threw his hands up to say ‘it aint me’.

  24. guitarpatch

    The every day play wasn’t physical, it was just compacted into tight spaces. The fights and cheap shots were physical. Often to detriment of star players who were targets.

    There’s a reason why Stern cleaned up that part of the game. One was for image. They also wanted Star players to be in the game and have longer careers

  25. Diesel07012012

    “Nobody goes through the middle without getting hit!” – Freshman Team basketball coach, 1994

  26. historical_regret2

    All right, I love the Bad Boys and all as that’s when I started watching the league, but:

    Throw more 90s Knicks vs Heat and Knicks vs Pacers in there. Those Knicks teams have a couple cameos here but they deserve a lot more. Oakley, McDaniel, Mason, and Starks should be seen as neck and neck with Laimbeer, Mahorn, Rodman, and Isiah as far as physicality and willingness to fight goes.

    I’ve still never seen anything like Xavier McDaniel bullying Scottie Pippen. It was honestly uncomfortable to watch. There was nothing indirect – it was pure bullying.

  27. FormerCollegeDJ

    Stated another way, there is a lot of Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, Charles Oakley, and Charles Barkley in this video.

    It should be noted the 1970s were even rougher, or at least there were a lot more fights then.

  28. Mental-Cut-8078

    This is why taunting is so strictly enforced nowadays

  29. MastodonFanMan

    Jordan is 90% of those clips because that was literally the only way to stop him.

    That is why he is, and will always be the GOAT

  30. curtiswaynemillard

    You think MJ would get to the basket more in this era?

    Homeboy was hand-checked on the perimeter… shoved in the lane and then tackled at the rim.

    This video is crazy!

  31. That Hakeem one is just hilarious. Without knowing the context, it just looks like an opportunistic wollop out of nowhere.

  32. Gloomy-Confection-49

    LeSwept would have quit on his first year had he played in the 80s and 90s, tbh.

  33. turkmileymileyturk

    At 1:29 Jordan punches Ewing while making a layup and KO’s him mid-air

  34. blaggityblerg

    Jordan was putting up 30+ a night against *THAT*

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