Originally Posted by
Wahoo2000
Disagree, the 80s defenses would grab Steph's jersey, hold him, body him, get underneath him on shots, etc, etc, etc. He'd enjoy NONE of the protections that today's rules afford shooters. To some degree*, the poorer shooting in the 80s and 90s was caused by the insane physicality - a shooter wasn't fouled unless he was slapped on the wrist/arm as he shot. Body contact, unless you blasted someone 5 feet and they landed flat on their back, just wasn't called nearly as much... even when jumpshooters were going up with their shot, you could body check them as long as you didn't straight up push them with extended arms while they were in the air.
I think Steph would be a very good player if he played in the 80s and 90s, but not what he is today. That said, a lot of hall of famers including consensus top 5/10 guys like Shaq and Duncan among others wouldn't be the players they would if they had entered the league today.
*Obv the skill was also less emphasized, worked on, targeted in personnel decisions, etc.