Honestly, this post comes off that way. Or you have a different timeline of what you consider always. Jordan basically invented the modern superstar. Sure, you had the Wilts and Dr J's back in the day, but they dominated based on their talent, not because the game was meticulously planned around maximizing their specific capabilities.
Basketball is not football. It is a five man game where one player can have an outsized impact.
Superstars not only impact the makeup of their teams roster, they impact the composition of rosters across the league. When Shaq was in his prime teams used to carry extra big men to have more fouls to give.
The most recent iteration of the league was teams going for small ball with three point shooting wings to compete with the Warriors. Right now you see serious contenders in the western conference going for size to make it past Jokic. The next iteration will be the Wemby stoppers.
Before Wilt and Dr J you had Oscar Robertson, Pistol Pete Maravich, Jerry West, Rick Barry, George Milan, etc. The league has always revolved around stars.
Yup, can't disagree with any of that! I do think the modern game has specialized a bit more beyond star stoppers, but that's kind of a natural part of the evolving meta game in any long running competition.
It'll be fun to see what Wemby stoppers could possibly look like.
Not to discount Jordan in any way - but Nike and all the marketing behind him with the shoes was a big part of becoming the first modern superstar. He won championships many years later.
