re: How bad would an NBA team from 1994 crush a team from 1964?

If you're talking about across the leagues, including all players, then yeah, major advantages for teams from the 1990s. But the best players from the 1960s were phenomenal. Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, et al. They'd be able to put together a really good team for some kind of intertemporal All-Star game.

1994 would be the precise year MJ was a minor league baseball player the whole time and not playing basketball.

2004 would be really good

Prime Kobe
Prime Shaq
Prime Duncan
Prime Iverson
Prime McGrady
Prime Garnett
Prime Dirk Nowitzki
Prime Nash
Prime Ray Allen
Prime Paul Pierce
Young Lebron
Young Wade
Young Carmelo Anthony

1964 stat leaders

Points Per Game 1. Wilt Chamberlain* • TOT 34.7
Rebounds Per Game 1. Bill Russell* • BOS 24.1
Assists Per Game 1. Oscar Robertson* • CIN 11.5
Field Goal Pct 1. Wilt Chamberlain* • TOT .510
Free Throw Pct 1. Larry Costello* • PHI .877
2-Pt Field Goal Pct 1. Wilt Chamberlain* • TOT .510
True Shooting Pct 1. Bailey Howell* • BAL .582
Field Goal Attempts 1. Wilt Chamberlain* • TOT 2083
Free Throws 1. Oscar Robertson* • CIN 665
Free Throw Attempts 1. Wilt Chamberlain* • TOT 88
Minutes Played 1. Bill Russell* • BOS 3466
Minutes Per Game 1. Oscar Robertson* • CIN 45.6
Personal Fouls 1. Bailey Howell* • BAL 345
Player Efficiency Rating 1. Wilt Chamberlain* • TOT 28.6
Win Shares 1. Oscar Robertson* • CIN 17.0
Offensive Win Shares 1. Jerry West* • LAL 14.8
Defensive Win Shares 1. Bill Russell* • BOS 14.4
Win Shares Per 48 Minutes 1. Jerry West* • LAL .261
Assist Pct 1. Oscar Robertson* • CIN 37.8



1963-64 Season Summary 1965-66 Season Summary:

League Champion: Boston Celtics

Most Valuable Player: Bill Russell (14.1/24.1/5.3)

Rookie of the Year: Willis Reed (19.5/14.7/1.7)

PPG Leader: Wilt Chamberlain (34.7)

RPG Leader: Bill Russell (24.1)

APG Leader: Oscar Robertson (11.5)

WS Leader: Oscar Robertson (17.0)

All-NBA

1st Team

Elgin Baylor

Jerry Lucas

Oscar Robertson

Bill Russell

Jerry West

2nd Team

Wilt Chamberlain

Hal Greer

Gus Johnson

Sam Jones

Bob Pettit

All-Star Game Rosters

East:

Larry Costello*

Wayne Embry*

Johnny Green

Hal Greer*

Tom Heinsohn* (1)

Luke Jackson

Sam Jones*

Jerry Lucas*

Willis Reed*

Oscar Robertson*

Bill Russell*

West:

Elgin Baylor*

Walt Bellamy*

Wilt Chamberlain*

Terry Dischinger

Gus Johnson*

Don Ohl

Bob Pettit*

Nate Thurmond*

Jerry West*

Lenny Wilkens*

1964-65 NBA Season Summary on sportsreference.com

About as bad as a team from 2024 would beat a team from 1994.

Today's league has better shooting, better movement, better team switch defenses.

All 1994 would have is bruiser ball.

There are diminishing returns. There is a bigger gap in ability between 1964 and 1994 than there is from 1994 to 2024.

Honestly though, even though I don’t think the caliber of athlete is vastly different from 1994 to 2024, it’s almost impossible to compare that era to this era. The game was played so much differently than it is now. I think the style of play now, the shot selection, and the rules are so different than they were in the 90’s. The way basketball is played now is so much better that I think the 2024 team would dominate the 1994 team just due to the difference in play style.

Back to the basket centers, mid-range jumpers, iso ball, and slow-paced half-court offensive sets are not going to beat the pick and roll, 3-point shooting, uptempo read and react offense of today. It’s just a different game. For the better, I might add.

The Dream is by far the most underrated player of all time

In 1964, the NBA only had 9 teams.

The cream of the crop was playing.

Now there's 30 teams.

Just the addition of starters that's over 100 more players that make the league.

The old heads will never change their minds about players from the past. It doesn’t matter that we have video of these games and we can see how bad the basketball is. Their love of nostalgia is too strong and won’t allow them to see the truth.