u/Personal-Proposal-

40 year old Jordan came off the couch after 3 years and almost dragged a 19-63 team to the playoffs, and genuinely might have had he not gotten injured. He was also an (albeit low) mvp candidate.

Did the likes of Mikan, Mikkelsen, Pollard and Slater Martin have the talent to compete against the likes of Russell’s Celtics, Elgin and Baylor’s Lakers (idk how they’d figure out the name dispute lol), Wilt’s 76ers/Warriors, Pettit’s Hawks, Thurmond and Barry’s Warriors, Oscar and Lucas’ Royals, etc.

Keep in mind Slater Martin was an all star until 1959, Mikkelsen until 1957 though he was in mvp votings in 1958. Elite 60s talents like Russell and Pettit were still competing, with Elgin and wilt roughly a year away from being in the nba themselves. It’s not crazy to think the others, including themselves, could’ve adapted well to the proceeding era if they were in their primes.

Thoughts? Would Russell have a more competitive rival throughout the decade?

There has arguably never been a greater gap between first and second place than when Mikan played. But was he really only great because of how badly he outsized his peers?

Apparently Russell was very complimentary of Mikan’s ability, for what it’s worth.