The ultimate GOAT of the NBA 90s to the present: Who defined the times?

Basketball has never been an isolated sport. It is like a flowing epic, constantly changing the protagonist of the narrative in the torrent of the times. Looking back at the 1990s, we try to stand on the shoulders of the times and look back at the ultimate GOAT in five different positions in the NBA. Their existence not only changes the game, but also defines the limits of an era's imagination.

Point Guard GOAT: Curry

If traditional point guards are synonymous with passing and organization, then Curry completely rewrote this template. He is not a chess player, but a subversive player.

Since 2014, Curry turned "space" into a tactical weapon with his unreasonable three-point shooting range, super fast shooting speed and unpredictable running route. He not only created the golden age of "Death Five Little Little", but also used two consecutive MVPs and four championship trophys to prove that a thin point guard who retreated three points could also dominate the league. In today's NBA, no one can ignore Curry's existence. He is not only a point guard, but also a "system".

His changes were rooted in the heart and spread to the youth training system, affecting a whole generation of basketball teenagers. He used his footsteps and range to rewrite the word point guard in the NBA dictionary.

Point-back GOAT: Jordan

Some people are players, and Jordan is a myth.

Six championships, six finals MVPs, five regular season MVPs - Jordan's resume is no longer needed. What really made him a GOAT was the kind of oppressive feeling of "destined to win". Every second he is on the court is the opponent's nightmare, the coach's anxiety, and the league's judgment.

Jordan broadened the definition of a shooting guard to the extreme: the offense is as sharp as a dagger, and the defense is as sharp as an eagle-eyed. He is the embodiment of competition, synonymous with "critical moments", and the purest existence of the sport of basketball.

If basketball is a movie, Jordan will always be the protagonist.

Part GOAT: James

James is not a player, he is a phenomenon. His greatness lies not in a single achievement, but in his "can do anything and continue to do it for twenty years."

Since his sudden appearance in 2003, James has reshaped the meaning of a small forward with his almost unreasonable physical fitness and basketball IQ. He can control the ball, organize, finish and defend five positions; more importantly, he has won three championships and four MVPs in 20 years, and has always stood at the core of the championship team and has never been depressed.

In the innovation of the NBA pattern of "players dominate power", he is both the initiator and the beneficiary. LeBron not only shapes the gold standard for small forwards, but also defines a new boundary of "basketball influence."

Great GOAT: Duncan

Duncan is quiet, but calm like a mountain. He is not the kind of superstar who hangs endorsements on billboards, but he is a guarantee of victory that you cannot ignore.

Between impetuousness and hustle and bustle, Duncan spent 20 years to establish the myth of "system basketball" with the Spurs. Five championships, three finals MVPs, two regular season MVPs, 15 best teams and 15 best defensive teams. He is the most stable power forward in NBA history and the master of the offense and defense in this position.

His greatness is to accomplish the most difficult thing in the simplest way: win.

Center GOAT: O'Neal

O'Neal is the most destructive center in basketball history, no doubt.

He is not the inheritor of a purely technical school, but he dominated the restricted zones from the late 1990s to the early 2000s with his destructive power of 1 ton. During the three consecutive championships, the Lakers relied on his dominance in the paint area: hard-working, forced-beating, crushing, and dunking. No one can limit him one-on-one, and double-teaming may not be effective.

After the rule changes gradually shifted to the outside, O'Neal represented the last peak of the traditional center. His existence is the last roar in that era of "the inside is king".

They are not just "best players", but the ultimate image of their respective positions. The future of basketball continues, but the GOAT in five positions is destined to be repeatedly written and remembered by history.