Offside Chat Archives (2014-2021)

Great discussion, everyone makes a good point, I guess Jordan is the GOAT, #StayHome

Susan Kim2 said:Bringing a title to Cleveland in American sports is basically the same as winning the UEFA Cup in London.

LeBron James will eventually retire as a top-three player of all time. But honestly, it’s the pure talent and the mental clarity he showed—especially during his second stint with the Cavaliers—that actually cemented his spot on those eternal lists.
We can debate this forever, but who knows where his career would be if the incompetent Gilbert Arenas hadn't failed to bring in anyone better than Mo Williams during the first half of his career? Who even is Mo Williams, as Jessica Gonzalez asks? Exactly. ☕

That might be true, though I suppose I am not viewing this from an American perspective, but rather from our own.

It used to be about bringing a major trophy to the city (which actually happened), but I guess my colleague got a little carried away and dropped a few zeros regarding Cleveland.

bluebison47 said:Nothing is ever quite the same as it used to be, I suppose. It’s much like how someone who actually followed the game back in the 70s or 80s might argue that everything following those eras just wasn't what it once was.

And why should he be any less right than you are?🤷

I was mostly talking about my own gut feeling.

steelharbor9 said:The guy below pretty much nailed the whole point of this story.

Twenty-five years ago, even for Americans—let alone people over here—Charles Barkley and his crew were basically mythological figures. You’d stumble upon a newspaper clipping and read it fifty times. If you were lucky with the local news stations, maybe you’d catch one game or at least a couple of highlights. That was it. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong; I wasn't actually there, after all.

Nobody is walking around wearing a John Stockton or Shawn Kemp jersey these days, but it’s obvious why people growing up back then saw them as gods. It's for the exact same reason kids today will look up to Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook, or the youngest ones will worship Luka Dončić—and I'm sorry if you don't want to see it that way! There isn't really a "correct" answer to who was the bigger legend. Everyone's hero is just whoever they spent those nostalgic moments watching. I guess Stephen Curry's shimmy against OKC in 2016 is more iconic than Scottie Pippen's dunk over Patrick Ewing—but if I say that to someone ten or fifteen years older, their blood pressure might hit 200 because of the blasphemy!

For me, the 2002 World Cup is still the strongest memory, even though everyone older than me says it was one of the worst ever. Man, it was the first one I followed live. I watched every single second they showed, and even now, I can remember most of the scorers and results. Nothing will ever hit that emotional level for me again, I guess.

What kind of argument is 🙏

Just tell me—when was the last time you saw some kid out on the street wearing a Diego Maradona jersey?

LeBron James has finally ascended to that elite tier, the one occupied by Michael Jordan. From here on out, it’s all just a matter of nuance, much like those endless debates surrounding Pele-Maradona.

The debate is spilling over here too 🙏🙏

The league is absolutely loaded with talent right now—honestly, if you aren't talking about Stephen Curry, you’re either not watching or you’re only catching maybe ten or fifteen games a season. We're seeing a level of raw talent today that rivals any golden era in history... What’s missing is a bit of variety in playstyles, but the pure skill alone is more than enough. The strongest teams will be the ones that can bridge that 15-year gap between different players' primes to show exactly how much better things used to be 🙏🙏

As for which style of basketball people prefer, we could go in circles all day—there's plenty to say there. But judging objective quality? That’s a much harder call to make.

brightpilot6 said:LeBron James has finally ascended to that elite tier, the one occupied by Michael Jordan. From here on out, it’s all just a matter of nuance, much like those endless debates surrounding Pele-Maradona.

Honestly, when you look at all those legends across different sports, FC Barcelona is probably the only club that actually walked away from one of their own. ☕

Jessica Gonzalez said:It used to be about bringing a major trophy to the city (which actually happened), but I guess my colleague got a little carried away and dropped a few zeros regarding Cleveland.

Not even close, if you ask me. Whether you're looking at the chaos in the city, the region, or just the massive scale of everything else—it doesn't matter. This franchise was barely relevant for a three or four-year stretch in its entire history before LeBron James showed up.

Elizabeth Mendoza said:What kind of argument is 🙏

Just tell me—when was the last time you saw some kid out on the street wearing a Diego Maradona jersey?

Now you aren't even making full sentences anymore—just fragments to try and keep those crazy arguments going. Just keep at it, though, champ. 🙏 I guess when you can't actually counter anything, you might as well just keep talking.

Susan Kim2 said:Not even close, if you ask me. Whether you're looking at the chaos in the city, the region, or just the massive scale of everything else—it doesn't matter. This franchise was barely relevant for a three or four-year stretch in its entire history before LeBron James showed up.

So who exactly was killing them during that little three or four-year stretch? 🤣

Jesse Sullivan5 said:Honestly, when you look at all those legends across different sports, FC Barcelona is probably the only club that actually walked away from one of their own. ☕

You could argue FC Barcelona actually turned down two icons of that caliber—considering both Diego Maradona and Cristiano Ronaldo were in the mix. ☕

shadowmarlin22 said:The debate is spilling over here too 🙏🙏

The league is absolutely loaded with talent right now—honestly, if you aren't talking about Stephen Curry, you’re either not watching or you’re only catching maybe ten or fifteen games a season. We're seeing a level of raw talent today that rivals any golden era in history... What’s missing is a bit of variety in playstyles, but the pure skill alone is more than enough. The strongest teams will be the ones that can bridge that 15-year gap between different players' primes to show exactly how much better things used to be 🙏🙏

As for which style of basketball people prefer, we could go in circles all day—there's plenty to say there. But judging objective quality? That’s a much harder call to make.

Stephen Curry is the perfect example of the soulless modern athlete. Honestly, the sports world is crawling with them lately. They’ve got the stats and they get the wins, but they’re missing that one thing old-school players used to have: pure charisma.

These modern athletes feel like robots to me, and frankly, it's gross. They don't have an opinion on anything. All they care about is likes, money, and their next contract. You could shove a microphone in their face and they wouldn't say a damn thing because they're too busy protecting their "image" and their Brand.

Give me Charles Barkley. Give me Roy Keane. Give me guys who actually have some grit. I want people I can actually relate to. Give me controversy! Give me someone being brutally honest into a microphone. Give me the voice of the fans on air. Show me some flaws so I can see they're actual human beings made of flesh and blood. That's what makes them worth watching.

William Gomez5 said:So who exactly was killing them during that little three or four-year stretch? 🤣

They were a solid squad back then, but they aren't exactly the massive favorites anymore.

Susan Kim2 said:Not even close, if you ask me. Whether you're looking at the chaos in the city, the region, or just the massive scale of everything else—it doesn't matter. This franchise was barely relevant for a three or four-year stretch in its entire history before LeBron James showed up.

I see what you mean, but I guess the Cavaliers are a professional squad playing at the highest level of global basketball, based out of one of the major metropolitan hubs in the US. So, maybe compare them to somewhere like Budapest or New York rather than just some tiny town of 5,000 people.

Elizabeth Mendoza said:Stephen Curry is the perfect example of the soulless modern athlete. Honestly, the sports world is crawling with them lately. They’ve got the stats and they get the wins, but they’re missing that one thing old-school players used to have: pure charisma.

These modern athletes feel like robots to me, and frankly, it's gross. They don't have an opinion on anything. All they care about is likes, money, and their next contract. You could shove a microphone in their face and they wouldn't say a damn thing because they're too busy protecting their "image" and their Brand.

Give me Charles Barkley. Give me Roy Keane. Give me guys who actually have some grit. I want people I can actually relate to. Give me controversy! Give me someone being brutally honest into a microphone. Give me the voice of the fans on air. Show me some flaws so I can see they're actual human beings made of flesh and blood. That's what makes them worth watching.

Actually, it's quite the opposite. Curry choked in two Finals. First, when Andre Iguodala deservedly took the Finals MVP away from him while LeBron James kept them on edge with that absolute unit Matthew Dellavedova acting as his second-best player and bench focus. Then, the following year, after they went crazy with that 73-9 run, they completely fell apart in the big Finals. And of course, because that "super" 73-win team had to bring in three of the league's best players just to try and take down the Cavaliers.
The media never calls Curry out for stuff like that, mostly because he's just so likable and has such a fun personality.

Susan Kim2 said:Actually, it's quite the opposite. Curry choked in two Finals. First, when Andre Iguodala deservedly took the Finals MVP away from him while LeBron James kept them on edge with that absolute unit Matthew Dellavedova acting as his second-best player and bench focus. Then, the following year, after they went crazy with that 73-9 run, they completely fell apart in the big Finals. And of course, because that "super" 73-win team had to bring in three of the league's best players just to try and take down the Cavaliers.
The media never calls Curry out for stuff like that, mostly because he's just so likable and has such a fun personality.

Man, you just don't get it; I mean, John Stockton, Shawn Kemp, and Scottie Pippen are the literal definition of charisma, which is something Curry just doesn't have at all.

Btw, I don't really agree with calling it "rightful" on one hand, but on the other, I honestly have no clue who else I'd give it to. For that specific Finals, realistically—it's just LeBron James.

shadowmarlin22 said:You could argue FC Barcelona actually turned down two icons of that caliber—considering both Diego Maradona and Cristiano Ronaldo were in the mix. ☕

And let's not even get started on Michael Laudrup, Luis Figo, and those kinds of icons! ☕

Look, let’s be real about what we're talking here—Curry is either the most sold jersey out there or right up there with LeBron James for the last decade. Even in a season where he didn't play, Curry still ranked in the top 3 for marketing revenue. He is basically the definition of marketability, thanks to both his playing style and how he carries himself. The guy just hasn't ever been a target for hate, mostly because he has this charisma that guys like James Harden or Russell Westbrook just don't possess—they tend to follow that more polarizing path.

Susan Kim2 said:They were a solid squad back then, but they aren't exactly the massive favorites anymore.

Man, what a total joke.😁