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NBA: Players Under 30 Who Would Be Elite in Any Era

By Maxwell Ogden

Feb 9, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) and forward Kevin Durant (35) during the game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 9, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) and forward Kevin Durant (35) during the game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 22, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) dribbles on the baseline as New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) defends during the third quarter at Staples Center. The Clippers won 107-100. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 22, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) dribbles on the baseline as New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) defends during the third quarter at Staples Center. The Clippers won 107-100. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports /

For better or worse, every player that enters a professional sports league is compared to their predecessors. That’s never more true in the NBA, where helmets, hats and other gear to block their individual identity do not exist.

All we have to see is a face in a jersey, with the name on the back often garnering more attention than the one on the front. Whether that’s fair or foul, that’s the way things have grown to be.

In conducting the subjective exercise, one question is often brought up: which players would be elite in any era? Having already answered that on an all-time scale, there’s a new question to answer.

Which current players under 30 years old—the stars of today and superstars of tomorrow—would be elite in any generation?

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