Players whose cards should be a bigger deal than they seem to be

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Not that huge, I don't think. The NBA wasn't that popular in the 70s when the Doctor was operating at top form. Jordan, in part due to the Nike Air Jordan campaign, in part due to the revival of the NBA starting with Bird and Magic, and in part due to his own personality, will, and incomparable talent, became a world-recognized figure.

When Gym class was rained out one day AND the gym wasn't usable for some reason, we watched two NBA highlight films back to back. For a whole hour.
It probably wasn't, but my recollection is that 90% of it was Dr J dunking. Which was great for the first 10 minutes, but got old quick.

Part of it I think is that the style of play in the NBA has changed so much so many times it's become a "today" sort of sport as far as recognition of players from years ago.