I agree with most of what you said but I'm not sure that basketball was better in the 90s. In the 80s yes, but the 90s no. Certainly not from a skill standpoint. People remember the 1990s fondly mostly because Jordan was so great and there were some fantastic Hall of Famers playing. But the league was diluted due to brand new expansion teams, rookies getting paid too soon before the rookie scale, and a general lack of skill. Pat Riley brought this hard nosed, roughhouse basketball to the NBA in the Knicks and the Heat. Defense was too good and isolation basketball ruled. Those 1990s teams were physical but many of those 1990s teams weren't that skilled. Look at the Knicks: how good would a team be today with John Starks as their second best player? But that team was a legitimate contender for most of the decade. the skill was so bad in the 1990s that they actually moved the three point line in for a season. Teams literally employed goons like Dale Davis, Anthony Mason, etc....those guys wouldn't even have a job in the current NBA. Basketball went to a dark place skill wise after Jordan's first retirement in 1993 and it took over a decade to recover.
And then I look at the game today after the rule changes that opened it up. It allows for more skill at every position. Almost everyone can dribble and shoot. Because zone defenses came into the league, you have much less isolation basketball and more of an emphasis on the team game. And it's not like the game still isn't physical, especially in the playoffs - look at this series for example.
Yes, I realize isolation basketball started becoming more primitive, and some of the expansion teams did water it down some, that's always going to happen when you add new expansion teams.
When I'm talking at a skill point, I referring as the game being more well rounded. You had big men, that played like big men. You had true centers, real power forwards, then you had a plenty of point guards/perimeter players.
Positions and styles varied a lot, making it more interesting.
Styles today aren't too contrast. Even so-called big men, are playing the game more and more perimeter oriented like wings.
The game is more finesse, and more scoring, and some people love it.
I personally don't. I think the mid 90s was a great time for the NBA. You had variety of different stars, at all types of positions. It was one of the golden times in the NBA.
You had REAL big men, going at it, and it was fun to watch. You had older stars, a younger generation entering the league.
Now, the late 90s to early 00s is when the NBA was starting to see a very dark era, personally. Jordan was almost the only really good thing still left before he retired, then it fell into hell for awhile.
Mid 90s were awesome though. At least for me, I loved the NBA the most then.