{"id":146557,"date":"2025-06-25T08:00:52","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T12:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=146557"},"modified":"2025-06-25T06:09:47","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T10:09:47","slug":"role-players-modern-nba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/25\/role-players-modern-nba\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven Former Role Players Who Would Thrive in the Modern NBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

When we talk about players from earlier eras and how they can adapt to the modern NBA, we often talk about superstars. Could LeBron James<\/a> play as well during the 1980s or 1990s? Could Michael Jordan<\/a> dominate in the modern era? But we rarely talk about the others, such as the role players that do the dirty work. Some of these players were ahead of their time. They were good role players back in their days, and they would be even more awesome in the modern NBA.<\/p>\n

Seven Former Role Players Who Would Thrive in the Modern NBA<\/h2>\n

Nowadays, we have players like Derrick White<\/a>, Draymond Green<\/a>, and Alex Caruso<\/a>, who are praised for their grit<\/a>. But some of the former role players could have done as well a job in the modern NBA. Let\u2019s take a look at seven players who were probably born too early.<\/p>\n

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May 14, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges (25) defends Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) in the second half during game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Boris Diaw<\/h3>\n

Boris Diaw<\/a> is the ultimate born-too-early what-if type of player. When he came into the league, he was an athletic, bigger guard who eventually became a point forward\/center. Diaw is the positionless basketball dream, a player who could guard 1-5 and was a high-post passing wizard.<\/p>\n

If he had been born 15 years later, he could have been even better. He was stuck in a no man\u2019s land during his era, but he carved a position for himself. During his Suns days, when Amar’e Stoudemire<\/a> got hurt during the 2005-06 season, he came out of nowhere and had an All-Star-level season playing point center. At the time, it was rare to see, and nowadays, Nikola Jokic<\/a> dominates as a point center.<\/p>\n