Saying that someone is a “Point GOD” is a way of saying that he is very good at playing the point guard position. I don’t know why you’re bringing God into this basketball stuff. But 1980’s-90’s NBA player Mark Price was definitely elite when he played in the league.
Today’s NBA fanatic largely disagrees with that. In many cases, the 2018 pro basketball 
Whenever I hear younger fans automatically dismiss players from before their time, I pretty much dismiss those fans. Their opinion is instantly discredited. I still listen to what they say. I like to know how to judo-toss garbage out the window.
Is there a racial component to the disregarding of Mark Price? Of course, there is. Basketball is seen as a “black game” although that wasn’t true for almost the first half of its existence.
By the end of the 1950’s, changes in society necessarily helped bring black Americans into participation, and, eventually, prominence in the game of basketball. A great number of people, from white observers to black basketball fanatics, will claim that “basketball is a black game.” It is undeniable that the best and most talented hoops star in the world are black males.
A Mark Price, a Larry Bird or a Gordon Hayward might be respected for their games during their career. Doesn’t mask the fact that there is oftentimes a hostility toward the white basketball star after he’s retired. If you don’t know or believe that, just go read some of the “he don’t belong here”-type comments under their online video highlight clips.
If you’re answering me right now with: “Downgrading happens to former black ball players, too,” I will give you that point. But the spirit of the criticism is different, toward retired white stars in the NBA: “He couldn’t have been that good.”
One NBA fan commented, when told about Price being a starter for the 1993 Eastern Conference All-Star team, “Shows you how weak the PG position was [at that time], since Magic was retired and Isiah [Thomas] was past his prime.”
Sometimes, on social media and in person, I can’t tell if someone is trolling or simply doesn’t know. Price was averaging around 17 points, 9 assists, and 2+ steals in the early ’90’s. Those were very good point guard numbers for the way the game was played at that time. Those are PG numbers that are better than all but a few that play in today’s offense-happy NBA.
Related: Judge per era?
Let’s compare the top ten point guards surrounding the years of 1992-93, when Mark Price was pretty much at the peak of his powers, to the top eight point guards surrounding the years of 2017-18…
Age before beauty? Okay: Mark Price. An older Isiah Thomas was still averaging 17 and 8 that year. John Stockton. Tim Hardaway. Michael Adams. Kevin Johnson. Put Kenny Anderson, Rod Strickland, and Scott Skiles on the list. I’m going to throw in Scottie Pippen, who only played at point here and there, yet was still one of the best in the league when asked to be.
The generally-accepted “best” point guards today are: John Wall. Russell Westbrook. Steph Curry. Chris Paul. Kyrie Irving. Dame Lilliard. Mike Conley, Kemba Walker, and Isaiah Thomas. Since I got creative with Pippen as one of my other 10 best point guards ’93, LeBron James belongs here as an elite “point forward.”
I am aware that you could edit a few players on each list. I am aware that you might even add a few, either way.
But the second group of point guard is not appreciably better than in ’93. Nor is it any deeper.
Price could fill it up, but did not take that role on. However: The man shot upward of 40% from three. He would fit in very easily in the modern game. And he would now attempt way more of those shots, natch.
This above clip, showing Mark Price shaking-and-baking a rookie Allen Iverson, was a few games after the much-ballyhooed clip of AI crossover dribbling past Michael Jordan.
“That’s just a few seconds,” an Iverson fan sneered when he saw the Price-Iverson clip. “I bet AI ate him up the rest of that game.”
“Iverson shaking Jordan was only a few seconds, too,” I answered.
Somehow, the GIF video of AI dusting MJ video is valid, but the video of Price freaking out Iverson is not, to Iverson “fanboys.” You can tell who the most idolized icons are, by how many people get angry when you knock those icons over. I say this as a former Iverson idolater.
With the way the game has evolved Price would be a Kyle Korver-type, who could run a team from the point.
“Mark Price was good, but…” But, what? Mark Price was extremely good. Just swallow that and keep your lips sealed while you do it.