Word.
Today it is, drive the lane and dish out for a 3. Lebron could have played in any era.
I think the game would be much more interesting if players came from (or at least lived) the cities in which they played. I hear old timers talking about seeing players in the neighborhood. Shoot some of them even had jobs during the off season.
Of course they should be paid. Few are even educated. The graduation rates at some schools are appalling.
I guess you don't watch HBO and have not seen shows like Game of Thrones -- HBO is all is all violence and sex, Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, The Wire, Westworld, and on. I treat HBO like a vice. I limit my drinking, eating of bad food, exposure to social media, and of course TV.