Was the NBA better in the early 2000s compared to the NBA now?

Do you think players like Iverson, prime McGrady, Shaq and Kobe,prime Michael Redd, prime Tim Duncan, Prime Jason Kidd, Chris Webber, Stephen Marbury, and the players before LeBron James came in. I'm not hating on LeBron, I just dislike him, but a lot of NBA players are better than him imo.