Actually no. Kareem played in the weakest era in NBA history (the 70s-early 80s).
The modern NBA doesn't begin until 1989 with the Detroit Pistons. That's the first truly modern NBA team that could still play in this era.
All other teams before that era would get smashed today.
NBA's all-time peak was 1995-2004.
Kareem won 5 out his 6 rings in the '80s. He won his rings against all-time great teams like the Celtics, Sixers, and Pistons. That's better than Jordan's watered down rings against teams like the Jazz, Suns, Sonics, and Blazers.
The Modern NBA started in 1980 not 1989.
WTF makes 1989 the start of the modern NBA?

The modern era started when Magic and Bird came into the league.
The league started to trend downward in the mid '90s and '99-'05 were literally the worst the league has been in the modern era. Horrible fundamentals, ineffectient shooting, too much one-on-one.
Kobe's peak years came when the NBA was at its worst and he still was never the best player in the league
