This is revisionist thinking. Even the short players were way skinnier back in the 1990s.
5'10" 162 lbs Michael Adams. Averaged 27-4-11 in 1991 and made All-Star in 1992.
6'0" 170 lbs Mark Price. Made 4 All-Star teams and 4 All-NBA teams, including 1st-team All-NBA in 1993
5'11" 163 lbs Dana Barros. Made All-Star in 1995
6'0" 165 lbs Bobby Hurley. Drafted #7 in 1994
6'0" 168 lbs Kenny Anderson. Made All-Star averaging nearly 20ppg in 1994
6'1" 170 lbs John Stockton. Made 10 All-Star teams and 11 All-NBA teams, including 4x 1st-team All-NBA
6'2" 175 lbs B.J. Armstrong. Made All-Star in 1993.
5'11" 180 lbs Terrell Brandon. Made All-Star in 1996 and 1997 averaging nearly 20ppg
6'1" 170lbs Nick van Exel. Made All-Star in 1998
6'1" 180lbs Isiah Thomas. 12x All-Star, 5x All-NBA, Finals MVP
6'3" 170lbs Fat Lever. All-Star in 1988 and 1990, averaging nearly 20ppg
6'0" 165 lbs Allen Iverson. 11x All-Star, 7x All-NBA, MVP, averaged over 30ppg five times
And lets not even talk about midgets like Muggsy Bogues, Greg Grant, Keith Jennings, Spud Webb, and Earl Boykins.
Within that list alone I named 9 players who made All-Star in the 1990s while weighing 170 lbs or less. And there had to be a good 30-40 players that size in the NBA total. Now could you name even one person other than Trae in the entire NBA who is 170 lbs or below? Even short players like CP3 or really skinny guys like Ja or Bones are still in that 175 lbs range minimum.