no, in AD&D you get to choose what proficiencies you want.

Maybe you missed the section under "Customizing a Background." It pretty clearly explains that you can choose what you want in 5e too. One feature, two skills, a total of two tool proficiencies or languages, some minor equipment (which you can skip if you buy piecemeal with gold), and the role-playing elements, of which the sample tables are merely suggestions.

If it's the preset backgrounds (which are explicitly referred to as "sample backgrounds" that bother you, as it would seem from your statements, ditch them. Just grab the feature from each one and throw it into a list, and pick everything else according to the rules outlined in that section. You get to do literally the exact thing you said you like about ADnD. And it's in the book, you're not homebrewing anything or playing in an unintended way.

But judging from your comments, that's not your real beef with 5e. And I don't know why you think powergaming is impossible in older editions, cause it certainly is. Or why you think Gygax is perfect. He's the father of our hobby, certainly, but advancements can always be made. Are you anti-computer because typewriters came first? Maybe we should all get rid of our cars and ride around in horse-drawn carriages.

The point here is that you probably appreciate computers and cars because you know how they work. Don't get mad about 5e when you seem to have obviously never taken the time to try and understand it.