So often when we’ve heard old NBA players speak on the current state of the game, they don’t have many nice things to say.
They’ll call players soft. They’ll say they shoot too many threes. They’ll complain about big men not posting up as much as they need to. It gets so tiring to hear.
So when you hear a former player with something positive to say about the game’s evolution, it’s always surprising and refreshing to hear. That was Kevin Garnett on Monday in an interview with the New York Times.
During the interview, Garnett was asked what is take on the current state of the NBA was. And he flat-out said that he didn’t think plays from just 20 years ago could play in the league today.
“I don’t think guys from 20 years ago could play this game. Twenty years ago, guys used their hands to control players. Now you can’t use your hands. That makes defense damn near impossible. Can you imagine not hand-checking Michael Jordan? Naw. The fact that you can’t touch players gives the offensive player so much flexibility.”
Notice how measured and nuanced he was in his take. He didn’t say that the players weren’t good enough 20 years ago to play in today’s NBA. He just talked about how the game has evolved and how defense has changed.
That’s such a refreshing take. He also took a second to appreciate some of the players in the game today.
“The fadeaways, one-leg runners, the one-leg balance shots — that’s stuff that Dirk Nowitzki brought to our game. And now, when I watch Joker [Nikola Jokic] play, it feels like he has taken that Dirkness and mixed it with his own talent. And Steph Curry revolutionized things with being able to shoot it from distance with such consistency. Klay Thompson. Dame Lillard. These guards changed the game.”
Man, if only KG didn’t curse so much. We need him on television somewhere talking about the game. The NBA needs more of this sort of analysis.
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