- Larry Bird received the NBA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019
- During his speech, Bird addressed the old versus new NBA debate
- The Boston Celtics legend called out old players for thinking their era is better than today’s league
The NBA has only gotten better over the years. After all, the players now have better equipment and facilities to work on their game. Despite that, many old players do not like the new generation of the NBA.
Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird addressed that issue during his speech after accepting the NBA’s Lifetime Achievement Award alongside Magic Johnson in 2019.
“One thing that I see happens often is you see these old broken down NBA players talking about their era and how great they were back then, and the players today are not as good as they were back then,” Bird said. “That’s crazy, man. You haven’t seen LeBron James in the last 17, 18 years? You haven’t seen Klay Thompson score 37 points in one quarter. Or you didn’t see Klay Thompson like I did score 60 points in 32 minutes.
“You don’t see James Harden come down the lane and dunking on whoever’s standing there. It’s just amazing how these guys are playing the game today, and I couldn’t be prouder of them. The game’s in a good place. I tell all these young players coming in today, ‘Keep the game the way you found it, and it can go on for generations to come.'”
(Starts at 6:50)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdaUy4bv2lI
Larry Bird had a phenomenal career in the NBA, averaging 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game. Bird had a Hall of Fame career, winning three NBA Championships, two NBA Finals MVPs, three regular season MVPs, 10 All-NBA Selections, three All-Defensive Selections, and 12 NBA All-Star Selections.
So when a player of his caliber believes that the modern era of the NBA is better, then there must be some truth to it.
Many NBA Legends Believe That The League Has Gone Soft
While the 66-year-old Larry Bird is a fan of the modern NBA and its players, the same cannot be said for some other notable legends.
Shaquille O’Neal called out modern players for being too sensitive. O’Neal believes players should take criticism as a motivation to improve their game.
Los Angeles Lakers legend Jerry West also called today’s NBA soft. Let’s be honest, the NBA may no longer fashion a rugged playing style, but the level of talent has certainly gone up.
It’s actually good that the overall quality of the league has increased. After all, it has increased the NBA’s popularity across the globe.
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