The NBA media has taken several forms over the years, but now it’s mostly OG players like Charles Barkley, Kendrick Perkins, and Shaquille O’Neal who have taken over basketball coverage. Their knowledge of the game is based on experience, but LeBron James says that all they do is hurt the product with their constant negativity (via the ‘Mind the Game’ podcast).
Steve Nash: “I know a lot of players from my generation are critical of the game. But I watch these playoff games, and I love it. I love the NBA. I love the little battles, the chess matches, the randomness — but with principles. To me, the game’s in a beautiful place.”
LeBron James: “I loved it growing up. But sometimes, the older generation makes you not want to love the game you grew up watching. Like, I grew up loving Knicks vs. Bulls playoff series. Pacers vs. Knicks. I loved that. And even though I never saw MJ live — I’m from a small town outside of Cleveland — when the Cavs got the chance to play him, that was exciting… but now, that generation talks so much s*** about today’s game, it makes you go back and watch those old games — and it makes you not even want to appreciate them the way you did as a kid. Or like, they say, ‘We can’t be friends,’ or, ‘Why are you smiling on the court?’ Then someone pulls a clip of them standing next to an opponent during the Finals, smiling and laughing. Like, what the hell? Can we just be honest? If you want your movie, you write your own script.”
It’s no secret that the NBA has evolved over the years. During the days of Barkley, Shaq, and other NBA legends in the 80s and 90s, the NBA was a lot bigger and way more physical, with most teams playing from the inside out.
Today, the league has gone soft on the court while catering more to its star players than ever before. As three-pointers became the focal point of NBA basketball, the league followed suit by restricting NBA defenses and allowing less contact on shooters.
The changes led to a playstyle that looks drastically different from what it used to, and NBA legends like Barkley and Shaq have spared no expense to tell the world how awful it is. Almost every time they appear on ‘Inside the NBA,’ they are taking a dig at a team, a player, or the modern game itself.
LeBron James is just one of several prominent NBA voices to challenge this coverage, and he’s calling on the media to be better. Instead of talking down on the game, James wants to see the OGs lift up the sport by highlighting and celebrating its good moments.
With his ‘Mind the Game’ podcast, LeBron is taking matters into his own hands. Besides providing a detailed breakdown of plays and teams, he’s spreading a different kind of narrative that goes away from critique and more toward appreciation of the players. When he retires, it’s fair to assume that LeBron will be leading the charge on NBA coverage and setting the example that he wants his peers to follow as they cover the rising generation of NBA athletes.
