The era of ’80s and ’90s basketball is characterized by one word and one word only. Toughness. Basketball was a way rougher sport in that era and the rules favored physicality more than they do now. As a result, teams that could fight it out on the court were the ones that had the most success.
A team that embodied winning through toughness were the ‘Bad Boy’ Detroit Pistons, infamous for their rough play style and the inventors of the ‘Jordan Rules’. Everyone on the team was willing to fight, but Charles Barkley revealed that 3 of those Pistons couldn’t actually fight.
“Mahorn can’t fight. Let me tell you something. John Salley, Dennis Rodman, Mahorn, can’t fight a lick. Those 3 guys. Laimbeer can’t fight but he always kept getting beat up. I respected Vinnie Johnson, James Edwards, Isiah, and Joe Dumars. But Mahorn, Salley, and Rodman, couldn’t fight a lick.”
Barkley brought the topic up while discussing the Patrick Beverley-Deandre Ayton incident during the Lakers vs. Suns game.
Is Toughness In Basketball Overrated?
There was a generation where tough play was encouraged, but modern basketball is more about finesse. Contact between players is expected to be minimal, so physicality is used in different ways to make yourself unstoppable. There are players who wouldn’t fit the ’90s definition of tough but have had amazing careers by virtue of their skill.
Every team does need an enforcer that is willing to get dirty for the roster. Patrick Beverley openly showed the Lakers locker room that he will be that guy for them, whether it’s a 6-footer or a 7-footer disrespecting them. Teammates like Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis loved to see it, and Beverley is a certified modern-era tough guy.
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