There is a lot to like about today’s NBA, but a big criticism of the league is that it has gone too soft. A lot of former players have expressed their displeasure about the lack of physicality, and Gary Payton II was asked on the Jaxxon Podcast if those comments were unfair.
“No, I feel like it definitely has gotten softer since the ’80s and the ’90s,” Payton said. “Like, Bad Boys Detroit Pistons, there were some teams in there … you come in the lane, you going to get a forearm. Back to [Shaquille O’Neal] era, early ’90s. And nowadays, they want to clean it up.
“They want the fans to see more like just play,” Payton stated. “So, I feel that’s why they calling more fouls, guys going to the line more. Kind of slowing the game down, but still trying to keep it interesting. I think they’re just more offensive-minded because that’s what the fan wants to see.
“They want to see all the tricks and what Kyrie [Irving] do and what Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] do and all that,” Payton continued. “That’s what they want to see, and that’s how you get more revenue. So, I feel they just going in that trend and just trying to slow the game down but protect us.
“But I feel like you got to let us play,” Payton added. “This is what we here [for]. We come out to compete, just let us go.”
Payton is pretty much on point with all that he said about the NBA’s approach. The league has made changes in order to facilitate offensive play in an attempt to attract more casual fans.
While a purist might love an old-fashioned defensive slugfest, a casual fan wouldn’t be all that interested in watching it. They want to see Kyrie Irving’s incredible ball-handling and Stephen Curry’s long-range shooting.
Has the NBA gone a bit too far, though? Well, Payton thinks they might have, and so do others. His father, Gary Payton, had stated that the NBA has become soft and added that we’ll never see physical basketball again.
“Soft. These kids are in a different generation. When we played, it was inside outside. You give it to the big man, you get it out there, and then if you had a great player, he could create whatever he wants to.”
“Nowadays, their weapon is the three-pointer. They’re running to the basketball, and then this crazy mess where you gotta go to a monitor and see if you got hit in the head or nothing.”
“In our era, if you went to the basket, we wouldn’t let nobody dunk, and we gonna put you in the third row. And then you just come on back. Nowadays, you get hit and you do this. They be like, hold on, hold on, hold on. Let’s check it. Let’s see what happens.”
“And then you put an ice pack on your head and all that stuff and you’re looking crazy like you done got shot or something. Then they get the ball back, and then they laughing at you because they fooled you, you know what I’m saying? So it’s crazy. You won’t see physical basketball again.”
The elder Payton, who won Defensive Player of the Year in 1996, was one of the best point guards in the NBA during the ’90s and early ’00s. He would have had to change his hard-nosed defensive style if he were playing today.
The younger Payton hasn’t turned into a star like his father, but he’s a solid defensive guard in his own right. The 32-year-old is currently a free agent, but reportedly has a verbal agreement to return to the Golden State Warriors. Payton averaged 6.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game for the Warriors in 2024-25.
