John Stockton, one of the toughest and most durable point guards in NBA history, recently stirred debate with his comments on The Maverick Approach podcast, calling the modern game “softer” and criticizing the prevalence of load management. Stockton argued that today’s stars can take “20 days off” for rest, questioning how that impacts the competitive spirit of the league.
“I do think it’s softer. You have guys that can take 20 days off, you know, what they call load management. Coming on, I’m going to take a few weeks off, work off, you know. Well, who’s going to feed us then? You know what I’m saying?”
“These guys do it, and they’re supposed to be examples to the, and the league allows it. I mean, so, load management, things like that, the salaries are off the charts. The style of play is, you know, these kids are talented, man. They can make shots.”
“And because they make shots, everybody thinks they should be taking them. And so, it’s just boom, boom, throw it out. There’s less strategy. There’s less physicality. The safety, again, kind of back to the COVID thing, safety is more important than the game.”
“And first, I think people are looking for gladiators out there, and they want you to go to war. And they want to see you do what they can’t do, not go out there and shake hands and hug each other and shoot jumpers.”
“We had teammates that were on another team the next year, and literally, you wouldn’t even look them in the eye back in the day. It’s like, okay, let’s go.”
This is far from the first time an NBA legend has taken a shot at the modern game, and it’s becoming a tiresome cycle for many fans.
The truth is, the NBA is less physically punishing than it was in Stockton’s era, but it’s also the most skilled it has ever been.
The players take so many jump shots now because they can actually make them at historically high rates. The emphasis on spacing, shooting, and pace has evolved the game beyond just brute strength and hand-checking.
Stockton also pointed out the massive salaries today’s stars earn, framing it as a disconnect between effort and compensation. But those numbers aren’t arbitrary; they’re a direct result of record-breaking revenue streams.
The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) guarantees players 50% of Basketball Related Income (BRI), which includes ticket sales, TV deals, and merchandising. The more the league earns, the more players rightfully take home, and players themselves helped negotiate this equitable structure.
As for “physicality,” there’s a fine line between tough basketball and outright dangerous play. Stockton’s era featured plenty of reckless fouls, cheap shots, and fights that might have looked gritty but did little to advance the game’s quality.
Eliminating unnecessary violence has allowed today’s players to focus on skill, athleticism, and creativity rather than intimidation.
The constant barrage of criticism from retired stars toward the current generation is almost unique to the NBA. You don’t see NFL, MLB, or Premier League legends ripping into modern athletes as regularly and publicly as in basketball.
That lack of unified respect not only undermines the league’s image but also alienates younger fans who admire today’s stars. While social media engagement is at record highs, television ratings have taken a hit, and the non-stop “back in my day” rhetoric may be part of the reason.
John Stockton is entitled to his perspective, and there’s value in understanding the differences between eras. But the modern NBA is not a lesser version of the past; it’s simply a different game, faster, more skilled, and more financially sustainable than ever. Fans still want gladiators, but in 2025, those gladiators are armed with step-back threes and pinpoint passing rather than just elbows and bruises.
