At this point, it’s kind of a tradition for old-school NBA legends to diss the modern-day trends of the sport.
If you start looking, it won’t take long to stumble upon a quote by an ex-player where he calls the current league “soft” or today’s stars “entitled.” It seems to be an opinion many people share.
Unsurprisingly, Shaquille O’Neal became the latest to take a shot at the current state of the game, going off on a bit of a rant in an appearance on the Big Shot Bob Podcast.
Here’s what he said:
“The words I hate is it’s this new era. We watched the era before us… and we all competed. Guys are getting real lazy and real cute and then they want guys like me and big shot bob (Robert Horry) to show them some respect.
Trust me, if I knew it was okay to team up, after Houston busting my a** in 94, I would have went and played next to Hakeem… I would have went to go play with Tim Duncan. But I was like nope. I’m checking my leaks licking my wounds and I want to beat these dudes and we did.”
(start at 7:15)
There is, objectively, a major difference in culture between today’s players and those from Shaq’s era. That much is undeniable.
Back in the 90s and 2000s, players would respond to criticism by playing harder on the basketball court, not by shouting their complaints on social media.
“When [Kareem Abdul Jabbar] gave me constructive criticism, I took it, I listened and I brought my game to another level. These guys now are pudding pops.”
Today, it’s hard to argue that guys aren’t more sensitive to what the fans and media are saying about them.
Still, no generation of players has ever been perfect. Whether it’s one thing or another, guys will always find something to gripe about.
Whether you like this new era of the game or not, you can’t stop legends and former players from having their own opinions on the subject, just like you can’t stop modern-day stars from doing the things that they feel empowered to do.
