NBA fans love to debating and comparing which eras of the league's basketball style of play were generally more reliant on the athletic, intelligent, and physical aspects of the game to win. The discourse gets more arguments going once players get involved and pit themselves against one another of which era's elite players and teams would beat who in a one-off series.
Gary Payton, one of the NBA's greatest defensive guards in history, has been on a crusade the past few months verbally attacking today's era of NBA basketball to no avail. The 18-year veteran and Hall of Famer, who had stints with Sonics, Bucks, Celtics, Lakers, and Heat, is becoming a leading voice for retired curmudgeons speaking out against about today's era versus the time period that they played the game.
Since Payton retired in 2007, there are more players put on rest during the regular season well before the playoffs, hand-checking calls have increased by referees, free-throw attempts by players has drastically increased by, and players have received more fines for flagrant fouls than before the Flagrant 2 was enacted in 2005. During the past few months, On Saturday, he tweeted that today's NBA is "soft." He also briefly explained why he wouldn't be able to play in today's league:
You gotta love The Glove. He loves keeping it 100 by talking trash about anything and anybody, especially kids today, to get in their head.
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[via Bleacher Report]
