There are so, so many players from the past eras of the NBA who want you to know just how bad they think the modern NBA is. Of that group, there are an equally large percentage who have access to either a TV appearance or a podcast microphone. Every NBA team plays the same, they say. Three pointers are killing the joy of basketball, they say. Defense isn’t played at a high level in the soft NBA, they say.
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Within those conversations, Charles Barkley is a difficult character to understand. He is politically and socially lauded by fans for standing with the LGBTQ community and regularly speaks on injustices in the United States, but he is simultaneously among the most closed-minded when it comes to today’s iteration of professional basketball.
Comedian Frank Caliendo joined Howard Eskin as part of a financially based talk show, in which he made fun of “analysts.” While football Hall of Famer John Madden was the first to be parodied, Caliendo eventually pointed at Barkley.
“And Barkley dislikes everything… his job is to promote the NBA, and what does he do?” asked Caliendo, before popping into an impression. “‘This game is really really bad right now. It’s terrible. We gotta fix everything. It’s gotta get put together a little bit better…’ And when he answers a question, when you hear, ‘First of all,’ the next few lines are going to be him making something up.”
A frequent target of Barkley’s rants is the usage of three pointers as the be-all-end-all of offensive efficiency. It’s a common take from 1990s players, as BJ Armstrong and Shaquille O’Neal have shared a similar perspective.
Offensive efficiency has grown to rely on three pointers as a tool. The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers led the NBA in three pointers made but got them in entirely different ways. The Celtics focused on five out spacing around their stars, while the Cavs played quickly in order to attack the rim and cause the defense to scramble, leaving an open three a pass away.
Nostalgia will always get in the way of responding, but fans are beginning to push back. It makes sense. A past history with the sport does not make an expert. Looking at history, every era has thought they were the best. While everyone has their preferences, basketball players have been getting more and more skilled in each passing generation.
Making mistakes or having bad takes in coverage is always going to be part of the conversation. But, lucky for us fans, basketball has never been better.
