“Didn’t Even Have the Shoes”: Rich Paul Uses Kyrie Irving’s Example, Asks Media to Stop Drawing Comparisons to the Past

The debate between past and present NBA generations is never-ending. Many old-school basketball enthusiasts argue that the game was tougher, more physical, and featured players with greater skill and grit. It’s contested by supporters of today’s era with the same enthusiasm as they make a case for the current players like Kyrie Irving being more evolved and skilled.

Rich Paul, CEO of Klutch Sports and one of the most influential voices in basketball, recently weighed in on the debate, pushing back against the idea that past players would dominate today’s stars. Paul brought up a very interesting point on Pat McAfee’s show about evolution, stating that with time, things are supposed to get better.

He used examples of how the world moved from horseback riding to electric cars, Walkmans to iTunes, and taxis to Uber. Evolution is not only necessary but is also an important parameter to assess how far we’ve come. The same logic applies to basketball as well, and Paul believes that the current generation of athletes are, by nature, better than the ones before them.

He said, “We have to allow that to be the same in our sport and not just try to judge these guys and have them chase ghosts all the time.” Paul used Kyrie as an example of an athlete who could have the older generation players gasping for air. When the host brought up Bob Cousy as an example of a brilliant athlete from the past, he put him on a scale with Irving.

Paul said, “What would Kyrie Irving do in that time? By the way, they didn’t even make the shoes to be able to handle the style of play for a guy like Kyrie.” Despite his strong opinion favoring the current generation, Paul maintained that respect must be given to the pioneers of the sport.

The comparison between different generations is a pointless debate

As Paul rightly pointed out, the game’s evolution should be taken into account in these discussions. Unfortunately, the passion of hoop fans takes over every time this topic is put on the table, and the rest of the discussion is swayed by emotions. It’s impossible to ever conclude these debates because there can never be a realistic approach to the same.

The current players are only so great because of the foundation laid by the ones who were here before. As the tradition goes, young athletes look up to those who came before and take a lot from their game. Then, they develop their own style on top of it. So, in reality, that makes the current players more skilled than the ones from the past.

Michael Jordan’s take on the GOAT debate fits perfectly in this narrative. He once stated on Cigar Aficionado that comparing players from different generations is pointless. “You’re never gonna say who’s the greatest. That’s more for selling stories. It’s unfair [to compare players across different eras],” MJ said.

We can apply MJ’s analogy on the GOAT debate perfectly in this situation as well. Players of different eras had different skills, different challenges, and different resources. To compare current players to ones from the older generations is just a way to sell stories and these debates can never have actual substantial points backing the same.