It’s become a tradition of sorts for players from past generations to cast a critical eye on today’s NBA. Whether it’s the perceived lack of physicality, the rise of three-point shooting, or the shift in how teams exploit matchups, legends from the ’80s and ’90s aren’t always impressed. Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal are among the loudest voices in this discussion.
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Four months ago, during a Celtics-Bulls matchup, a combined 108 threes were shot from both teams. While discussing the same on Inside the NBA, Chuck said, “That’s a lot of threes, man.” He also equated that to the declining NBA ratings.
The crew discussed how every player wants to shoot like Stephen Curry without having his skills. They also expressed their disappointment in the fact that players don’t take advantage of mismatches anymore, and even when they could easily drive to the basket, they take the easy route by shooting from distance.
On the latest episode of the show, Barkley finally took a moment to address the blowback he’s received for his takes on today’s NBA style of play. He said, “They usually get mad at me and Shaq. They’re like, ‘Charles and Shaq, them old guys. They want to play like they did in the 80s and 90s.’ I’m like, no, I don’t. It’s called strategy, you damn fools.”
Chuck responds to the "fools" who think he wants teams to play like the 80s & 90s 😂 pic.twitter.com/5tn4UyAyyk
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 24, 2025
To be fair to Chuck, there is merit to his argument. The modern game, at times, does ignore obvious mismatches. With many offenses focused on spacing and pace, there’s often a tendency to prioritize launching threes over initiating contact and dominating the interior. However, the same ‘poor’ strategy has led to teams devising some of the most intricate offensive sets we’ve ever seen, keeping the game as technical as ever.
Shaquille O’Neal’s advice on fixing the league
During a conversation with Dan Patrick, Shaq was asked who’d be the best player in the NBA if they took away the three-point line. Shaq was dumbfounded by the question. Patrick, on the other hand, remained adamant about testing the NBA without the three-point line as he believes “Steph is so good that everybody wants to be Steph but nobody can be Steph.”
He wondered how the current state of basketball could be fixed. Shaq said, “I know how to fix it. Bring back some creativity to the game.”
The big fella used a podcast analogy to explain his comment. He stated that the only reason why several podcasts are successful in the same market is that everyone brings their own unique flavor to their podcast.
Shaq believes that every team in the NBA runs the same play. This not only makes the games predictable but also boring for the fans to watch. If all the coaches analyzed their team’s strengths and created plays based on the assessment, the league would be so much better.
