“These Kids Don’t Even Have A Clue”: Michael Jordan’s Comparison Of Physicality Across Eras Gets Showcased By Shaquille O’Neal

Shaquille O’Neal uses Instagram to often share his opinions and posts which his views align with. On Monday, O’Neal shared a decade-old clip of Michael Jordan talking about how different the physicality was in the NBA back in their playing days.

In an interview promoting the launch of NBA 2K14, Jordan was asked about his early days in the league. He said,

“Physically it was a much more physical game than what it is. Today, You can walk across the lane without getting checked, or screens. [Back then] you always had to pay a price.

Jordan further elaborated on the mentality of players saying, “If you were aggressive and you got an old guy and you go in, you go in with the understanding that I’m gonna get hit. I’m gonna pay the price, but you know that’s part of the game.”

Jordan spoke from experience. He endured some of the most brutal physical punishment against the Detroit Pistons during the late 1980s. He got the worst of it in the 1989 Eastern Conference Finals. The Pistons, nicknamed the ‘Bad Boys,’ hounded the Bulls superstar en route to a 4-2 series win. Jordan claimed that no player in this era would have to endure that:

“Those are the type of things that these kids don’t even have a clue, of how we we had to grow up or how we had to play.”

The debate about physicality has affected players in the past has been raging on for well over a decade. It came to the fore when JJ Redick dissed Larry Bird. On an episode of First Take, the retired guard said:

“There’s no way you could ever argue Larry Bird is a top three-point shooter of all-time. You can’t make that argument. There’s plenty of people that have shot more, made more and — guess what — made more at a higher percentage than Larry Bird from three.”

Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins educated Redick with a strongly-worded response. During an appearance on Sirius XM NBA Radio, he said:

“To say something as idiotic as that is ridiculous. The physicality that was a part of the league. Hey, look, when you can put your hand on a guy’s hip and make him go a certain way, and you can put your elbow in his chest a guy to slow him up  — there’s not that many guys that can deal with that type of pressure.”

Bird knew opposition players would get handsy with him, and he wasn’t one to take it without dishing it back. Today, the league is more protective, and players don’t get into physical altercations as often. The ‘hard foul,’ where players intentionally use extra strength while intentionally fouling a player to stop them from scoring, was a staple for defenses in the 80s and 90s. However, now it’s almost as rare as an eclipse.

Shaquille O’Neal would dominate with his physicality in today’s NBA

By sharing the post, it can be said that Shaquille O’Neal agrees with Michael Jordan’s view about the lack of physicality in the modern NBA. And why not, as the center himself is among the most dominant forces in NBA history. In an exclusive interview with ESPN, O’Neal claimed that he would be as dominant in the current era as he was during his playing days.

“I would love to play in this game because it’s less physical. I would bring a little more physicality.”

The modern NBA is about stretching the floor, and shooting three-pointers or creating layup opportunities. Some have suggested that O’Neal, who lived in the paint on both ends of the floor, would struggle in the modern era. He doesn’t believe that would be the case, pointing to a two-time MVP as an example:

“I would bring my length, my athleticism, and I would be like the Greek Freak. So before you say Shaq can’t play in this era today, I’m already playing. I am Giannis Antetokounmpo.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo relied heavily on his physicality to score points and got double-teamed in the paint. However, he tweaked his game before the 2018-19 season and started passing the ball more often when he would get doubled. That helped him increase his output. He averaged four minutes fewer than the previous season but improved his scoring rate from 26.9 to 27.7 and assists from 4.8 to 5.9. Antetokounmpo won back-to-back NBA MVP awards and led the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA title in 2021.

O’Neal was more physically imposing than Antetokounmpo. If he became adept at passing when double-teamed, he would have been even more difficult to contain than the Bucks superstar is.