“These young players are soft as hell nowadays”: Kevin Durant and Draymond Green lament a lack of competitiveness in the NBA on the ETCs Podcast

Kevin Durant and Draymond Green talk about how the NBA has softened up as of late, calling young players today, “soft as hell”. 

The most recent episode of Kevin Durant’s ETCs Podcast has given viewers several gems. Everything from how Draymond Green and Durant had their falling out during an OT game against the LA Clippers in 2018, to what Green was so passionately telling KD in his ear from that one meme.  

The two former teammates even cleared the air on whether or not Draymond hilariously called upon the 2014 MVP’s services after losing to the Cavs in the 2016 Finals from the Oracle Arena parking lot. 

Also Read: “Draymond Green did not call Kevin Durant from the parking lot after Game 7”: The Warriors’ DPOY reveals how he recruited KD from the OKC Thunder in 2016

Upon reminiscing about their days together in the Bay Area, the two then delved into talking about the current state of the game. More importantly, they discussed the mentality through which up and coming players in the league today approach the game. 

Of course, being the veterans that they are, Kevin Durant and Draymond didn’t seem all too pleased with how the league to straying away from intense rivalries. 

Draymond Green and Kevin Durant say the players in the league today are soft 

KD and Green let it be known right off the bat that they do not approve of the direction in which the NBA is headed in terms of a lack of competitiveness. 

“They soft as hell. I’ve found myself trying to talk sh*t to some of these young dudes that won’t talk. And they’re like trying to be a friend. That’s what these young dudes do nowadays.”

“I don’t understand it. They’re brothers and sh*t on social media and they’re losing their sense of competitiveness,” said Draymond Green.

Draymond Green on Kevin Durant’s “The ETCs” podcast: “They soft as hell. I’ve found myself trying to talk sh*t to some of these young dudes that won’t talk. And they’re like trying to be a friend. That’s what these young dudes do nowadays. I don’t understand it.”

— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) April 8, 2021

Also Read: “Kevin Durant left the rust in the dust”: Skip Bayless has heady praise for the Nets’ superstar on his perfect performance off the bench in his return game 

Kevin Durant followed by saying, “I see them come in and they’re friendly too. Like that’s cool and all but we can save that after the game but I’m used to young players coming into the league like, ‘I’m walking into the ghetto and I’m the newest dude on the block’ and it don’t feel that way no more.” 

The NBA in the 2020s is very different from what it was in the 80s, 90s, and even the 2000s. Rivalries fueled the NBA and drove ticket sales through the roof, depending on how enticing the rivalry was. Rivalries like Bird’s Celtics and Magic’s Lakers took years before any reconciliation, while Michael Jordan and the late 80s Detroit Pistons do not like each other to this day. 

If you were to look at the NBA’s landscape today, each team is doing its own thing. The nitty-gritty aspect of the game has been removed for the most part and this could be attributed to the referees nowadays handing out fouls and ejecting players for the silliest things. This, coupled with the lack of players with a mentality similar to those who played an era ago has resulted in the NBA ‘going soft’.