There’s a whole chorus line of former NBA players who like to complain about the current state of the league for being too soft, too buddy-buddy, to reliant on outside shooting and just generally inferior to the era in which they played. Charles Barkley thinks the NBA is pretty much the worst it’s ever been.
Tracy McGrady thinks that Steph Curry’s unanimous MVP win shows how watered down things are now. Gary Payton doesn’t think he’d even be able to play in this era because of all the fines he’d accrue. Even Oscar Robertson has said outlandish things about how Curry’s only good because nobody plays defense anymore. Just about the only retired player who has anything positive to say about the contemporary NBA is, surprisingly enough, Larry Bird, who believes we might just be witnessing basketball’s greatest era.
And it’s a safe bet that many of today’s players will feel the same way. Klay Thompson is one player in particular who has at least admitted that he’ll be biased toward his own time in the future.
Klay Thompson on Curry, Warriors disrespect from NBA elders: "I'm probably going to hate on the younger generation when I get older."
— Carl Steward (@stewardsfolly) June 1, 2016
Given his and Curry’s accomplishments, it seems like a pretty safe bet that down the road it will be an objective truth that the Splash Brothers were the greatest shooting duo of all-time.
