NBA great Charles Oakley has conceded that he believes the modern-day NBA game is “hard to watch” for him as he discussed the changes he has seen.
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Oakley was honoured by the Raptors on Friday after also featuring for the likes of the Bulls, Knicks and Rockets in a career that spanned from 1985 to 2004.
However, he isn’t impressed by what he sees today in the league and he puts it partly down to the change in mentality in the players and style that teams adopt.
“Who do I like watching? It’s hard to watch,” he said, according to ESPN.
“I don’t know, it’s just, it’s a different game. It’s some good games and a lot of bad games. More bad games than good games these days.
“Everybody says the game has changed, instead of talking about the guys I got a chance to see ’em first hand. It was kind of bad.”
The former Charlotte assistant believes that the mentality has changed in the players, in the sense that his belief is that they don’t love the game the same way the players in his era did and they play the game without heart.
His theory claims to explain why strong teams and strong-minded coaches are able to get to the Finals on multiple occasions in a short space of time.
Naturally, there will be a queue of players to dismiss his comments as there are a number of players who visibly put their heart and soul into everything for their team today. However, the style of the NBA has certainly changed over time with the toughness and rivalries a thing of the past for the most part.
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