If you’re 50+, you most likely hate today’s NBA. And if you’re one of those, I bet your blood is boiling knowing that bang average players are getting money that the greatest in the previous eras got in their entire careers.
Honestly, I don’t mind when athletes get money, better the people that provide the entertainment get the money instead of the owners that rely on the entertainment provided.
Hall Of Famer Larry Bird is one of those people that are at the age where hating millennials are all the rage, but in an interview with ESPN’s Nick Friedell, he’s fine with the current state of the NBA.
Q: What’s changed in this league, obviously, is the financial and economic impact of it all. When you guys talk to each other, guys who played 20, 30 years ago, are you as stunned as fans at all the money that has come into the game?
A: I’d be lying if I told you I thought it would get to this point. I never thought that. I’m happy it has. That means the league’s doing well, the owners are doing well, the players are doing well. That’s what it was all about. But you got to remember, when I came into the league, the guys before me were bitchin’ about how much money I made. So it just goes down the line, so that’s how it works.
Q: As a former player, do you look at these guys and go, “Do you know how lucky you are?” Given all the money pouring into the league.
A: No, I always tell the kids that you get what you deserve. Just leave the game better than you found it. And it’s good for everyone when it happens.
See old people? Be happy that the future players are getting money. It’s a good thing!
Now. Another thing that is regularly argued, old and young alike, is what era was the best era. I don’t participate because I don’t know enough about the past eras, but Larry Bird was firmly in all of it. What’s his 2 cents?
Q: Do you think there are better all-around players before the current era?
A: I don’t know. There’s some guys I really like to watch play. Draymond Green is fun to watch. All of those [Michigan] State guys are because they defend, and they play, they play together — that’s how I like the game to be played. Move the ball, cut, pass; if you do the right things, you’ll get it right back. I don’t know, I hate to compare eras. It’s been so long since I played, but I liked to play the total game. Magic liked to play the total game. Some guys are just scorers. Some guys just defend and rebound. But the guys that are playing now are just as good as what we were when we played.
That last sentence is the one, the players today are just as good as the players before them. That’s coming from the mouth of a Hall Of Famer who played primarily in the 80’s. I’ve always found this a non-argument and looks as if Bird thinks the same.
