Oscar Robertson doesn’t like the new school NBA and doesn’t have a problem speaking his mind. Who does at 77-years old? From CBS Sports:
“If I’ve got a guy who’s great shooting the ball outside, don’t you want to extend your defense out a little bit?” the 77-year-old Big O said Thursday during a phone interview on ESPN’s Mike & Mike show. “I just don’t think coaches today in basketball understand the game of basketball. They don’t know anything about defenses. They don’t know what people are doing on the court. They talk about analytical basketball and stuff like that. I look at games today, and they’ll start a defense at the foul line. When I played, they were picking you up when you got the ball inbounds. So it’s a different strategy about playing defense.”
“There have been some great shooters in the past. … But here again, when I played years ago, if you shot a shot outside and hit it, the next time I’m going to be up on top of you.”
I bet he had to walk to practice uphill both ways too. Steve Kerr had the same reaction I’m betting a lot of you reading this did. From Fox Sports:
“Oh I’m sure, yeah, I could have stopped this back in my time. Boy, I would have shut Steph down. Because athletes, you know, 50 years ago were much bigger, stronger and faster, more finely tuned,” Kerr continued “So Steph might not have made it in the league.”
The game of basketball has definitely changed sine Robertson played, but it’s not Steph Curry or the Warriors fault. The NBA wants the best product out there for the fans, the key word being fan.