Anthony Edwards stirred more controversy last month when he asserted that the only talented player in the 1990s was Michael Jordan. Kevin Garnett responded by downplaying the accusation and fanning the flames with the assertion that the brutality of the NBA in earlier times would have prevented current players from surviving. But Stephen A. Smith disagrees with both, particularly the Hall of Famer.
The seasoned expert chastised Garnett for his remarks on the Stephen A. Smith Show. He argued that a player of his caliber shouldn’t disparage an entire generation in order to poke fun at another superstar. He declared:
“Let me tell you what pissed me off. I shouldn’t say pissed off but I kinda felt a little pissed off at KG for this one thing. You ain’t got to qualify how much love you got for the young brother and y’all podcast, ain’t here to hurt nobody. Bro, you a Hall of Famer and champion… Say what you want to say as long as you ain’t attacking but you can attack what they said.”
Stephen A. Smith and Kevin Garnett’s reason for argument
Smith then responded to Garnett’s claim that players now wouldn’t be as productive in earlier times. He was an ardent opponent of this viewpoint. He acknowledged that travel regulations are far more lax these days and that a player such as Stephen Curry, who had ankle problems when he first joined the NBA, would not have been able to succeed in those days.
But Smith said that players like the Warriors guard, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Russell Westbrook, and even other contemporary greats might have been All-Star caliber players in the past. He uttered:
“You can’t tell me that a LeBron at 6’9″ 260 [pounds] couldn’t deal with the physicality of the old days because he would’ve been hurting people… Russell Westbrook would have been off the chain…Kevin Durant any era, he’s 6’11” with a handle and a J. Steph Curry could’ve played in the old days because you just don’t teach shooting ability like that.”
The seasoned expert finds it puzzling that athletes from today’s age and the elder generation are disparaging each other’s era.
