“Michael Jordan didn’t complain to the officials? Larry Bird didn’t complain?” - JJ Redick fires back at NBA analyst, says the nostalgia towards the '80s and '90s at the expense of the current generation is annoying
As JJ Redick's career grows at ESPN, he has come to the defense of modern basketball players.
A common debate about the modern NBA is how it falters in comparison to how the league was in the '80s and '90s. Redick and Draymond Green have spoken about how they feel about the complaints.
Green's comments brought the issue back into the spotlight, as he and Cedric Maxwell exchanged jabs about how the game is played.
On ESPN's "Get Up," Redick fired back at ESPN's Mike Greenberg for saying classic players didn't complain to officials:
"Michael Jordan didn't complain to the officials? Larry Bird didn't complain? Come on, guys. This nostalgia that you have for the '80s and '90s – like, a great era of basketball. It's awesome, but it's at the dispense of our generation of players, and it has been for the last 15 years. And it's annoying."
Past NBA superstars like Michael Jordan and Larry Bird complained to the referees about calls during their era. Redick believes that the nostalgia for Jordan and Bird's era hurts the current generation.
The different eras of basketball are compared to one another just as the players of different generations are compared to one another. Criticizing current players for the activities of players in previous eras is something several analysts have done.
Still, Redick's issue has less to do with how referees officiated classic players and more about the standards set due to nostalgia.
JJ Redick is against nostalgic standards, which is why he supports Draymond Green's comments
While JJ Redick brought up the issue of classic players complaining to the officials, he had a bigger issue with the standards between the different eras. In response to analysts refuting his assessment, Redick said:
"This nostalgic standard that you've set for players in the '80s and '90s and then comparing us to it all the time like we are a substandard to that, it gets annoying."
Viewing modern players as substandard to the classic era is why Redick has come to the defense of Draymond Green in the physicality argument.
.@jj_redick shares his perspective on Draymond Green’s comment about comparing the physicality of today’s NBA to the 80's and 90's. https://t.co/tICSdzf9DT
While the debate about the physicality of different eras will continue to rage, people like Redick and Green will fight for the modern players.