"Bunch of idiots drowning in money jacking up 3s" - Veteran analyst tears into NBA players, accuses them of not competing
Amid the start of the 2024-25 NBA season, Blaze Media's Jason Whitlock ripped into the league. According to the veteran analyst, overprivileged players and increased 3-point shooting volume have made the NBA unwatchable.
Tuesday night's season-opening doubleheader began with the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics defeating the New York Knicks 132-109 behind a historic 3-point shooting flurry. Boston made a record-tying 29 triples before missing its final 13 attempts, finishing 29-for-61 (47.5%) from beyond the arc.
A day later on "Fearless with Jason Whitlock," Whitlock called out players for being too 3-point dependent, citing their exorbitant salaries.
"This game is a joke," Whitlock said. "... Somebody has to recognize, 'Hey, this hot garbage we're putting on the court, and everybody just jacking up 3s, you know what? We've gotta move the 3-point line back, and if we have to, widen the court to make 3-pointers from the baseline harder.'
"... This 3-point shooting, it's a mockery. But they're all drowning in money, in millions upon millions of dollars, so they don't fix anything. They don't improve anything. They've destroyed the game," he continued.
In a Wednesday X/Twitter post featuring his podcast rant, Whitlock referred to NBA players as a "bunch of idiots drowning in money jacking up 3s."
According to Basketball Reference, the league's average annual player salary this season is $11.9 million. Moreover, five players will make $50 million-plus. Meanwhile, 3-point shooting has become increasingly emphasized in recent years, with records regularly being broken.
However, barring any unforeseen rule changes, that trend appears unlikely to reverse anytime soon.
Jason Whitlock accuses LeBron James of forcing his son, Bronny James, into NBA
During his podcast, Jason Whitlock also took exception to the second leg of Tuesday night's NBA doubleheader.
The LA Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-103 at home. However, the main story of the evening was that Lakers superstar forward LeBron James made history by playing alongside his son, rookie guard Bronny James.
Bronny, the No. 55 pick in this year's NBA draft, logged only three minutes, missing both his shot attempts. According to Whitlock, he shouldn't be in the league.
"It's worse than the WNBA because you know what? In the WNBA they actually compete against each other, and they haven't allowed some ego maniac to throw his son into the script," Whitlock said. "This is an abomination."
LeBron and Bronny's unprecedented on-court father-son dynamic is expected to be one of the NBA's premier talking points all season. So, Whitlock will likely have many more opportunities to accuse LeBron of engaging in nepotism.
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