Throughout much of the 2024-25 NBA season, there was a lot of discussion about the state of the game overall as fans and even some former players and media members were very critical over what the game has become. Despite all-time greats like Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry, not to mention players such as Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgious-Alexander and Anthony Edwards, the NBA as a whole came under fire for many different things.
Whether it was the lack of physicality, too many 3-pointers, All-Star Weekend or other things, it seemed as if many fans were unhappy with what the NBA has become. But LeBron has a different point of view.
In the latest episode of his “Mind the Game” podcast with Steve Nash, James let it be known that he and the rest of the league hear what the fans are saying, but also made it clear that the game evolves:
“Fans, I want you guys to know that we’re listening, we hear you guys. We’re listening, we always want to make sure that the game of basketball is viewed from y’all’s point of view and you love the product. We’re always trying to figure out a way to get better. But the game changes. The conversation on ‘I wish the game was like this,’ it’s too far to even be thinking about those type of things. It’s impossible. Everything changes.”
LeBron continued on, calling basketball beautiful while again adding that the game changes, just like everything else in life:
“The game is beautiful, man. And we have to just evolve with it. Just like how we do in every day life, we have to evolve with life. We also have to evolve with sports and the sport that we love, whatever that sport is. That’s the beauty of being able to understand and respect and appreciate where the game comes from and also be able to understand and appreciate where it is today as well.”
This version of NBA basketball is far different than what many grew up on in the ’80s, ’90s and even early 2000s. But that doesn’t make it any less special. The skill-level and athleticism of today’s game is far greater, but the rules also allow for that to be showcased more than in previous eras.
Some may long for the old days with a level of physicality that would never be allowed in today’s game, but it all can still be appreciated the same.
Lakers’ LeBron James explains how Allen Iverson changed the perception of scoring guards
One of the most popular players of the previous era was undoubtedly Allen Iverson who was absolutely a cultural icon. Iverson had the respect of every player in the NBA and truly changed the game as an undersized scoring guard.
LeBron James recently spoke on that during his podcast, noting that Iverson would have been forced to play point guard in earlier eras, but was so good he couldn’t be denied. The Lakers star added that Iverson paved the way for other score-first guards like Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard and Kyrie Irving.
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