NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman recently appeared on the “Full Send” podcast and spoke about the style of play in today’s NBA.
The five-time champion said that he doesn’t spend a lot of time watching the NBA these days, and he offered an explanation as to why.
“Not really,” Rodman said when asked whether he still watches NBA games. “Seriously, not really. It’s just very hard to watch because once you’ve played the game the way we played, intensity, just competitiveness. But now it’s more like, I don’t want to watch players come down and shoot 50-footers. That’s not basketball. I understand you want to score long range, but my god.”
Rodman had a legendary NBA career. In addition to winning five rings, he won seven rebounding titles. He was named to two All-Star teams during his playing days and finished his career with averages of 7.3 points, 13.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
In Rodman’s era, the 3-point shot was far less common than it is today. Rodman averaged just 0.4 3-point attempts per game during his career. He knocked down just 23.1 percent of those attempts.
In today’s NBA, superstars like Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard have become known for their ability to hit shots from virtually anywhere on the court. Many fans think this style of play is exciting, but others aren’t happy with the way the game is changing.
Rodman clearly falls into the latter of the two categories. Many folks from his era agree with him in this regard. It will be interesting to see if any current NBA players respond to his comments.
