With the NBA offseason at its peak, Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star guard Anthony Edwards provided fans with some ultra-hot content:

Such is always considered a controversial take, and you could hear the collective “Oh no you didn’t!” from people everywhere straight out of your screen. You also knew someone from the past era will fire back. It didn’t take long. Magic Johnson got deep in his feelings:

NBA oldheads just can’t help themselves. For a generation that prides itself on being tough-minded, they struggle to let anything go. Even worse, Magic chose the weakest angle possible. They haven’t had a back-and-forth yet and he already pulled out the ‘rings’ card.

You can poke holes in Edwards’s comments. We could say that a young, rising star like him should remain respectful to the greats that paved the way. Sure. I totally agree.

However, what does championships have to do with what he said? Do you have to be an NBA champion to know that the game and its players develop over time? There are things where extensive knowledge is needed before you can make any remark. Noticing the progression of basketball skills isn’t one of them.

Further, disagreeing with Edwards is pretty much saying that the game and coaching went backwards. That is virtually impossible. The knowledge of coaches and trainers expand through the years, so do their ways in helping guys hone their craft, which is the same reason why the 90s and 80s guys became more skilled versions of the prior eras.

It’s actually one of the most interesting things in sports: it’s constantly moving forward, and you just watch as more and more players have a more expanded game. It’s a cycle and goes on and on, one generation to another. Couple that with the advancement in technology, equipment, nutrition, and whatnot, and what you’ll get is a wave of hoopers who are more skilled than the ones that came before them. About 15-20 years from now, we’ll likely see another wave who would put today’s stars to sleep with how different their skillsets are.

Others often argue that “Well if Magic Johnson and the older guys had today’s technology, they would be better!” Sure, that’s possible, but at the end of the day, it’s only an assumption. We can assume virtually anything. We can assume they had it easier because they didn’t experience the pressure of social media and a wider media coverage.

Further unpacking what Ant said

Notice how Edwards said “they always say” – keyword always. That’s because it has been something that’s thrown around every time for more than a decade now, likely longer. One Redditor put it nicely in a recent Reddit thread about this very issue:

“[Edwards’ comment] is a result of old heads going on tv for years and blatantly hating on the current generation of players

For years players would just politely dismiss it, but you can tell among themselves in private they hate that shit, now you have guys like Ant who don’t give a fuck and shoots back, now these old heads are offended when they never checked their peers who were hating.”

It’s not just oldheads too. Go on YouTube and find Michael Jordan or ‘Bad Boy’ Detroit Pistons videos. Look under the comments, and you will most likely find someone saying a variation of the following:

“The 1980s and 1990s were more physical.”

“Player X would not have lasted in this era.”

“Michael Jordan would’ve averaged 50 points in today’s game.”

“Players today don’t play defense.”

But yeah, such claims are not exclusive among fans and pundits. NBA greats and retired vets love to remind their supposed superiority whenever they can.

Here’s Dennis Rodman saying his Chicago Bulls teams would’ve easily beaten the Kevin Durant-powered Golden State Warriors:

Here’s Vlade Divac saying Jordan would’ve averaged 80 points in today’s game:

“If you had Jordan in todays’ NBA, he would be averaging 80 points per game because of the rules. Then you can compare who is the best. The rules have changed, there is no physical contact, no hard game, no focused defense.”

Those are just two quick samples out of a long list.

That’s all fine and good at a certain amount, but if you constantly hear about such things every day over and over again, with others being really absurd, you have to expect that the youngsters will throw something back at some point.

Also, people make it seem like the 80s/90s were so rugged and scary, when you can easily find clips with this type of defense:

Now, of course, you can’t summarize an era in a few clips. Having said that, what we see above is still not consistent with the way nostalgic 90s/80s fans have raved about the era’s defense every single time they can. You would think players were being clobbered every time they go through the lane, or that the lateral movement and technique is second to none. Wrong.

In fact, the 90s/80s-level physicality can be argued as laziness. Here’s their basic approach: “Oh my man got past me? We’ll just clothesline him.” That’s not basketball, nor in any shape or form cool. That’s bush league, a poor type of “defense” that sets the game back.

The “no defense” myth in today’s game

People see high scores, a crazy amount of three-pointers, and multiple 50-point games and simplify it with the idea that teams just don’t play defense, as if it’s that simple, and as if we see defenders just standing around letting their opponents score.

It’s mostly about pace and the evolution of skill. More players are more skilled inside and out, and you need to cover more space in order to defend well. You can’t just clog the lane because the shooters will kill you, and by “shooters,” it’s usually all five these days. The Chris Dudleys and Tyrone Hills of the world, for example, A.K.A guys who have little-to-no offensive ability, and are just there to wait in the shaded lane, are close to extinction. Today, if you’re going to be that guy, you need to be a shooter and/or passer too, or maybe have some ability to put the ball on the floor, or at least be quick enough to defend the five-out offense.

In the end…

Of course, in all actuality, you can’t compare eras because every era is different. However, it’s just not going to stop because players, fans, and the media all believe in strengthening whatever argument they have, and however you try to express it, you just tend to discredit one era to uplift the other. It’s tough, but it is what it is.

Johnson certainly isn’t the only one to take offense to Edwards’ words. Kevin Garnett was also unhappy and didn’t mince words in his response.