"You guys are not stupid. I'm not stupid" - When LeBron James caught flak for suggesting shrinking the NBA to make it more like in 1980s

“You guys are not stupid. I’m not stupid” – When LeBron James caught flak for suggesting shrinking the NBA to make it more like in 1980s originally appeared on Basketball Network.

LeBron James was born in 1984 — too young to experience the NBA’s electrifying 1980s firsthand, often called basketball’s Golden Age.

However, James isn’t just an unbelievable player — he’s also a relentless student of the game, having immersed himself in that era and learning everything there is to know.

During his studies, he developed a genuine admiration for that era, which he made clear in 2010. At the time, the reigning MVP said he wished the league felt more like the ’80s and even proposed a controversial idea to help revive that spirit.

Consolidate the talent

Today, NBA expansion — whether it’s Seattle’s comeback or Las Vegas’ first franchise — dominates headlines. But back in 2010, one of the league’s biggest stars had a radically different take.

James, then with the Miami Heat, argued for contraction — a sharp contrast to expansion.

Speaking before the NBA Christmas games that year, he shared his vision: consolidating talent by moving star players from weaker to stronger teams, effectively streamlining the league.

“Imagine if you could take Kevin Love off Minnesota and add him to another team and shrink the league,” said James, per ESPN.

The reigning MVP offered another example: moving Brook Lopez or Devin Harris off the struggling New Jersey Nets and adding them “to a team that could be really good.”

For context, Kevin Love’s Timberwolves had finished the previous campaign with a 15–67 record, while Lopez and Harris’s Nets ended at 12–70. Despite their individual talent, all three players missed the playoffs that year — a disappointing outcome by any measure.

James wrapped up his proposal by insisting he wasn’t suggesting the league should eliminate teams like New Jersey or Minnesota. But the implication was hard to miss.

“You guys are not stupid,” he told the media. “I’m not stupid, it would be great for the league.”

Watered down?

Several factors shaped LeBron’s radical proposal.

For one, a clear trend was emerging: new franchises often struggled to gain traction, frequently ending up among a cluster of weaker teams. This widened the competitive gap across the league, which hurt overall fan interest and led to declining TV ratings.

Today’s NBA, which hasn’t seen back-to-back champions in multiple years, is more balanced. But at the time of LeBron’s comments, the league was sharply divided and dominated by so-called dynasties. For instance, in the 2000s, the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs combined to win eight of the first 11 titles.

The 1980s were similar, with the Showtime Lakers and the iconic Boston Celtics leading the way. Yet, as the 2004 Rookie of the Year pointed out, every team back then was stacked with talent and didn’t have to hide from those powerhouses.

James said that with that kind of setup, “almost every game” was “anticipated,” and that’s what made the era “so great.”

“You had three or four all-stars, three or four superstars, three or four Hall of Famers on the same team,” he explained, adding that the 1980s NBA “wasn’t as watered down as it is today.”

Another major factor behind James’ push for contraction was his own situation.

Just months earlier, he and Chris Bosh had left struggling, title-less franchises — the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors — to form a superstar trio in Miami.

While controversial, The Chosen One insisted that rather than watching elite players fade away on losing teams, consolidating talent — as the Heat had done — was the best way to reignite the fierce competition of the 1980s.

“How can it be bad for basketball when you have guys who want to win playing on the same team?” he asked.

Contraction controversy

James’ push for reform wasn’t subtle — and the backlash came just as loud.

When he floated the idea of redistributing talent, it sounded suspiciously like a call for contraction. The subtext? Teams like Minnesota or New Jersey might be better off folded, with their best players — Love, Lopez, Harris — moved to actual contenders.

Naturally, the blowback came fast. As reported, then-Nets coach Avery Johnson didn’t entertain it, and Derek Fisher, who was president of the players’ union, called the comments “surprising.”

Sensing the blowback, James backpedaled fast.

Days later, he claimed the message had been twisted — even saying he didn’t know what “contraction” meant until he read it online.

“I never even mentioned that,” the future Hall of Famer remarked. “That word never even came out of my mouth. I was just saying how the league was back in the ’80s and how it could be good again. I never said, ‘Let’s take some of the teams out.'”

In all fairness, James had a point. Fans want legit players on the biggest stage — not buried on 15-win teams.

But his vision — or at least the way he framed it — had a blind spot: if you strip those teams for parts, what happens to the franchise, the city, the fans? What’s the fair outcome?

Yes, the NBA icon didn’t outright call for those teams to be abolished, but when he talked about “shrinking the league,” his intentions were pretty clear.

Ultimately, before pitching bold ideas like that, it’s best to think them through completely — and be precise when you put them out there.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 24, 2025, where it first appeared.

“You guys are not stupid. I’m not stupid” – When LeBron James caught flak for suggesting shrinking the NBA to make it more like in 1980s

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