{"id":231351,"date":"2025-08-15T01:12:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T01:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/231351\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T01:12:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T01:12:13","slug":"utah-jazz-legend-john-stockton-delivers-sharp-criticism-of-todays-nba-players-calling-them-too-soft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/231351\/","title":{"rendered":"Utah Jazz legend John Stockton delivers sharp criticism of today\u2019s NBA players, calling them too soft"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the greatest guards in NBA history, Utah Jazz<\/a> legend John Stockton, played during one of the league\u2019s most physical eras. He regularly faced tougher opponents and a more intense style of play compared to today, and he believes the difference in intensity between eras is undeniable. Stockton knows it firsthand.<\/p>\n

The Hall of Famer recently stirred debate with his comments on The Maverick Approach podcast, describing the modern NBA as \u201csofter\u201d and taking aim at the league\u2019s growing acceptance of load management. Stockton questioned how this impacts the competitive spirit, pointing out that today\u2019s stars can take \u201c20 days off\u201d strictly for rest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think it\u2019s softer. You have guys that can take 20 days off, you know, what they call load management. Coming on, I\u2019m going to take a few weeks off, work off, you know. Well, who\u2019s going to feed us then? You know what I\u2019m saying?\u201d Stockton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys do it, and they\u2019re supposed to be examples, and the league allows it. I mean, load management, things like that, the salaries are off the charts. The style of play is\u2014you know\u2014these kids are talented, man. They can make shots.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"John<\/p>\n

Utah Jazz legend John Stockton<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd because they make shots, everybody thinks they should be taking them. And so, it\u2019s just boom, boom, throw it out. There\u2019s less strategy. There\u2019s less physicality. The safety, again\u2014kind of back to the COVID thing\u2014safety is more important than the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Not<\/p>\n

see also<\/p>\n

Not Stephen Curry: NBA stars on pace to make nearly $1 million per game in near future<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a hard-hitting critique that resonates with some fans. While teams today still employ offensive strategies, Stockton<\/a> believes the freedom given to nearly every player to shoot from deep has shifted the game away from the old \u201cspecialist\u201d roles that once defined certain positions.<\/p>\n

The truth is, the NBA is less physically punishing than it was in Stockton\u2019s playing days, but it has also reached unprecedented levels of skill and efficiency.<\/p>\n

When it comes to \u201cphysicality,\u201d there\u2019s a fine line between tough basketball and outright dangerous play. Stockton\u2019s NBA<\/a> era featured reckless fouls, cheap shots, and frequent fights\u2014moments that may have looked gritty but didn\u2019t necessarily elevate the game\u2019s quality.<\/p>\n

By eliminating unnecessary violence, today\u2019s teams have allowed players to focus more on skill, athleticism, and creativity, shifting the emphasis from intimidation to execution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the greatest guards in NBA history, Utah Jazz legend John Stockton, played during one of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":231352,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3785],"tags":[7,423,7011,6,422,427,3972],"class_list":{"0":"post-231351","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-utah-jazz","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-jazz","10":"tag-john-stockton","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-utah","13":"tag-utah-jazz","14":"tag-utahjazz"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115030127112207794","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}