OT: John Starks calls draymond green fake tough wouldn't handle 1990 era basketball

[HarthorneWingo]

John's right!

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[BLACKFEET 2010]

Not for nothing he’s a jerk but cut it out y’all. Lol
Draymond definitely coulda played in those days and he woulda been more wild than he is now. Lotta guys? Not a chance. Draymond woulda been Rodman. He’s a super smart player. His whole demeanor teeters on out of control and he’s as physical as they get.

A few guys that coulda players in those days:
Obviously Lebron, CP3...Embiid...(vintage) Melo...Lance Stephenson, Kemba..John Wall....real tough guys.
I definitely see Dray on that list.

And fun fact for those that don’t recall:
Reggie Miller washed up Kobe before.
Lol had him on the scorers table IIRC

[egelband]

I don't wanna hear it. All the stuff they let skinny Reggie Miller get away with especially when he came to the Garden but somehow Draymond Green wouldn't be able to be who he is in that era. Sure the 90s had more physicality and the Knicks were one of the tougher teams back then but still guys like Pippen would bully them. Rodman was allowed to be who he was, Barkley was allowed to be who he was, why would Draymond not be allowed to be who he was? Even Kevin Garnett might have caught a few more Anthony Peeler type of elbows back in the day but he would still be who he is.

REGGIE had a big mouth but, never tired to play the tough guy. He was a bean pole and they might have killed him if the connected. Dray tries to play the tough guy and will troll you mercilessly. The 1st time he looked sideways at Oak, He have been smacked like he did Barkley and/or yoked up like he did Pippen.

I met Mase a few times in Baisley Park in Queens before he got drafted. He would have gotten into it with him in practice just to see if he was real.

You mean like how he "smacked" Barkley here?

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Looks like the only one who got smacked up was Oakley

Barkley scampered to the floor exceptionally quickly. He wanted none of that.

[egelband]

you are conflating

I didn't say no one from todays era could thrive under those rules

i agreed that Draymond would have been challenged for his big mouth and questionably dirty play but the many enforcers of the day

You keep missing my point. The only reason you are even calling them "enforces" is because the rules back then allowed more physical play. How many of these "enforcers" would exist in today's NBA? There is a reason that a guy like Ivan Johnson couldn't last in the NBA because he lacked much skill. Back in the day he would have been a rotation player but today's NBA requires more skill than physical toughness. On what team would Oakley even be a starter on in today's NBA?

Oak couldn't create his own shot but I would say he was def skilled. Dude was an excellent rebounder despite no lift. Due to perfect execution of positioning and boxing out.

He also had a MONEY midrange jumpshot.

He was also an underrated passer and loved to start the break by advancing the ball off the rebound with a quick outlet pass upcourt. You had to live with the occasional bonehead pass but it came with the territory.

Lastly, I believe that hustle is a skill and Oak had that in bundles. Dude would throw his body around and all over the floor diving for loose balls, crashing into the stands, etc.

Well said. That Oakley jumper was money. Like the Ewing fadeaway. And those football passes for easy layups. Or they’d bing a cameraman. But that’s a different story...

[Cookies4Life]

I don't think it's fair for Starks to make that statement Who knows how tough Draymond actually is, NBA players don't fight like they used to back in the 80's and 90's.

I grew up in that era and I remember guys throwing punches and only getting suspended for a game and maybe a 500 dollar fine. It's amazing how times have changed.

I will say though, if Green tried some of his antics back than (kicking people, screaming in guys faces,) he would've had many opportunities to find out how tough he really is because there would've been plenty of people swinging at him. Oakley, Ewing, Cummings, Barkley, Malone (both Karl and Moses,) Xavier Mcdaniel, Laimbeer, Mahorn, Anthony Mason. I'm sure I'm missing a great deal of guys who were known to throw down in the snap of a finger.

[NYKAL]

REGGIE had a big mouth but, never tired to play the tough guy. He was a bean pole and they might have killed him if the connected. Dray tries to play the tough guy and will troll you mercilessly. The 1st time he looked sideways at Oak, He have been smacked like he did Barkley and/or yoked up like he did Pippen.

I met Mase a few times in Baisley Park in Queens before he got drafted. He would have gotten into it with him in practice just to see if he was real.

You mean like how he "smacked" Barkley here?

Watch on YouTube

Looks like the only one who got smacked up was Oakley

Barkley scampered to the floor exceptionally quickly. He wanted none of that.

NOPE. It was during a players association meeting. Lots of players were there, Oak walked over to Charles and smacked the blank out of him.

[Butch718]

I will say one thing, Starks would have loved playing in this current era. He would be jacking up 3's like crazy.

[Butch718]

Man I love the toughness of the game back then, but the quality of the game has gone up significantly. Players are more skilled today. I want today’s game with more dunks, if that were possible. But all of you acting like the 90s was some golden era of basketball need to stop it. This ain’t hip hop.

It was the golden era for me because there were actually rivalries. Teams genuinely disliked each other. The game was sloppier, and the pace was slower, but I enjoyed the competitive nature of the league back then.

The Cavs and Warriors have met 4 times in the past 4 years and there's no real animosity between the two teams.

The league is just built differently these days.

[N8isScofield]

Nobody can tell me that Draymond would survive kicking an Oakley or Coleman in the nuts. Nah. We would be watching a very different Draymond Green in the 90s.

[2010]

lol

artest wasnt terrified of ****

psychos arent terrified.

artest was actually just trying to keep calm. there is no middle ground for people like him. he sees a fukin therapist and i wouldnt be surprised if he sees an psychiatrist. dude is legit crazy. at that point in his life, he either snaps or he doesnt. that's why he went to go lie down on the table and put the headphones on. he tried to calm himself but eventually lost it and snapped

artest is from the hood. nobody from the hood is terrified of an nba "fight"

Facts

[2010]

I don't think it's fair for Starks to make that statement Who knows how tough Draymond actually is, NBA players don't fight like they used to back in the 80's and 90's.

I grew up in that era and I remember guys throwing punches and only getting suspended for a game and maybe a 500 dollar fine. It's amazing how times have changed.

I will say though, if Green tried some of his antics back than (kicking people, screaming in guys faces,) he would've had many opportunities to find out how tough he really is because there would've been plenty of people swinging at him. Oakley, Ewing, Cummings, Barkley, Malone (both Karl and Moses,) Xavier Mcdaniel, Laimbeer, Mahorn, Anthony Mason. I'm sure I'm missing a great deal of guys who were known to throw down in the snap of a finger.

Spoiler:

Vernon Maxwell

[Synciere]

Man I love the toughness of the game back then, but the quality of the game has gone up significantly. Players are more skilled today. I want today’s game with more dunks, if that were possible. But all of you acting like the 90s was some golden era of basketball need to stop it. This ain’t hip hop.

It was the golden era for me because there were actually rivalries. Teams genuinely disliked each other. The game was sloppier, and the pace was slower, but I enjoyed the competitive nature of the league back then.

The Cavs and Warriors have met 4 times in the past 4 years and there's no real animosity between the two teams.

The league is just built differently these days.

No animosity but are you really going to stipulate that the Cavs and Warriors haven’t had one of the greatest rivalries in the history of the game? Lebron defeating the greatest regular season team (even more so than the 72-10 Bulls because it wasn’t an expansion year) after coming back from 3–1? The addition of Durant? Lebron’s eight straight trips to the Finals? That’s not worthy to you?

The game WAS sloppier and slower, tougher too... But to say that this era isn’t better is based in nostalgia, and not facts... Animosity isn’t some precursor or requirement to better ball or better rivalries. Skills and quality are.

[EchelonNYK]

I don't know man. I could definitely see Green getting under the skin of some of the players from the 90's.

[Synciere]

I don't know man. I could definitely see Green getting under the skin of some of the players from the 90's.

It’s like we’re programmed to think everything from the 90s were better, regardless of facts, eye test, or intangibles... Players like Lebron or Greencould play in ANY era... You don’t/didn’t have to be Oakley to play back then either...

[Cookies4Life]

I don't think it's fair for Starks to make that statement Who knows how tough Draymond actually is, NBA players don't fight like they used to back in the 80's and 90's.

I grew up in that era and I remember guys throwing punches and only getting suspended for a game and maybe a 500 dollar fine. It's amazing how times have changed.

I will say though, if Green tried some of his antics back than (kicking people, screaming in guys faces,) he would've had many opportunities to find out how tough he really is because there would've been plenty of people swinging at him. Oakley, Ewing, Cummings, Barkley, Malone (both Karl and Moses,) Xavier Mcdaniel, Laimbeer, Mahorn, Anthony Mason. I'm sure I'm missing a great deal of guys who were known to throw down in the snap of a finger.

Spoiler:

Vernon Maxwell

I knew I was missing some guys, and Vernon is definitely one of them! There was definitely something a little off with that guy upstairs.

I don't think they did full psychiatric evaluations on players coming into the league back in the 80's; some of those guys seemed a bit off. Almost every team had at least one goon on the roster. Even the "nice" guys in the league got in their fair share of fights- guys like Stockton (he was a little pitbull,) Larry Bird and Dr J.

I first started watching basketball when the Pistons and Lakers were going at it in the late 80's. Half the time it didn't seem like Detroit was even playing basketball out there. That was a very physical team, probably a crazier bunch of guys than the early 90 Knicks.

[alwaysaknick]

“Draymond is just wild,” Starks said. “It’s good that he’s that way. But believe me, Draymond, back in the day, would probably have gotten checked real quick for his antics.”

He went on to speak more on Green, and how the players from the 1990s would test him.




“See back then, guys are gonna test you,” said Starks. “They’re not gonna be like talking, talking, talking. Those big guys are gonna test you and see how tough you really are, but they can’t do that nowadays.”

“So, Draymond can get away with it. It’s no knock against him because what he does is keep his teammates in games. I’ve watched him get on Kevin Durant after he let J.R. [Smith] come up with that rebound and you need a guy like that. You know, he’s good for a team and times are different.”
https://warriorswire.usatoday.com/2018/07/09/john-starks-draymond-green-would-have-gotten-checked-1990s/

Can't agree more with Starks.