Channing Frye: Nostalgia is KILLING the NBA. 90s basketball era with MJ and Kobe was not as clean as you think.

[FrobeBryant]

Instead of criticizing how the general NBA fan feels about the NBA, maybe they should take note and make adjustments accordingly. Hate these talking heads telling people how they should feel about the sport. No amount of shaming is going to change people's opinions.

[sashaturiaf]

Nah the NBA has jumped the shark and is overproduced sports entertainment.

I can type out many reasons why it is, but I'll just say Doncic trade and keep it at that.

[ScrantonBulls]

Nah the NBA has jumped the shark and is overproduced sports entertainment.

I can type out many reasons why it is, but I'll just say Doncic trade and keep it at that.

Sure you can, son

[165bows]

Not even watching the video and I kinda agree

I was raised in the 80s & 90s. Lived through the Golden years so I overstand the nostalgia but it's time to move on. Most raised in that era don't realize how redundantly corny they sound crying about the old NBA. I was one of those then I stopped and started to embrace the new era.

I'm just hear for overstand, wish I had thought of that first!!!

[boomershadow]

I watched 90s basketball, and it wasn't as good as people remember. The highlights were good, but there were random Wednesday night games in February that you could tell the players were tired for just like today.

The three point shot critics don't remember watching people brick long 2s.

The thing you didn't have to watch then was the Harden/Embid style flopping. I dont know who could enjoy that.

[YogurtProducer]

Guys now are incredible, but they don’t care as much as MJ & Kobe did. Kobe was out there giving 110% effort in damn All Star games. MJ took every slight that was said about him personally, and avenged every single one of them.

You are kidding yourself if you think MJ and Kobe cared more than others. Kobe and MJ were straight up d-bags who due to not coming up in the social media era have been able to market that as "caring".

You think LBJ "doesnt care" when the dude spends $1m+ a year to keep his body right? If he didnt care, why would he play into his 40s with generational wealth locked up?

You seriously think Giannis doesnt care? Or Curry? or any other great player in the league?

All because they don't try in an exhibition game lol

James continues to play because he's on a mission to eclipse Jordan's accomplishments which he'll never do. He can't stand being second. As you mentioned, he has generational weath, so why bother otherwise?

Sent from my SM-F936U using RealGM mobile app

He cant stand being 2nd, so that must mean he cares? Right?

[tsherkin]

Yeah, there's a lot of accuracy to what he said. And as others have noted ITT, we romanticize the past and dwell in our nostalgia perpetually, this isn't new. The difference is the persistent coverage we have now, and the negativity in the media, etc.

[Tor_Raps]

I disagree... someone from the 90s wouldn't have said this.

[phanman]

Guys now are incredible, but they don’t care as much as MJ & Kobe did. Kobe was out there giving 110% effort in damn All Star games. MJ took every slight that was said about him personally, and avenged every single one of them.

You are kidding yourself if you think MJ and Kobe cared more than others. Kobe and MJ were straight up d-bags who due to not coming up in the social media era have been able to market that as "caring".

You think LBJ "doesnt care" when the dude spends $1m+ a year to keep his body right? If he didnt care, why would he play into his 40s with generational wealth locked up?

You seriously think Giannis doesnt care? Or Curry? or any other great player in the league?

All because they don't try in an exhibition game lol

James continues to play because he's on a mission to eclipse Jordan's accomplishments which he'll never do. He can't stand being second. As you mentioned, he has generational weath, so why bother otherwise?

Sent from my SM-F936U using RealGM mobile app

Because he is still pretty friggin good at basketball? Why does there have to have some ulterior motive other than playing the game he loves? Especially with him being able to share a locker room with his son and the one marquee star that he has heaped praised towards even before they became teammates.

Meh, I just see a former player venting and I like Channing. The reason why guys get compared to MJ is because he is THE Gold Standard. I actually disagree, you should be proud that someone is willing to throw your name with Jordan because that usually means your doing something right/good. The same way that anything to do with scoring is compared to Wilt, or passing with Magic, it should be a badge of honor to get mentioned alongside the ATGs.

In regards to wanting to be the face of the league, this isn't something that you just decide to get/it. It gets appointed to you by the league, players, media etc. You really don't have a choice in the matter unless you really don't care to take partake in everything required off the court like Jokic is now or Duncan in the past.

[jbk1234]

SGA, Luka, and Jokic are plenty like Jordan and Kobe. Trouble with Luka and Jokic is they're not about the fanfare and personality cults, and that's a big problem for a league built on superstar personalities.

Maybe that changes with Luka in LA. But I think the league should really lean in to SGA. I think this postseason is going to be his coming out party.

I don't think the league should lean into any player. It only breeds resentment when they're officiated differently. Let the players play. The best players, and Shai certainly qualifies, don't need boosting.

[levon]

SGA, Luka, and Jokic are plenty like Jordan and Kobe. Trouble with Luka and Jokic is they're not about the fanfare and personality cults, and that's a big problem for a league built on superstar personalities.

Maybe that changes with Luka in LA. But I think the league should really lean in to SGA. I think this postseason is going to be his coming out party.

I don't think the league should lean into any player. It only breeds resentment when they're officiated differently. Let the players play. The best players, and Shai certainly qualifies, don't need boosting.

I didn't say officiate them differently, I meant marketing.

[Snakebites]

Instead of criticizing how the general NBA fan feels about the NBA, maybe they should take note and make adjustments accordingly. Hate these talking heads telling people how they should feel about the sport. No amount of shaming is going to change people's opinions.

If you felt “shamed” by what he said that’s a you problem. They guy is just expressing his point of view about the state of the league and especially about the discourse surrounding it.

And a lot of the talking heads express the point of views Frye is criticizing here. The talking heads by and large are on YOUR side, not Channing's. And that's an issue given how much of the narrative they have control over. An no, not all “general” NBA fans want the league to head in the direction 90s nostalgia folks would send it in if given their way.

[jbk1234]

SGA, Luka, and Jokic are plenty like Jordan and Kobe. Trouble with Luka and Jokic is they're not about the fanfare and personality cults, and that's a big problem for a league built on superstar personalities.

Maybe that changes with Luka in LA. But I think the league should really lean in to SGA. I think this postseason is going to be his coming out party.

I don't think the league should lean into any player. It only breeds resentment when they're officiated differently. Let the players play. The best players, and Shai certainly qualifies, don't need boosting.

I didn't say officiate them differently, I meant marketing.

The one follows the other.

[nikster]

Nah the NBA has jumped the shark and is overproduced sports entertainment.

I can type out many reasons why it is, but I'll just say Doncic trade and keep it at that.

Sure you can, son

And if we're comparing to 2000s, both Shaq and Kobe forced there way to LA

[OriginalRed]

He's absolutely correct. The perception of Kobe and MJ has been wildly skewed too. Kobe quit on his team in the playoffs, and Jordan quit the league twice to rest.

Not only that the load management narrative the media focuses on is so overblown now. It's only attributed to Kawhi and Embiid when it's talked about, and never mentioned that stars like SGA, Ant, Jokic, Lebron, Tatum, Brunson, are practically always available.

He quit the league to rest... by playing another professional sport?

[levon]

I don't think the league should lean into any player. It only breeds resentment when they're officiated differently. Let the players play. The best players, and Shai certainly qualifies, don't need boosting.

I didn't say officiate them differently, I meant marketing.

The one follows the other.

No it doesn't. Also, marketing isn't incompatible with letting guys play. Nobody would be banning Jokic or Luka from playing basketball, but if they're not interested in promoting the game, then feature guys at their level who are.

[Homer38]

Guys now are incredible, but they don’t care as much as MJ & Kobe did. Kobe was out there giving 110% effort in damn All Star games. MJ took every slight that was said about him personally, and avenged every single one of them.

You are kidding yourself if you think MJ and Kobe cared more than others. Kobe and MJ were straight up d-bags who due to not coming up in the social media era have been able to market that as "caring".

You think LBJ "doesnt care" when the dude spends $1m+ a year to keep his body right? If he didnt care, why would he play into his 40s with generational wealth locked up?

You seriously think Giannis doesnt care? Or Curry? or any other great player in the league?

All because they don't try in an exhibition game lol

James continues to play because he's on a mission to eclipse Jordan's accomplishments which he'll never do. He can't stand being second. As you mentioned, he has generational weath, so why bother otherwise?

Sent from my SM-F936U using RealGM mobile app

He also continue to play because he can still play at a high level,like all-nba level likely for him once again this year...This is very hard to do at 40 years old and 22nd season in the league....

[Karate Diop]

Frye taking shots, I love it. The Jordan Jockers hate it, but watch any random regular season 90's games - the defense was abysmal. There's so much standing around it's funny.

[7seventynine9]

I watched 90s basketball, and it wasn't as good as people remember. The highlights were good, but there were random Wednesday night games in February that you could tell the players were tired for just like today.

The three point shot critics don't remember watching people brick long 2s.

The thing you didn't have to watch then was the Harden/Embid style flopping. I dont know who could enjoy that.

There was still flopping though. There's also 10+ less FTs per game nowadays than in the 90s. The end of games back then was just as bad or worse. Not to mention, for awhile if you got fouled shooting a 3, you'd only get 2 FTs. It really took a lot out of the end game when a team could just follow if they were up 3.

[bkkrh]

He's not wrong. There are still plenty of old heads here from the beginning on RealGm and let me tell you, the discourse around the NBA in the early 00s had a similar level of doomerism with how objectively awful offense was vs the Jordan era. There is a group of people that simply cannot appreciate anything current in basketball (or life), they can only enjoy things drenched in the rosy sheen of nostalgia. People who cry that LeBron/KD/Steph/etc... are frauds/overrated/etc.. are the people who will lecture us about how "they don't make players like LeBron anymore" this time a decade from now.

It. Has. Always. Been. This. Way.

Literally since I started watching in the 80s everybody always moans and whines about the NBA. It will NEVER END.

Yeah, started in the early 90s and started reading Basketball magazines around 93/94. Some topics I still remember:

- Basketball is dead without MJ
- Slam dunk contest is boring and sucks
- Young players are selfish after Chris Webber cancelled his contract with the Warriors after one season
- Young players just care about the money and the NBA is ruining itself with it´s contracts, after the 94-95 draft class had received record contracts in amount and duration
- Slam dunk contest sucks even worse now
- Young players care too much about stardom and being a celebrity, instead of focusing on Basketball
- Teams are scoring less and less, we need to make it easier to score
- Basketball is boring because of the Bulls
- The 98/99 lockout has caused long term damage to the league, fans are fed up, popularity is in a free fall
- NBA teams drafting High School players is ruining the league
- Basketball is boring because of the Lakers
- NBA teams drafting soft Europeans is ruining the league
- The Malice at the palace will have a negative long term impact on the league
- Small market teams dominating while the Lakers, Knicks and Celtics are irrelevant is ruining the league
- Basketball is boring because of the boring way the Spurs play with boring Tim Duncan, who has 0 star power
- After the 2006 Bronze Medal. US dominance is over, those young players just care about money
- The 2007 betting scandal will kill the league, the league has completely lost it's reputation
- Since Kobe was mentioned as a positive example, in internet culture from the mid 2000s to the early 2010s he was mostly viewed has a selfish player that takes too many shots, including endless "pass the ball" and "assist" memes on sides like 9Gag.

And I could continiue with that through the 2010s. And same goes for the 70s and 80s, when you hade cocaine scandals, Wilt talking about Kareem and MJ, MJ being viewed as a flashy stats guy but not a winner and so on.