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I think most thinking fans would admit that the overall skill level in the league is the highest it's ever been. The great players of the past would still be studs today-but the game has evolved, with more international players, better training/coaching/diet and overall "better" players.

But, I find the stars today hard to enjoy. Of course, there have always been prima donnas, but today's top players, on average, are hard to like.

Please vote for one of the options below-I want to see what people think is the SINGLE biggest reason why today's top players are hard to enjoy, compared to years ago (I started watching the NBA in '77, so I have seen all the modern stars play come and go).

I don't agree with all of these-I like that the players take political stands, for instance. For me, I think it's the overall society and social media. MJ was a HUGE ass, but people didn't know it when he started. Nowadays, he might still be the same electrifying player but we would know he was an ass-or he would hide it better.

It's a mix of so many things you listed.

I feel the opposite. There are a ton of very likable stars. Especially in the new generation of younger guys. League is in great hands.

For one, I think social media has played a big role. Plenty of players from past decades would have been viewed as more difficult/insufferable if they had the opportunity to voice every opinion of theirs at a moment's notice, and if everything they said was scrutinized as much as it is today in a 24/7 news cycle that thrives off drama. I think options 7 and 9 are the most relevant ones.

As far as the whole load management, "softness" trend, I blame the coaches/training staffs and organizations for that more so than the players, but it's the players who end up looking bad as a result.

Felt like it's always been the same.

There's not as many defensive specialists who had to fight their way into the league and certainly there is not many defensive intensity on the court. To some, that may make the game less enjoyable, but the quality of basketball has increased due the average player skill has improved.

Social media making players accessible 24/7 combined with the league getting woke

you probably dont remember how many old legends were hated for their on court antics or personality at the time, nostalgia and/or success smooths over a lot of rough edges

For me the #1 reason is the frequent switching teams to get easy championships. I accept this as a consolation prize for aging stars, but I hate it with stars in their prime. Switching to a super team should be an admission of not being good enough to be built around. If a team fails to put reasonable pieces around you, I don't mind giving up on that franchise and trying elsewhere, just don't go to a team already built to win. It is just taking the easy way.

#2 is because of knowing too much about players because of an over abundance of media and social media. As a kid in the 90s, most of my knowledge of players was what happened on the court. Now, we know tons about player's personal views and drama. Heck, I know more about Barkley's exploits from his playing days from info I have learned in the last 15 years than I did from when he was actually playing.

bisme37 wrote:I feel the opposite. There are ton of very likable stars. Especially in the new generation of younger guys. League is in great hands.

Agreed. I think if you find most players unlikable it says something more about your approach than it does the players. And I don't mean that as a criticism of the OP or anyone else. Some people have very high standards or are very nitpicky or just don't like people in general.

But I find I like the vast majority of people I encounter and only find a handful of NBA players unlikable. Right now my list is Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin, and I think that's basically it. So I'm just more of a people person I guess.

cant discount the fact that social media and forums like these have made it impossible to simply enjoy the game without some fans ruining things for others to a much greater extent than in the past.

refs suck, players are soft...but fans are soft too.

I really don't like how they're all friends off the court. Makes the whole league feel like pro wrestling.

7, all day.

If there's something not to like about a player, it's going to come out. Similarly, if there's something harmless about a player that can be spun in way to make that player seem unlikable, people on social media and message boards and sports shows will go hard with that spin.

They're not hard to like or dislike if you don't put athletes(or any celebrities for that matter) on a pedestal. I take sports for what it is, entertainment and nothing else. At the end of the day we don't know these people and have no relationship with them at all so its hard to feel anyway about them unless they've done truly despicable things when they're not entertaining us.

Easily 3. 8 would have been my second choice.

I think it’s primarily the fans, not the stars

Social media and boards like this one allow people express their feelings, and those feelings are often angry ones, and dissect minute details about players lives and careers that never happened 25 years ago. Jordan would be far less popular playing in today’s NBA.

People are harder to like, now that everyone comments on everything on the internet.

I think they're easier to like. Really just depends on what you're paying afternoon to.

Giannis
Jokic
Embiid
PG
Curry
Dame
Ball

These guys are pretty easy to root for.

I do think some blame/responsibility should go to KD/LBJ as the top two (Kawhi can be added in). The hate came with good reason. It’s not like other sports fwiw less moving around doing whatever you like sort of deal.

I find myself not liking the vast majority of today’s stars. It probably has to do with being older. As much as I like LeBron, I probably wouldn’t like him as much if I had been my current age (27) when he came into the league instead of how old I actually was (9). We have way more access to stars than we did 20+ years ago, so we can more clearly see what they’re like.

anyone who said 3 or 7 needs a reality check lol