Back In The Day NBA

NBA Champion Says Oscar Robertson Could Not Play In Today's Game

Shandel Richardson

February 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NBA great Oscar Robertson is honored for being selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team during halftime in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
February 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NBA great Oscar Robertson is honored for being selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team during halftime in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Present versus the past is one of the biggest NBA discussions.

Yesterday's stars feel they are better than today's. And vice versa.

It's rare for an old-school player to give credit to the new generation. Former player Jason Williams is the exception. During a podcast appearance with ex-player Stephen Jackson, Williams said the game has changed too much nowadays for the past to compete.


"All these older players were great but to me, the game has evolved," Williams said. "I think it's hard to compare these players. They were all great in their own way."

Melanie & Simpson : #nba #fyp #basketball #jasonwilliams #evolve #hoops #interview #podcast #nbapodcast #nbalegends #hooper

Posted by Melanie & Simpson on Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Williams played from 1998 to 2011. He won a championship with the Miami Heat in 2006. He buys into the argument of players being bigger, faster, stronger. It's not a knock against yesterday's stars but today's game is different.

He thinks players like John Stockton, Muggsy Bogues and Steve Kerr would struggling in today's game.

"Oscar Robertson is one of the greatest ever," Williams said. "He can't play today."

Williams is entitled to his opinion. Robertson was named one of the NBA's top 75 players because he was the first master of the triple-double. It's tough to say he couldn't play today but you have to respect Williams for stepping out of the box on this one.

It's probably best to leave alone the comparisons of today versus yesterday.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

Follow our coverage and updates on Facebook

X: @BackInTheDayNBA

Published
Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com