Former All-Star Guard Slams Lack of 'Creativity' With Current NBA Players

Matt Levine | Nov 28, 2024

Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Over the last decade, the NBA has seen a shift in how the game is played. There is now a massive emphasis on 3-point shooting, with more teams taking more shots from beyond the arch than ever before.

Most players have adopted this new shooting approach and it's made for some interesting results on court. However, some former players aren't fans of it and have spoken out against this change.

Former NBA champion BJ Armstrong appeared on The Hoop Genius Podcast and gave his thoughts on the subject. The former All-Star called out the NBA players in this current era for lacking the creativity needed.

"Now we hear NBA executives, personnel, coaches, analytic people, presidents of teams, general managers of teams tell me to my face, they look at me with a straight face and they say the following: 'A two-point shot is a bad shot.' A two-point shot is a bad shot now. 'I've made it! I'm shooting 60%!' 'Well, it's a bad shot, we only want three shots: we want the corner threes, we want layups, or we want to get to the free-throw line.' I don't understand," he said.

"When I go watch the game, there's no more creativity, there's no more imagination. It's just that we have basically robots running up and down the court. You run to the three-point line, I run to the three-point line. First, I try to get a layup. If I can't get a layup, I try to get fouled."

The Golden State Warriors were among the first NBA organizations to fully embrace this new modern style of the game. Behind star point guard Steph Curry, Golden State revolutionized the way that the league is played nowadays.

At times, there is a lack of physicality in games that helped define the league. Armstrong isn't the only former player to speak out, former center Shaquille O'Neal provided his thoughts on the matter too.

“It’s down because we’re looking at the same thing,” O’Neal said. “Everybody is running the same plays…Steph Curry and those guys messed it up. I don’t mind Golden State back in the day shooting threes, but every team isn’t a 3-point shooter. So why everybody has the same strategy? I think it makes the game boring.”

No matter what former players think, the 3-point shot is here to stay. The modern NBA is still popular and it doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon.

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