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The comparison of current and past NBA players has been an ongoing conversation. During an interview on the “Stoney & Jansen Show” on May 25, Los Angeles Lakers legend and Hall of Famer, James Worthy, was asked to weigh in on the current state of the NBA, particularly the increased volume of three-pointers that teams are taking. It is safe to say that Worthy thinks the current NBA is a lackluster product.
“I mean, Kareem had four years with John Wooden, Michael Jordan and I had three years with Dean Smith, Isiah (Thomas) had some years with Bobby Knight. So, you learned the fundamentals,” Worthy said during an appearance on the “Stoney & Jansen Show”. “Not only that, you learned how to live. You learned how to balance your freaking checkbook in college, there are a lot of things. When you don’t get that, guys are coming to the NBA who are not fundamentally sound. All they do is practice threes, lift weights, get tattoos, tweet, and go on social media. That’s it.”
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Kevin Durant Responds to James Worthy’s Criticism
Kevin Durant is widely viewed by many as the best basketball player in the world today. As a two-time champion and a two-time Finals MVP, he is often compared to past all-time great NBA players. So naturally, the Brooklyn Nets star had to respond to the Laker Legend’s criticisms of today’s superstars.
“My middy is sharp, but James is right, this ain’t the old days lol,” Durant said via his Twitter account on May 26.
Worthy Thinks NBA ‘Big 3’ No Longer a Winning Formula
When the Nets completed a blockbuster trade to bring former NBA Most Valuable Player James Harden to Brooklyn in 2021, they had their eyes set on being the NBA’s next great dynasty with their newly established ‘Big 3’. But turmoil consumed the Nets locker room with Kevin Durant’s injury and Kyrie Irving’s absence, and eventually, Harden forced his way out of Brooklyn via a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The ‘Big 3’ of Harden, Irving, and Durant ended up only playing 16 games together. Worthy believes that superstar trios are now a thing of the past as it has proven to not be a winning formula as of late.
“You look at Memphis, you look at the way Boston is playing right now, you look at the way Milwaukee has built a team over time. We need to create players that have cohesiveness. We had it a couple of years ago and we traded it all away to try to win, to try to match what Brooklyn was doing and what other teams were doing with their Big Three players,” Worthy said when speaking about the current state of the Los Angeles Lakers on the “Stoney & Jansen Show”.
“ I think that’s going to go away. That’s an illusion, having the Big Three. You see what happened in Brooklyn, you see what happened with the Lakers. Even though everyone experienced injuries, you still should be playing better and you should definitely be in the playoffs. So, the Lakers — it’s embarrassing and it’s unacceptable.”
The Nets will be putting another ‘Big 3’ on the floor to start next season, this time with Durant, Kyrie, and Ben Simmons. It will be interesting to see if they can sway the narrative by delivering a title to Brooklyn.
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