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TNT’s flagship Inside the NBA – starring Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny “The Jet” Smith – is absolutely entertaining and well produced. It just hasn’t provided quality, thoughtful NBA analysis in years – it’s the ultimate “Get Off My Lawn” basketball show at this point.
Current NBA players bristle there.
You can see that in LeBron James and Kevin Durant’s Instagram comments on Friday, following Shaq telling Donovan Mitchell he wasn’t good enough in an exit interview where Mitchell lost 36 in the seventh win. consecutive Utah.
This exchange between Shaq and Spida 👀
(via @nbaontnt) pic.twitter.com/tiNRhn7ofZ
– Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 22, 2021
After that, @CuffsTheLegend posted on Instagram asking why players don’t take constructive criticism well from older players, and LeBron James and Kevin Durant intervened.
Bron and KD told a real truth about @CuffsTheLegend IG message from earlier pic.twitter.com/DSrug4QdZX
– Rod Bridgers (@rod_bridgers) January 22, 2021
During: “These old heads must enjoy their retirement. These boys have trainers that they work with every day lol.
James: “There is, however, a difference between constructive criticism and soft hatred. I saw it coming back and forth at me, mostly hate. You can hear it in their delivery. “
LeBron is perfect here. What Shaq did wasn’t constructive criticism, it was call a guy. It was hating the modern player. Mitchell handled it perfectly.
Players today are generally good at receiving constructive criticism, and they’ll listen to former players turned coaches or mentors – NBA players (and WNBA players) went to work with Kobe Bryant for a reason. . They were given technique and mentality instruction, and it wasn’t Kobe trying to look better tearing up a guy on TV for support. It was genuine. Hakeem Olajuwon has been that guy for the grown-ups who want to improve footwork. There is a long list of other former players in the same role, they are not here to inflate or rank.
Inside the NBA it’s become a lot more than basketball, but when it turns to the league it’s too often aging superstar players looking for opportunities to bring players down. today, say how today’s game isn’t as good as it used to be, and brag about their own accolades (and rings) of the time. Shaq, Kenny and Charles are all-time greats, but they played in a different era – before teams could play zonal defenses (which changed after play), before teams focused on the value of the three, before the analytics took over, before the pace picked up again – and they haven’t changed over time.
It may resonate with some older fans (those who still have cable plans to watch TNT), but younger gamers and viewers are moving on.
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