Undoubtedly, basketball is the world’s most famous game. With those buzzer-beating treys, acrobatic layups and thunderous dunks, to those “in your face” blocks and borderline trash talks, basketball has become the embodiment of what a team game should be like.

Unfortunately, for the National Basketball Association, better known as the NBA, things are starting to feel a little less exciting. It wouldn’t be surprising if these comments came from little less known basketball analysts and commentators. But the mere fact that these statements came from the enforcers of the game during its glory days, they must be telling the truth.

Some should wear dresses

Take, for example, the latest tirade coming from no less than NBA legend and former New York Knicks big man charles oakley who was at Michael Rapaport's live in Dallas. Oakley is the playing coach for the Killer 3's in the BIG3, a new 3-on-3 basketball league.

The 6’8” defensive and rebounding specialist commented that NBA superstars nowadays are “so sensitive”. Oakley even went as far as saying that some NBA players should “be wearing dresses”.

Oakley’s not the only one who feels the same way.

Early last year, another NBA legend to answers to the name Gary Payton tweeted that this current basketball era is soft. He even teased that should he played during this generation, all his money would go to paying fines and all.

After the Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals, the 1978 NBA Draft No.

1 overall pick and Klay Thompson’s father, Mychal Thompson criticized LeBron James for taking Draymond Green's trash talk personally. The elder Thompson went to say that King James seems to be “entitled”, adding that the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar would not have survived if he played in the 1980's, the NBA’s era of physicality.

Too entitled

As posted on Twitter by Diamond Leung back then, Thompson commented that “LeBron couldn't have survived in the 80's with the physicality and the words guys said to each other back then”. In another post, he added, “We all respect LeBron's ability ... but man, sometimes he acts too entitled like he's supposed to get everything he wants.” The Warriors went on to win their second championship in three years.

While many criticized Thompson’s attacks on LeBron at that time when the Cavaliers were mounting come-from-behind, title-clinching run at the NBA Finals, no one can blame the man for stating what’s inside his mind. For these three legends that grew up in a different era of basketball, it’s no basketball when you don’t get hurt -- when you don’t get trashed talked.
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