On August 21, recently, Anthony Edwards, a star of the Minnesota Timberwolves, discussed his views on the basketball standards of the last century in an interview.
Edwards stated that he hasn’t watched games from the past and therefore can’t comment in detail. However, he believes that although the games back then were considered tougher, the actual skill levels of the players weren’t high.
Edwards bluntly said, “I haven’t seen the old games, so I can’t comment. They say the game was harder back then, but I don’t think anyone was really good at basketball back then. Jordan was the only player with real skills in that era, you know what I mean? That’s why they were amazed when they saw Kobe, ‘Wow.’ But now everyone has skills.”
Edwards’ comments sparked extensive discussions, with many people thinking his viewpoint is too one-sided and overlooks numerous players with excellent techniques such as Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Skyhook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. However, his perspective also reflects the younger generation of players’ preference for modern basketball style and their high recognition of the widespread improvement in skills.
While Edwards’ view may be controversial, his evaluation of the current players’ skill levels undoubtedly affirms the development of modern basketball. He believes that with the advancement of basketball skills, today’s players generally possess higher skill levels, which is one of the reasons why modern basketball is more spectacular and competitive.