In recent years, the NBA has drawn the charge of being “soft” for not allowing defenders to apply physicality, getting called for fouls upon minimal contact. However, JJ Redick has downplayed this criticism and believes that the league still possesses bodily contact referring to Stephen Curry as an example. However, Shaquille O’Neal has remained unconvinced about such claims and believes that the current iteration of the NBA doesn’t allow a similar amount of contact as it did in his era.
The big fella appeared on the Draft Kings-powered ‘Point Game’ podcast with John Wall and CJ Toledano to discuss the ongoing NBA playoffs. Toledano brought up how the Knicks allowed the Pacers to tie the ECSF series 2-2.
He also highlighted the notion that “they are tired” as some of their starters, especially Josh Hart, have virtually played all the minutes in the postseason. O’Neal didn’t buy this as he believed that, unlike the previous eras, the Pick N Roll-obsessed modern NBA doesn’t sap a ton of energy,
“It’s a lot more physical back in our day. I hate going back to our day but it was way more physical. I don’t see how you can be tired from running pick-and-rolls all day. It ain’t really no hard flagrant fouls.”
The 3x Finals MVP brought out how a “couple of guys” have been hailing the physicality in the modern NBA, however, his observations differ from them completely. It was clear that JJ Redick was one of the “couple of guys” Shaq was referring to.
Shaquille O’Neal and JJ Redick are at the opposite ends of the poles
JJ Redick has often shielded modern elite NBA athletes from criticism and has repeatedly claimed that the old-school hoops proponents need to catch up with the modern NBA, instead of just mooring over the nostalgia. In early May 2024, the NBA head coaching job candidate joined O’Neal on ‘The Big Podcast with Shaq’ and debated the physicality during their eras.
While labeling Shaq as a “hater” of modern Centers, Redick claimed that the concerns about physicality in the modern era are overblown. He stated that just because the older eras were rife with uncalled flagrant fouls, it doesn’t make them more physical.
Shaq disagreed with these observations and posited that back in his day, getting to the rim was tougher because of the intimidation levels posed by the rim protectors. Thus, he doesn’t rate the modern Centers highly as they don’t go through the same amount of contact.
However, he kept Nikola Jokic on a special list, who would thrive in his era, considering his top-notch “inside and outside” game. The debate between Redick and O’Neal mirrors the polarizing school of thought in NBA circles.
A ton of NBA fans hail the modern pace-and-space era for bringing versatile skill sets among big men. Meanwhile, the critics point out that offensive operations are much easier. While Redick has terrific basketball acumen, Shaq seems to be right about his era being tougher for big men. However, players like Stephen Curry have revolutionary and the current playstyle has also encouraged versatile centers like Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama.