Jazz legend Johnson Stockton blasts ‘soft’ NBA players: ‘People want gladiators’

Utah Jazz legend John Stockton offered sharp criticism of today’s NBA, questioning the toughness of current players and the direction of the league in a recent podcast appearance.

Speaking on The Maverick Approach, the Hall of Fame point guard reflected on his limited interest in watching the modern game.

“No, it isn’t like I’m saying, ‘I’m not going to watch that.’ Life’s busy. I’ve got kids, I’ve got grandkids — they’re playing sports. I’d rather watch that. So, it’s not a negative thing like that. However, things that I se e are — yeah, I do think it’s softer,” Stockton said.

He specifically pointed to load management practices as an example of the culture shift.

“You have guys that can take 20 days off, you know, what they call load management. I mean, could you imagine your dad coming home saying, ‘I’m gonna take a few weeks off work’? You know — who’s going to feed us then? You know what I’m saying? These guys do it, and they’re supposed to be examples. And the league allows it.”

Stockton went further, criticizing what he sees as a reduction in strategy, physicality and competitive edge.

“So it’s just: throw it out. There’s less strategy, there’s less physicality. The safety — again, kind of back to the COVID thing — safety is more important than the game. And I — I don’t know. I think the game’s first. I think people are looking for gladiators out there. They want you to go to war. They want to see you do what they can’t do — not go out there a nd shake hands and hug each other and shoot jumpers.”

Jazz legend John Stockton says fans want tougher, more physical NBA