Rick Barry Says Vintage Legends Would Thrive In Today’s NBA

Every single year, an NBA star of the past makes a bold statement about the way the game is played today and how his era of players would do in this era.

This year, that former star player, who is as outspoken as any player in the league’s history, is Hall of Famer Rick Barry, who became a superstar in the league playing for the Golden State Warriors.

Barry is keeping busy these days as the head coach of the Ball Hogs in Ice Cube’s Big3 League, which has also given him a platform for hot takes, as he is interviewed regularly, as the league has become increasingly popular over the last few years.

The 79-year-old believes that he and other stars of his era, like Jerry West and Oscar Robertson, would be better now than they were back when they dominated the game, as he told Joy De’Angela via NBACentral.

Rick Barry says players like himself, Jerry West, and Oscar Robertson would all be much better in the today’s NBA:

“If you really understood the game and you really knew what the difference was between when we played and the guys playing here, we had nothing to help us. I… pic.twitter.com/ZqMz0qqrEE

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 9, 2023

Obviously, there’s no way to know if this is right or not, but he does have some solid points when talking about all the help players get these days to keep their bodies in peak condition and as durable as possible to play 82-game seasons.

Back in Barry’s era, players had much shorter careers due to the wear and tear on their bodies and not having all the comforts provided by today’s game and how popular the NBA has become.

There’s a good chance Barry and his peers would’ve been able to play much longer while sustaining an elite level, which makes this argument interesting, to say the least.

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