Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins has not taken kindly to how today's NBA stars speak about past generations of NBA players.
Wilkins appeared on the All the Smoke podcast this week to discuss his gripes with how former NBA stars are talked about among today's NBA players.
"You know what? We give all eras their respect," Wilkins said. "Because we had to learn from somebody, right? So we learned from the guys before us. So we always appreciate basketball and everything. ...The one thing we will say is that it's their time. We've had our time. But I hate when they try to s--- on us just to prove their point. They don't have to do that. You know? Because great is great. I don't care what era you're in, but don't use past eras to elevate yourself because we never did that to guys."
Wilkins said he would have never thought to do that to the players who came before him in the game of basketball.
"Look, I'm never going to say I'm better than Wilt Chamberlain or [Bill] Russell or [Oscar Robertson]. We appreciated [those] guys. We learned from y'all," Wilkins added.
“It’s their time. We’ve had our time. But I hate when they try to sh*t on us just to prove their point.”
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 4, 2024
- Dominique Wilkins on the younger generation
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The NBA discourse does seem to revolve around players across different eras and how they would perform. The reality, however, is that we'll never know.
Great is great, as Wilkins pointed out, and perhaps NBA fans and players should appreciate each generation for what it is.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dominique Wilkins Had Blunt Message for Players Who '(Expletive)' on Past Generations.
