Coach Pop talking after the game said, “There is more fundamental teaching done now than I had to when we were a championship caliber team. These guys are neophytes.” Yet these Gen Z fans tell me daily this generation of NBA players are the most advanced and most skilled 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

It’s not just Pops opinion. All coaches talk to each other.

facts! big fan of your game Nick the quick! 🫡 Only Laker jersey I own is yours 😎

@TheRealJHair Looked up neophyte- then agreed Kids are more athletic but they don’t know how to play

They’re talented and athletic but the basketball IQ is the lowest it’s ever been

Today’s player is more *talented. “Skill” is a slippery term — depends on *which* skill. Pop is referring to the stuff that leads to winning. Fans refer to stuff that produces highlights.

Players aren’t as fundamentally sound as they should be, and that’s an easy fact. Ex. Antawn Jamison having to explain to a G League player how to set a screen

lol you got video of that?

Yup, he actually said it on the Gilbert Arenas podcast. He talks about it in the 10 minute mark, and it’s actually the current magic head coach

@Jacobtheclipper I think he actually said guys in the NBA, not G league

@EdThomass @Jacobtheclipper You’re actually correct, and man is that surprising and sad

I play ball with young heads, late teens to early 20’s & it’s all Euro step, gather step, palming, cherry picking, & 3pt shooting. Logo shots. No D. No one cuts to the basket, ever. All perimeter. Where do they learn it? The NBA. 👎🏻

What he mentioned tht they lack wasnt skill based tho, it was IQ. He mentioned position, man and ball, and things of tht nature. Thts knowing the game. Thts nothing to do wit how skilled someone is, it’s about the knowledge of the game they have.

Tim Duncan played all four years in college refining his game and his skills. Today’s players don’t come into the league as prepared

You think Pop has been coaching teams at 23.3 years of age all the way through? 2023: 23.3 years old, second youngest in the league. 8-34. 2014: 29.8 yrs old, 32-10. Do you think there’s a difference in what you focus on? Is San Antonio winning? The league is more skilled.

The new generation of fans think cause the game shoots more threes and there’s no defense played that it’s more skilled. Plus these players do all these unnecessary ass moves just to get shot off like tatums step back three he loves to shoot

Shouldn’t we expect more teaching to be needed with a young, bad team than a veteran championship-winning team? How’s that even newsworthy?

Well of course the youngest team in the league with several project players are less knowledgeable than 30 year olds with playoff experience 😆 If you compare rookies now to back then they are generally far more skilled though.

@SteveKim323 Maybe instead of the players how about the coaching. How about the people teaching the game. How come that generation gets a pass bc they couldn’t teach the right way. It’s not all on the players it’s also on the generation that coached them

@DimeDropperPod @jrichardgoodman many people need to hear this.

You misunderstood the quote I believe. He's saying this team vs his championship team since this team is younger. Specifically those two teams... Not comparing eras.

I would stay individually skilled yes. Team players not so much

Basketball was in peak form from 2000-2015

So he’s saying that there used to be guys coming straight out of highschool that were more fundamentally sound than today’s young players 😂

Fundamentals are still taught: Look at the PGs finishing at the rim and big men that can handle & shoot the ball now. The issue in today's game is lack of hustle, sense of urgency, and desire to play defense for 48 minutes. The new gen rely too much on talent & athleticism.

He's right though, because back in the day, most players had four years of college training.

Pop got relegated to being a HS coach I’d be sick

It’s not the same league the game is positionless now but even then pop has a very young squad they’re not gonna compete at all rn

No shit a team full of young kids would have to be taught more than a team full of vets. This aint the gotcha you think it is

He's comparing to his championship 🏆 team. First off. Second he's pointing out the fact thay they're much younger coming in than ever before, hence fundamentals aren't where they were in college. Has NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING to do with their skill level.

@DimeDropperPod are you a ref or something

Kids especially American kids focus on the flashy part of the sport.. that’s all they care about. Someone gets crossed and they go crazy

Most skilled, yes, fundamentally sound though? That's why there's a huge boom in foreign born players. 3 of the top 5 players are all born in other countries and are all MVP's. Jokic, Embiid and Giannis. Outside of Ant, SGA and Luka are the rising faces of the NBA.

It's sad, watch any NBA, most high level College and even some HS games, the lack of fundamentals is everywhere. I get players are more athletic etc... today, that's true, but the game is still 5 on 5 and hard to watch 5 on 0 which it is turning into.

There is a difference between individual skill and team basketball IQ. There is no debating that players are more individually skilled now than they were 25 years ago. They are just developing too fast and aren’t spending enough time playing team basketball.

a person who is new to a subject, skill, or belief. Young NBA players are new to NBA basketball.

🏀 "The kids love it. I have kids fighting over who can get here earliest to get shots off before school." – Coach Garrison When passion meets performance, Noah Backboard makes it happen. Turn practice into obsession with shot-tracking that players can’t get enough of.