The NBA was considered more physical during the old days.
There were more fights. Hard fouls were part of the game. Hand-checking was allowed on defense.
Hall of Fame coach George Karl provided a reminder with a recent social media about a fight between Shawn Kemp and Scott Hastings during a 1992 preseason game.
Here’s what Karl posted on X: “That’s what guys did in the 70s, 80s and 90s if a guy tried to score 250 points on them!!”
That’s what guys did in the 70s, 80s and 90s if a guy tried to score 250 points on them!! https://t.co/kQjgU20NNy
— George Karl (@CoachKarl22) March 27, 2025
Both Kemp and Hastings were punished for their roles in the incident. Kemp was fined $8,000 and Hastings $2,500.
BARKLEY GOES AFTER INTERNET TROLLS
NBA great Charles Barkley is one of the most vocal analysts on television.
Most times, he tells it like it is on TNT broadcasts. He brought this up when discussing the recent Stephen A. Smith-LeBron James dust-up. Barkley said neither should have made it personal.
“The one thing you can always say about me, I ain’t never had personal attacks on people,” Barkley said during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show. “I’ve criticized people. That’s part of our job telling the truth. It can never be personal. “
Instead, Barkley complained about James and Smith providing fuel to Internet trolls who feed of this stuff.
“In my day, any publicity was good publicity,” Barkley said. “Remember that old saying? But the problem now is when you put BS out there now, every Tom, Dick and Harry and Luis got an opinion. They’re going to make it worse “
Today’s social media age now allows everyone to voice their opinion on public platforms. That disappoints Barkley.
“Every fool, idiot and jackass got an opinion now because they got a computer and that’s what made this whole thing so bad,” Barkley said. “LeBron haters are on fire right, the Stephen A haters are on fire right now. You can never give BS to the world because those people, they got no life. These people who live with their parents, they live in the basement, they don’t have a job. All they do is sit around and click and talk about people on their computers.”
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com
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