On Kevin Durant’s most recent episode of his podcast, "The ETCs”, he addressed the belief that the NBA of the 1980s and 90s was simply a more physical brand of basketball.
During the episode, which aired on Wednesday, Durant laid out that he’s been watching old game film and isn’t in the camp of those who hold the assumption that that the NBA was more physical back in the day. “I go back and watch a lot of that 90s film, 80s stuff, and they play physical but I just think they got away with a lot of flagrant fouls,” Durant said.
In an era, which featured the Pistons “Bad Boys” as well as rugged Knicks teams led by Anthony Mason and Charles Oakley, he argues that it’s simply because players were allowed to play that style because flagrant fouls didn’t result in harsh punishment.
“A lot of those fouls Bill Laimbeer would pull off, how he would foul guys would result in a suspension nowadays,” Durant said. “Guys are more cautious of being extra physical based off of that.”
While admitting the game has evolved in terms of defensive looks he simply does not agree that previous era’s featured a tougher style or even tougher players: “Guys, we play physical here, too,” Durant said. “There's more space, but guys play physical, we got strong, athletic guys here, too. But you did get a lot of flagrant fouls that didn't result in fines or getting kicked out of the game, so it just seemed like it was a little tougher.”
"They played physical, but I just think they got away with a lot of flagrant fouls and I think that's why they call their era more physical than ours."
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 6, 2023
Kevin Durant on the physicality of the NBA in the 1980s and 1990s 🗣️
(via @boardroom)pic.twitter.com/LcVB9kqfwf
There’s little denying that the game is refereed differently in this day and age, and it’s even changed substantially over the course of Durant’s 18-year career. But according to the Suns superstar, the physicality of the game hasn’t left.
