LeBron James Had Bummed Out Line About How Older Players Hurt the Game He Loves

Basketball has evolved in significant ways over the last few decades. In the 1980s and '90s, when the NBA came into its own as one of the world's most popular sports leagues thanks to the star power of guys like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, toughness and physicality were everything. Those traits are still very important, as the 2025 NBA playoffs have shown, but the game is now wide open thanks to the three-point revolution led by players like Steph Curry.

LeBron James has helped bridge those eras, coming into the league in 2003 and remaining one of its greatest players through 2025. While he had the chance to play against some of the '90s greats during the tail ends of their careers, he aligns himself with the stars of the 2010s and '20s. James has spent years calling out the negativity from former stars like TNT's Charles Barkley about the modern game.

On the most recent episode of the Mind the Game podcast, James's co-host Steve Nash mentioned how critical players from his generation can be of the modern game, while saying that he believes it is "beautiful." James agreed, saying that the heavy criticism has soured him on some of the great players that he grew up watching. (The segment starts around the 43 minute mark of the video below.)

"I loved it growing up. They just—the older generation makes you not want to love the game you grew up watching. Like, I grew up loving a Knicks vs. Bulls playoff series. Or a Pacers vs. Knicks playoff series. I loved that. Obviously I’m from a small town outside of Cleveland, but watching the Cavs get the opportunity to play against MJ, didn't see it live obviously, but everybody was excited about it.

"Seeing Charles Barkley play in Phoenix and help them get to the Finals was so f------ dope. ... And now, that generation talks so much s--- about the game today, it makes you go back and watch those game back then, and it makes you not even want to appreciate it no more the way I did as a kid."

James called out the criticism from players of Barkley's era that current players are too friendly on the court, stating that there are plenty of clips from the 90s in which rival players were clearly friendly with one another mid-game. Nash, who is 11 years older than James but also straddles the two eras, definitely falls on James's side here, though he also tipped his cap to the relentlessly competitive nature of the older players helping define that era of basketball.

"Memories are fallible. Memories are not perfect," he said. "But maybe it's also cool that that's who they are. They're competitive dudes and they can't let go. That's what made them great."