Today's NBA Players Simply Don't Care About Basketball
The NBA players of today have gotten a sense of entitlement.
What's The Issue?
Recently, star point guard of the Indiana Pacers Tyrese Haliburton had some suggestive words to say about the NBA's new rule for awards. The rule now states in order to qualify for any end-of-the-year awards for example MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, or All-NBA, players must play a minimum of 65 games in the season. Haliburton has missed a total of 13 games this season and is only able to miss 3 more until he is ineligible for the end-of-the-year awards.
Haliburton stated “I think it’s a stupid rule, like plenty of the guys in the league, but this is what the owners want, so as players, we gotta do our job and play in 65 games if we’re able to,” Haliburton said after practice Monday. “So, that’s what I gotta do, take care of my body to be able to play in those games, and I think you’re seeing other players in the league kind of face the same thing. As long as the owners are happy.”
Haliburton unfortunately suffered a hamstring injury which caused him to miss 10 of his last 12 games. It is understandable that Haliburton is frustrated, but unfortunately for the past couple of years, there have been players who decide to sit out games even when fully healthy.
This is detrimental to the viewership of the league. Fans are constantly frustrated that their favorite stars sit out games and aren't notified about this news until 30 minutes before the game. The NBA is a business first and if money is in jeopardy in any way, changes will be made.
Have Players Today Become Entitled?
Back in 2021 former all-star Ben Simmons signed a 5 year $177 million contract. After his playoff meltdown in 2021 he never suited up until he was traded to Brooklyn. It's frustrating to see Simmons making so much money just to spend more than half of the season wearing street clothes. Since his arrival in Brooklyn he has only played 49 out of 246 possible regular season games.
Draymond Green also criticized the rule stating star center Joel Embiid is forced to play injured.
Players back in the day worked for their contracts. How can a player from the 90s have better durability than a player in today's NBA? Players today have better technology and access to stay healthy.
The issue is these self-entitled players are playing for the money and attention. Star players are now able to sign guaranteed $200+ million contracts for 4-5 years. By signing these contracts they know their money is guaranteed so why even play. The league had to do something about this sense of entitlement players now express.
To put a sense of urgency in the star players, missing out on an All-NBA or All-Defensive team can be costly. Players can now miss out on contract bonuses if they aren't selected for these end of the year awards.
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