The equation was different . You didn't make instant generational money for making to your second contract . Medical science wasn't as advanced and training in prep-schools etc wasn't as tailored. You had to make more decisions on your own and have "love" or "toughness" to keep playing with that different equation .
Most players these days have been disciplined from a young age to play bball as a means to secure the future, it's natural is there's going to be a burnout once they get into the league after a decade of doing the same routines everyday.
On the contrary, competition for those few precious NBA roster spots is higher than ever. You have international players and more player sons with their industry knowledge joining the fray compared to the 80s and 90s. I would be very surprised if the average NBA player today put less time into training compared to those of 30 years ago.
Gilbert Arenas and co on the Arena were talking about how kids don't really just hoop out all summer the way we did as kids. Now it's all trainers and drills and learning all the moves without seeing what works in a real competitive game, and AAU system apparently feeds into it. I genuinely have no reason to doubt them, I've seen Jalen Green.
It’s the money. When I was growing up in the 80s and even the 90s, you could see a level of passion among most players that just isn’t there today. I guess it’s inevitable, but it sure was a better product to watch back then. A current parallel is the U.S. National soccer team. These days, the majority of U.S. players play professional club soccer in Europe where they make big bucks. That was not the case 15 years ago. Even a decade ago, you rarely saw a U.S. National team player choose not to play National team games in the club offseason, but now (this summer for example) almost the entire team decided to sit this summer out despite it being one year until the U.S. hosts The World Cup currently having posted results below expectations. I don’t fault professional athletes for seeking to maximize their wealth playing their sport, but I will call the product watered down in most cases because of it.
European football is incredibly demanding. Their seasons end in late May and begin in early August. They also have to play various Cup and Champions/Euro matches as well. Making them play Summer matches is insanity.
AAU is a big cancer on the game and frankly, most of the coaches are preening assholes peddling a dream of college scholarships and pro money to kids and just as importantly, their parents. A personal (and anecdotal) example: my daughter played AAU from 4th through the start of 8th grade and was a starting 4 on the best team in the state. She didn't score much and didn't have the handles of some of the other girls, but she loved the physical play and did not shy away from contact. She was also burned out on basketball and was growing up enough to see the hypocrisy of the coach--so on one crying day, it came out that she didn't want to go to practice and that was it. Yet she had a great time playing 8th grade ball and was the point guard and leading scorer on her team in part because the AAU girls would not play school sports. (They did sneer at her for playing with lesser players and against lesser players though.) She never played AAU or basketball again after that year but did play high school tennis, track, and water polo. Also, quitting AAU allowed her intellectual side to flourish and her grades immediately improved greatly. She is now working on a PhD while all the girls she was in AAU with are working grind-it-out jobs and the rumor is that one is on the pole. Back in the day, you didn't just play one sport. Football, track, baseball, and everything else taught you different motor skills and different mental approaches. Dealing with the different coaches taught you a lot. Calling "Next!" with your buddies and going against older kids and even adults made you better and taught you stuff about the game and life. Driving over to the next town and hunting for a game made you better. We didn't have private coaches either. Now, if you go with an AAU team, it is an all-year commitment in a confined space, often to the detriment of school sports, and it all comes with a ridiculous travel budget. If your parents can scrounge the money together, you also get a private trainer. It leaves little room for exploration, innovation, and improvisation. Same story in baseball and 7-on-7. It's reached levels of insanity.
there's no longer love... just goin after the Benjamins... period. and teams propel the crap by drafting, spending millions and coddling guys that have shown no real love or dedication - bc they have potential. everything has just become a means to a end - and nothing more... smh
