While many remember Mark Jackson for his color commentating on ESPN and successful stint with the Golden State Warriors, what many people tend to forget is before stepping into broadcasting and coaching, Jackson was one of the greatest pure point guards in league history.
Given his wealth of experience on the floor and on the sidelines, Jackson has been able to look at the game objectively. One thing that is glaringly obvious to him is that modern NBA players may be more athletic, but they're considerably less intelligent than previous generations.
Making an appearance on Club Shay Shay with Shannon Sharpe, the former Warriors main man was asked about the key differences he sees in today's league compared to the one he competed in. His answer was respectful, insightful, and unique, reflecting modern NBA basketball.
"Today's players are certainly more athletic, more skilled -- shooting, handling -- and more versatile. The one thing that they are; they're not as smart. I don't think because these guys are so athletic, so versatile, so explosive, so fast, I don't think they have to lean on the same smarts and understanding that we had to growing up. It's a credit to how far they've come as basketball players, but now you have to match the talent with the smart," he said .
A qualified voice
Now, before people start bashing on their keyboards in defiance of Jackson's comments, it's important to note that he never said players today weren't intelligent; he simply stated that because an individual's overall ability has increased, especially athletically, the need to intimately know the game has diminished.
Every day, we see the masses online go to war when comparing eras, but Jackson is undoubtedly one of the more qualified voices on this topic. He went on to say he needed to use his basketball smarts to be successful in the NBA because he wasn't an elite athlete.
"Because I didn't have the athleticism, the quickness, the explosiveness, I had to become smarter than everybody else on the floor. So I studied the game at seven years old, at eight years old. I knew inside out whatever situation you put me in, I knew how to respond. It didn't mean I had the answer, but I knew what the answer was," he added.
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Is he right?
Ultimately, Jackson's comments underline the lack of fundamentals often described as what's wrong with the current generation of NBA players. Measuring intelligence on the floor is a hard thing to do, given that the only tangible statistic we have that tracks it is assists or hockey assists.
The reality is intelligence is often sufficiently measured with the "eye test." Jackson may have a point if we base his comments on this.
While there is no debating that the league has gotten better and more athletic overall, there tends to be a lack of fundamental smarts on the floor. It's evident with the number of basic mistakes made at the end of games with the result in the balance.
Another potential indicator is the death of the true point guard in the Association. As backcourt talents have grown to become premier scorers, the ability to run a team and a high-functioning offense has been lost, all of which are signs that basketball IQ is potentially at an all-time low.
Whether you agree with Jackson's comments or not will come down to personal sentiment, but when looking beyond the surface, he could be spot on that we may be breeding less intelligent ball players now more than ever.
Related: Mark Jackson reveals the underrated aspect of Anthony Edwards' game that makes him a star: "It's a compliment to his greatness"
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