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Horace Grant explains why he finds today's NBA disturbing: "That's not basketball"
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- Horace Grant explains why he finds today's NBA disturbing: "That's not basketball"
NBA players today have not seen a 3-point shot they didn't like, resulting in historic highs in long-range attempts and makes. But as exhilarating as the relentless up-and-down action is for fans, this frenetic approach has caught the ire of numerous old heads who played in the 1980s and 1990s.
One of them is Horace Grant , a member of the famed Chicago Bulls dynasty, who recently voiced his displeasure with the direction of the game.
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In an interview with former teammate Stacey King, Grant expressed his frustration with the current state of the NBA, bluntly stating that watching teams just mindlessly throw up threes even when easier opportunities for deuces are available is quite disturbing.
Not smart basketball
With regards to the 3-pointer being weaponized to the highest degree, simple mathematics backs this trend up — three is more than two. While Steve Nash and the "Seven Seconds or Less" Phoenix Suns and Stephen Curry 's Golden State Warriors ushered in the 3-point revolution, which the Boston Celtics have since continued, Grant disparaged how some teams still choose to hoist threes up even when easier scoring opportunities are presented.
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According to the championship-winning big man, this type of basketball is not smart and goes against the fundamentals of the game. He believes that teams should prioritize getting high percentage shots instead of settling for lower percentage three-pointers.
"Sometimes it gets so disturbing, if you will, for lack of a better word," he said on the "Gimme The Hot Sauce" podcast.
"You can have a fast break, a three-on-two, or a three-on-one, and guys will just come up and pull up for a three," he added. "Or they'll run to the corner instead of trying to finish the play."
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Grant's heyday came during an era when players literally had to bleed to get a basket. Back in the day, teams had to be fundamentally sound and physically tough to compete. That usually meant trying to get as close to the basket as possible for higher percentage shots.
"You know, to me, being an old head, that's not basketball," he explained. "It's not the fundamental of how you run a fast break."
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The physical challenge is gone
Grant made a name for himself as the Bulls' starting power forward. This task was utterly demanding as it put him up against some of the roughest players in the business during that time, be it Dennis Rodman, Bill Laimbeer, Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason and Charles Barkley, to name a few. Although he wasn't known as an enforcer, Grant more than held his own and without his physical presence, the Bulls may not have won their first three NBA titles.
He noted, though, that the NBA lacks the physical aggression that made games so captivating and intense in the past. With the rule changes and emphasis on offense, Grant believes that they have removed a key element of what made basketball such a thrilling sport.
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"I pray and hope that the physicality will come back into the game," he exclaimed. "Not like when we played Detroit or New York, or even Cleveland or Indiana but at least some hand-check, some physicality."
The game has evolved to where giving someone a bad look or clapping their hands can earn a player a technical foul. But such is the game as it finds itself today, where taking and making 3-pointers can decide a team's fate, much to the chagrin of those who played in an era where pounding the ball inside was the norm.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 8, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
