🏀 Are Modern Bigs Too Soft or Just Smarter?
Let’s keep it 💯 for a second. Back in the day? Shaq was bullying dudes out the paint. Hakeem was footwork wizardry. Garnett was talking trash while blocking your shot. Fast forward to 2025, and you’ve got bigs: Shooting threes like guards Avoiding post-up battles Playing high pick-and-roll defense instead of anchoring the paint And people LOVE to say: “Bigs are SOFT now. No one wants to bang inside anymore.” But… are they actually soft? Or just smarter? 🧠 The Modern Big: A Different Breed Giannis is a freight train in transition. Embiid hits step-back midranges like a 6’2 guard. AD lives off pick & pops. Alperen runs an offense like he’s f***ing Jokic’s little brother. Spacing is the name of the game now. Teams want 5 guys who can shoot or drive. So why would a 7-footer go crash into three bodies under the rim when he can: pop out for an open three, drag the center out of the paint, and punish switches with face-up drives? That’s not soft. Tha...