Richard Jefferson's EPIC RESPONSE to NBA potentially shortening the season | NBA Today 

That is by far Richard Jefferson’s finest moment as a commentator!

I'm still tryna figure out how Wilt played all 82 games and averaged OVER 48 minutes a game while laced up in Chuck Taylors. Now we've got state of the art equipment and facilities, yet our best players get injured every season 🤔

My biggest issue with shortening the season (outside of getting less basketball) is that younger teams/players will have less of an advantage and it favors vets and stars. The less games played, the less opportunities young and/or overlooked players will get. Injuries are apart of the game unfortunately, but injuries also give rise to other players getting chances to shine. There would be no Jordan Poole if Klay didn’t go down. Tom Brady would have never have gotten the start that led to a Super Bowl… yes, we never want to see a star go down, or anybody for that matter, but that’s apart of the drama of LIFE, and it makes the stakes that much higher and ultimately more beautiful and rewarding.

I was for shortening the season up until Jeffersons’s great explanation why the NBA should not. Thank you Richard!

KP with the "and,...and....carry on." Was just absolute gold!🤣

A.C Green played 1192 consecutive regular season games, Karl Malone & John Stockton were basically bulletproof. Conditioning matters, being professional matters. RJ is 100% right here

“And-and yeah, carry on” 😂😂 I love Perkins

Adam Silver: "We want a system where our players are incentiviced to be on the floor." Me: Wait, getting paid millions isn't enough incentive to do your job?

He went the opposite way than I thought he would. I love it! I've gained new love for this dude.

You know he got everything right, when the only thing perk can say is "carry on".😆

I honestly had no idea which direction Richard would be going on his opinion but bravo 👏🏼 on his list of reasons! I was already in that side of the argument but he solidified it for me!

Perk instigating “tell ‘em about the money” 😂!!! I love it

Hes right, theres too much history involved to change the season length. 82 games has been played since the 60s, the greats of each generation had no issue playing through it, so i don't understand why we have to change it for this generations. Especially when every aspect of their quality of life has been improved. Better trainers, medical treatments, schedule, travel, food, and not to mention salary.

Richard is 100% right on this, everything is pretty much working in favor for the players while wanting to get paid so much money. One-and-done (or possibly eliminating this to let 18 year olds come into the league), load management, less physicality, and soft mental make-up, etc, it's f'n insane. The league and the team owners need to come down and let the players know that they can't have everything go their way.

One thing he also didn’t mention is how massive of a negative impact it would have on the guys who aren’t stars in the league. The guys who are still trying to establish themselves would have less opportunities. I feel like a majority of players wouldn’t want this, because it’s only beneficial for the minority of players in the league that the NBA already coddles (which RJ was spot on about).

RJ makes a lot of sense to me here, but I’m curious to hear more details about the reasoning behind all this. He did mention they add a mid season tournament then that could add a lot of games to a refusals season of 82 games + a long playoffs run could be another 4-28 games. The one thing I can empathize as a fan is that maybe less games, with scarcity there may be more value in watching a game, but then the whole record book gets messed up and everything. Will be keeping an eye on this storyline for sure.

Well said Rich!

Pretty sure that Silver mostly agrees with Jefferson, but his job is to try to please everyone. At the end of the day, the NBA season will never get shortened because of one reason - revenue.

RJ: “Part of the greatness is longevity.” AD, KI, KL: (sweating profusely)

Thankyou for showing us this sending prayers to you and your family and everyone God bless you and your family and everyone

Imagine what the Celtics crazy season turnaround would've looked like in a 60-game season, such a change would have some major implications in play-off contention

I'm with Richard on this one. He spoke the Gospel. Why on earth would Sliver do that. I have nothing else to add.

And that is why MJ's flu game is epic! despite being sick he was on the court carrying his team to a win not wanting to rest

I've always known while watching him play back in the day, that he's a real one. And he's still proving it while a commentator. Sad thing to say one of the best things for basketball right now is a retired player. Lol

From what doctors have said, the problem is not the amount of games but it's that the athletes don't really practice anymore so their bodies don't get used to the all out pace of an NBA game

Kobe played 20 years as a shooting guard throughout some of the most physical and advanced defenses ever, and wasn’t just shooting 3 but driving in and dunking on bigs. Dude never wanted to take a day off unless he was forced to. But let’s be honest, very few have that level dedication. New generation is DEFINITELY soft

That shortened season came literally less than two months after the bubble the teams in the bubble lowkey had no rest and rushed the season I wouldn’t say that was a good example/demonstration to really point too

Wow I'm pleasantly surprised by this answer. Good stuff man, definitely appreciate this insight.

It’s incredibly nice to hear someone say exactly what I would like to say, and to the people that need to hear it.

Everybody’s face at 3:15, they was like, “Oh he’s getting deep, he’s getting real deep.” 😂😂😂 RJ was preaching

They need to restructure the schedule to take account for travel distance, rare back to backs. With that many games it won't matter to reduce games in terms of making the regular season more attractive.

I think with over the last 3 years there is less breaks over the last offseasons maybe one long off season and start it like 1 and a half month later

What’s laughable is the notion that players have to be “incentivized” to play games. As if their current salaries, incentives and bonuses aren’t enough. That’s absurd…..

I actually expected him to go the other way with the argument. That he wanted them to shorten the season to preserve the best product, but that Silver is just posturing. He would never do it because of the money. He surprised me on that one.

I respect what Richard has said, but I also think players cruise through many regular season games, and were the season shortened, each of those games would be worth a bit more. I don't and haven't watched any of those games in years. It's obvious they do that because of a long season. I agree we live in a coddling society, but I think of this more in terms of the quality of the game.

I had no problem about shortening the season until RJ spoke. He made excellent points. Shortening the season would mean a lot of season and career records will become untouchable, and as RJ said, so much is already being done to prevent player injuries.

what an absolute thing of beauty from Richard. He has every right to be upset as a former player and athlete. And he made completely understandable arguments. AS an athlete , it is literarily your JOB to endure things that other people cannot do. Otherwise, every NBA 2k player could probably play in some form or way. People truly need to toughen up here. And it's kind of absurd to say this, but : if other people were able to do it for what now is multiple generations WITHOUT the amount of data and information about mental health, nutrition etc, then those players should seriously consider to stop complaining. And I applaude Richard Jefferson for standing up to this!

RJ is right on for this take. His response is absolute fire and honest. Love it.

He’s absolutely right. Modern athletes have all the amenities and resources to optimize their health and longevity. Now they’re trying to take away from the fans and the owners because some players couldn’t be bothered to play the game they’re being paid millions for.

RICHARDDDDDD ✊🏾💪🏾🤣 Like Perk said “CARRY ON” 🔥🔥🔥

RJ IS 10000% RIGHT. it just discredits the work the great players did to actually play day by day for years.

Lol the way perk said “ tell them about the money” Reminded me of when i would tell my older brother to tell mom we dont want to eat at home

You're the man Rich. Need you doing Cavs games this upcoming season! We miss ya!

Since the regular season has become irrelevant, how about including all the teams in the post season. Here's my suggestion: shorten the regular season. Then, seed all 30 teams 1-15 in each conference. Then, do a round robin style play off. 1 vs 16, 2 vs 15, etc. When you lose 2 games, you are out of playoffs until we have 8 teams in each conference. Then, you reseed based on round robin playoffs. It there is a tie, use regular season records. This will lessen the incentive to tank. Also why is it taking 6 DAYS to PLAY 2 GAMES?

Richard hit the nail on the head. Injuries will always be a part of the game no matter what, that's just what it is. The league can exhaust every measure to mitigate them, but that will not completely eliminate injuries, especially for injury-prone players (Embiid, AD, and Kyrie). Players have more access to nutritional resources than ever before and more power than ever, namely when it comes to their own bodies. If they're injured, they should not play. If they try to play through it, that's on them. I'm cool with players resting, but if they're doing that more than playing or simply not taking care of themselves, they have no excuse to complain. Great add-on by Perk. Lmao

RJ is absolutely on point ! Thank you to have a former player say it as it needed to be said !!

I want a shorter season... But not because it has anything to do with health of the players... If anything, I want a compressed season that could be worse for their health (also not *why* I want it shorter)... I want it shorter because then the games mean more in the regular season... 82 games has always been too much... Each team should play every other team twice... 1 extra match for intra division play... Then these regular season games mean more...

I understand where RJ is coming from but I also think the injuries are getting out of hand. Maybe the players today are softer, that's one take, but we have actual facts to support that more players are getting injured. There's more to this than just the players being soft. The game is faster. Players are running more now and less fouls and timeouts are called so the players rarely ever rest during an actual game. The game is played at halfcourt with players fighting through screens trying to find and open 3 point shot all the time. All could be factors, but the game itself has changed enough to explain the injuries with that. Maybe the game that the NBA has become is not as suited to 82 game seasons as it used to be. Again, because it's so different than before.

I think it comes down to playstyle not nutrition or games played with players getting hurt so much. Look at Nikola Jokic. The guy has played most games & high minutes for the last 4-5 seasons without any injuries. Know why? Because he doesn't attempt or try to do things outside of what he knows his body can handle. The guys played a 4 OT game overweight & still didn't look at worn as others. Playstyle matters and being smart on the court matters.

I love Perk with the “carry on” mic drop for RJ. Athletes are great as they’ve ever been. But the game is supposed to separate the men from the boys. If you can’t hang, that’s ok. But it’s a grown man’s game. You can’t play, fine. But if others can, get out the way.

I really love listening to Richard talk about basketball. Not many former players transition to the analyst world as well.

I agree !!

I can’t think of a time when I actually agreed with RJ but man this dude spoke nothing but facts. The league keeps catering to these divas

I think the NBA needs to keep the season length the same and remember that because of COVID and the way it affected the timing of seasons that that would have a ripple affect for about 3 or so years going forward on guys bodies based on how they stopped mid season, then finished the season late, started the next season quickly with the schedule being crammed, and then having to start the next season at the proper timing to get back on track. All that change is hard on the athlete body so I think that contributes a lot to the amount of injuries we’ve seen. Give it another 1-2 seasons and I feel we should be back to normal. My suggestion would be to shorten the first two rounds of the playoffs to best of 5 series instead of 7 but I imagine the NBA doesn’t want to give up any playoff money so they probably aren’t going for that.

well said, sir!!!

He’s right. The league has bent over backwards to appease the players, and some of them still find excuses not to lace up. All contracts should somehow work out that the get paid by game. Idk.

Richard is a thousand percent correct. This generation of NBA players are not only soft but they want to be paid the most while playing the least.

Perfectly put by Rich. Funny how pre 70’s players are called unathletic plumbers by casuals yet they didn’t have 1/10th the amenities and pay players today get and they played full seasons in Chuck Taylors *with no ankle support* for crying out loud Wilt Chamberlain *averaged 48* minutes for a career and barely missed ballgames 🤣🤣

Well said

I agree with RJ but Silver is basically saying "it ain't happening" without saying it. I think they should add a player or two to the rosters and keep it moving and make some efforts to get better (or more) trainers.

Rich is 💯 percent right. You could make the season 50 games. Unless you make a rule that they have to play. Players are going to sit out if they don't feel like playing.

I agree , the season is too long , players r giving in more than needed, absolutely correct , making it much more sensible in terms of playing also giving relax period for players for teams for management makes sense ❤️

Well spoken. Salute!

3:15 Gotta appreciate how Malika and Chiney were in sync there 😄

I agree with Richard. Adam Silver shortening the season just shows how soft this generation of players are. Making the season shorter is a stupid idea. Players already taking games off when they're not even injured. No need to reduce the season when players are already taking at least 10 games w/o being injured bc they need "rest". Plus they cry when the media criticizes them for playing bad, resting, etc.

Well Said

You don’t shorten the season for the athletes. You shorten the season to make every regular season game mean more. The regular season is way too long and you loose the beginning of the season media coverage due to all the college football and NFL games. Christmas Day should be the official start date

Couldn't agree more what RJ said. How can you justify your greatness to be the GOAT which every player's dream when you only played 60 games per regular season? It's hard to justify you to the other past players who did it with more games and with less maintenance and rest. The grit & grind is part of each player's legacy.

I think the problem is that we've watered down the standard for what as an acceptable reason to not play. Shortening the season won't change that. You have teams running 9 man rotations down the stretch and wondering why dudes are getting injured too

For me Adam has a point, the physical and health of each player here is a bit advance compared to 90s tho naturally the 90s have the most endured body but since tech helps out as a factor it affects todays health physically too. So 82 games to shorten games is i. guess 15% reasonable Additionaly why this is 15% only is that compressing the season into shorter games would reduce also rest days as i can see. What a rebut by Rj

100% agree!

What a perfect response. Much better than another "Back in my day..."

Perkin's bit at the end cracked me up 😂😂

Mad Dogg: "Bob Cousey could've played 100 games a season!"

PREACH!

I’m very much a “power to the players” type of guy but Richard is pretty much spot on. Covid definitely messed with scheduling and the league is still recovering from that but in the long term there are more solutions that shortening the season.

Adam Silver is messing with history! Giving new awards and trying to shorten seasons 🤦🏾‍♂️

Bring guys in that can do it never had these problems before

All I know is Jordan played all 82 games 9 times and the other times, he played 81 or 79 barring the retirement season, and his second season where he missed 64 games with a foot injury. These players are being coddled at every chance and they still don't put in the minutes. Wilt averaged 48.5 minutes one season and played all 82 games.

PREACH THIS MAN RICHARD JEFFERSON SPEAKING FACTS HE KNOW ESPECIALLY WHEN HE PLAYED WITH THE CAVS

Exactly RJ! Going any less than 82 games per season will screw any young phenomenal players from entering the GOAT conversation, because it will always go back to how Jordan and Lebron got the same numbers in more games. Very unfair.

I wouldn't mind seeing a shortened season, but the players will need to understand that means their contracts won't be as big. However, I think we would ultimately see more competitive basketball again because players will have a sense of urgency if they want to make the playoffs.

I try to avoid ESPN but RJ is a breath of fresh air. Calling out what needs to be called and giving credit when due. Respect!!!

If they want the season shortened then make the paychecks shortened as well I'm sure they'll want to keep the season the same

Keep the 82-game season. Make the First Round of the Playoffs a Best-of-Five again. A lot of key players tend to get injured on the 1st Round. 1st Round of the Playoffs should not last that long.

KP: Tell them about the money. Man knew he wasn’t getting a word in but knew Richard would cover his point precisely

Yes Rich well said bro 👏

This isn’t the nhl where you don’t have adequate staff or the mlb where you’re forced to play back 2 back. I think the league has done a good job of eliminating all potential barriers that derail a basketball player. Well said RJ

I love how they were fanning him with the paper. And he is right, it's the current group that wants to be coddled. I think teams should try to add some depth and although it will lead to a slightly diminished product, I think it will still benefit more than detract.

Respect you so much more Rj

AMEN🙏🏽

An award winning rant. Well said Richard!

Kobe Bryant played the rest of the 2010 Playoffs after suffering a bone fragment injury in his foot. Kevin McHale had a broken foot from January of 1987 season and played through to the rest of the season, including the NBA Finals. Joel freaking Embiid, a player TODAY plays through torn thumb ligament and broken face. Injuries have been and always will be a part of the game. It's only an issue now because most (not all) of the players today take rest off on minor injuries instead of playing through it which is what older players did, and players who actually care about winning, does.

Thanks Rich🏀

This is RJ's greatest moment as a commentator and it's gonna be tough for him to top this. To say he went off doesn't even come close to how badly he really wanted to go off on them.

Perk’s take was spot on: “Carry On” Hahahaha

AMEN Richard Jefferson! You summed it all up. They should stamp this issue resolved and move on. I love that a former player used the words "coddling".

Well Said, Perkins

Facts 💯

The NBA does SO MUCH for their players, and players get paid millions to play. They even made the game softer. No disrespect, but the fact that there's even a consideration for a shorter season in the NBA is ludicrous. I'm gonna leave it at that because Jefferson articulated the aforementioned better than anyone I've heard. It sounds to me however that Silver is indirectly saying no if I'm going to read between the lines.