The Oklahoma City Thunder have looked practically unstoppable in the regular season thus far. Led by presumptive MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the team has a 64-12 record after beating the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
The Thunder are on the verge of achieving something historic. If they can win out in their final six games of the season, they will join the 1996 Chicago Bulls and the 2016 Golden State Warriors as the only teams to win 70 regular-season games. But despite the greatness of their achievements, BJ Armstrong, who was on that Bulls team, isn't impressed.
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“The league has changed, half of the league is tanking. They are fining teams for not playing their players.”
Former NBA champion Bj Armstrong speaks on tanking.
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“The league has changed. Half of the teams are tanking," Armstrong said. "So let me know … should I be impressed or should I …If we just wanna sit here and look at the stat sheet and start comparing, alright, I’ll do that, if that’s what you want to do.
"Half of the teams are tanking. … I respect what (the Thunder) have done, I respect the players. However, here’s the era where it is what it is. We’re fining teams for not playing their players. I don’t recall that happening a few years ago.”
Only a few teams in the NBA can be accused of actively tanking this season, so this doesn't feel like the most fair criticism. The Thunder also have an incredible 29-2 record playing against teams over .500 this season, so it's not like they have simply been beating on bad teams.
This take, coming amid all the noise about different NBA eras not respecting one another, is likely to rub some fans the wrong way. Whether people agree or not, though, a 70-win season, if the Thunder can manage it, will speak for itself.
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