This generation of hoopers couldn’t play in the ’90s, says Dikembe Mutombo

Hall of Fame NBA player Dikembe Mutombo isn’t convinced today’s players could hold their own in the era of rough and tough play he thrived in.

When he’s not building a hospital, helping kids seek life-saving treatment or acting as the Chief Blocking Officer for brand safety and fraud protection company CHEQ, four-time Defensive Player of the Year Dikembe Mutombo is blocking the notion that today’s generation of ballers could play in the ’90s.

It’s not that Mutombo isn’t acknowledging the greatness of the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, but when it comes to a large majority of NBA players today, Mutombo doesn’t think they would particularly enjoy the physical nature of ’80s and ’90s bully ball.

“I doubt [they could play back then], I don’t think the guys who are playing today could play in our day,” Mutombo said. “Today they run too fast and shoot too fast. I think we would win, because we would just have to beat the sh** out of them.”

That’s right: Not only does the king of the finger wag think today’s players couldn’t play in his era, but that matched up five-on-five, it wouldn’t even be close.

That’s a fair assessment considering just how different the rules were back then compared to this new era of positionless, free-flowing all-3s-all-the-time play, but Mutumbo is also honest about where his place in today’s league would be.

“I don’t know if I would fit in a game today,” Mutombo said. “Maybe my coaches would have to teach me something else, but it’s a different type of game, different tempo. The scoring is just too much. Nobody is playing defense.”

Mutombo might be a little too modest with that assessment, but defensive stalwarts like Mutombo are pretty much non-existent now, unless they can also stretch the floor. That doesn’t mean Mutombo wouldn’t put up some crazy defensive statistics today, just as he did during his 18-year Hall of Fame career.