Garnett: 'I don't think guys from 20 years ago could play' today

Though some former NBA players are critical of the state of the league, Kevin Garnett believes today's game is at another level.

Garnett offered a glowing assessment of the modern NBA in an interview with David Marchese of The New York Times Magazine, saying he thinks players from previous eras would struggle to keep up today.

"I don't think guys from 20 years ago could play in this game," Garnett said. "Twenty years ago, guys used their hands to control players. Now you can't use your hands. That makes defense damn near impossible. Can you imagine not hand-checking Michael Jordan? Naw. The fact that you can't touch players gives the offensive player so much flexibility. Defensive players have to take angles away and stuff like that. But if you have any creativity and ambition, you can be a great offensive player in this league.

"The fadeaways, one-leg runners, the one-leg balance shots - that's stuff that Dirk Nowitzki brought to our game. And now when I watch (Nikola Jokic) play, it feels like he has taken that Dirkness and mixed it with his own talent. And Steph Curry revolutionized things with being able to shoot it from distance with such consistency. Klay Thompson. Dame Lillard. These guards changed the game. I don't know if even the guards from 20 or 30 years ago could play in this time right here. It's creative. It's competitive. It's saucy. You'll get dropped! A (expletive) will cross you over and break your ACL these days. The game is in a great place."

Garnett played more than two decades in the NBA, last suiting up for the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2015-16 season.