Charles Barkley has nothing but positive things to say about the OKC Thunder.
On Wednesday, he took it another step further by saying the NBA champions are much like the “Bad Boy” Pistons, per the Bill Simmons Podcast.
“They’re one of the deepest teams we’ve ever had in the NBA,” Barkley said. “They remind me a lot of the old Pistons back in the Isiah Thomas days. Everybody talked about Isaiah and Joe Dumars who were great, but Hartenstein is Laimbeer and then coming off the bench they had Sally, James Edwards, Benny Johnson, Mark Aguirre. I mean, they had like 10 players and you can just plug them in and it was amazing to watch them play. And they’re gonna be tough. The only thing you got to worry about with them is they’re going to get everybody's best slap next year and it's going to be a shock to their system. They've been like the cool little kids for the last couple years. They finally reached their potential. But now when you’re hunted, man, it's a different animal.”
Essentially, Barkley made the case that the Thunder's defense mirrors that of the Bad Boys. In other words, they play with grit and aggressiveness.
Granted, the Pistons were led by the likes of Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars and had depth. The Thunder is led by MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who's been compared to Kobe Bryant.
But there is just as much depth on the Thunder. Barkley compared Isaiah Hartenstein to the likes of Bill Laimbeer without the hyper-aggression and volatility.
Can the Thunder be the present-day “Bad Boys”?
Much like the Pistons, the Thunder have a way of trapping star players and limiting their potential. In essence, mimicking what the Pistons deemed the “Jordan Rules” to stifle Michael Jordan's ability to score at will with physicality.
At the time, the NBA rules and game was much different than how it is in the present day. The game was much more physical and the things they did then wouldn't be accepted by today's standards.
However, the Thunder seem to have managed to play within the bounds of the rules, but still playing tenacious defense that many have come to love and want more of.
