NBA Trends: How The Game Has Evolved Over Decades
The National Basketball Association has dramatically changed since it started in 1946. Its fast-paced and exciting gameplay was significant in its meteoric rise to fame. Because of this, it has become one of the world’s most prestigious and profitable sports organizations.
While the four major professional sports leagues in Canada and the United States are strong, none can compare to the NBA. This league is unique among its thirty member clubs—twenty-nine in the United States and one in Canada—because it is widely acknowledged as the principal arena for professional basketball players to display their talents worldwide.
Let’s get started!
Under the leadership of the Commissioner, the NBA’s headquarters are in New York City. The regular season lasts eight months, from October to April, and features 82 exciting matches in which all clubs battle intensely. After the regular season, the NBA playoffs begin in April and culminate in a thrilling best-of-seven series between two deserving teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences, widely recognized as one of the sport’s pinnacle events. For more updates, keep following the NBA trade deadline 2024 updates.
But, prior to that, let’s understand the trends over the decades.
1.A three-point overview in NBA
When the American Basketball Association collapsed in 1979, its members desperately tried to inject life into the game by instituting the three-point shot, which the National Basketball Association subsequently adopted. With the merger of the NBA and the ABA came the three-point shot. At first, the players and the coaches were against the three-point shot, even though the audience was quite supportive.
“To me, it’s not basketball, but you got to use it,” says legendary coach and player Gregg Popovich. There will be severe consequences if you disregard its use. Yet, you can’t help but sense that it’s deceitful. Even now, I despise it. Larry Bird, a twelve-time NBA All-Star, stated, “Back when I played, we just didn’t shoot it that much,” echoing players’ sentiments from bygone periods.
You don’t play basketball unless you’re making three-pointers.
2.A new way of officiating was taught to officials.
The NBA referees are often criticized and used as scapegoats, but their job is incredibly challenging.
Despite taking nearly continual criticism for the silver they miss from spectators, coaches, pundits, and even large players who frequently express their displeasure inches from their faces on live TV, they manage to pull it off admirably, with around 92% of calls and non-calls being accurate.
3.Refrain from touching anybody on the hand, forearm, or back.
Hand and forearm checking was gradually eliminated, another regulation modification that rocked the defense’s core. The NBA sought to curb fighting by implementing different laws during the early 2000s in response to the increased tough defense played by teams like the “Bad Boy” Pistons in the 1990s.
Eliminating defensive hand and forearm contact in the backcourt and frontcourt, except with the attackers who grabbed the ball beneath the free throw line, was the most significant rule change in 1999 that attempted to make the game softer. In a similar vein, defenders couldn’t block offensive players from establishing screens or “rerouting” players away from the ball.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) came under fire for allegedly letting the game go too “soft” by banning physical defense. All three of those metrics—average points scored, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage—rose steadily once the floor was effectively opened up.
4.”Small ball” rose to prominence in NBA
Following the new regulations in the early 2000s, basketball transformed dramatically to conform to these new standards. When playing small ball, teams focus less on big players in the low post and more on quick, nimble scorers on the perimeter. A small ball squad often centers on a dynamic scorer like Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, or Kevin Durant and surrounds them with versatile defenders and attackers.
The Golden State Warriors of 2014–2015 exemplify the power of small balls in action. For the first time in forty years, the Warriors won a championship without starting a player over 6’8″—all because they lacked a physically dominant big man behind the arc.
“Small ball is how everyone’s going, and it’s good for us; we’re good at it.” Instead of coaches saying, “You can’t teach size,” we now have Steve Kerr and others like him. Saying they are good would be a gross understatement, given their status as the best basketball team in the world right now.
5.NBA Compensation skyrocketed from six figures to eight
Fifty years ago in 1969, famed NBA player Bill Russell retired after a stellar career that included 12 All-Star appearances, five MVP awards, an unprecedented eleven NBA championships, and a peak salary of barely $100,000—yet he was still one of the highest-paid players in the league.
Stephen Curry, on the other hand, is the highest-paid basketball player right now. He will earn an average of almost $40.23 million annually until he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2022, thanks to a five-year, $201.16 million contract.
6.Along with 3-point attempts, individual production skyrocketed.
An exponential increase in individual output has resulted from a domino effect of more 3-point tries, quicker play, more possessions, and so on. In 2017, there were 117 triple-doubles in the league, according to Blasting News’ Mitchell Oakes, who cited statistics from the Land of Basketball. In 2008, there were just 40 such games.
7.Mid-range jump shots dwindled in frequency.
According to USA Today, the mid-range jump shot is becoming increasingly rare in sports as the league focuses on long-range sharpshooters. .
In the end!
In general, basketball has undergone a radical transformation over the careers of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. The three-point shot and the elimination of hand and forearm checking have made basketball a more open game that values quickness, passing, and shooting from beyond the arc. Fans may anticipate a more rapid and intelligent game to emerge in the NBA in the following decades, thanks to the influx of more international players than in the past.