What former players get completely WRONG about today’s NBA
Why are there so many 3-pointers today? Is the modern game too repetitive? Do all teams REALLY play the same way? This detailed film breakdown & scouting report compares 1990s NBA basketball to the 2000s to today’s modern NBA, after the Pace-and-Space revolution, to understand why offenses are so much harder to guard, why defenses have to be better than ever, and why the game is more complex than ever.
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Footage in this video is owned by the NBA and its partners. It is intended for critique and education.
Music by Fairlight (Detour in Velour, Hair), Cody Martin (Epiphany),
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Some of our favorites on the complexity and evolution of the League today:
-Cutting edge spacing (ft. Cavs Associate HC Johnnie Bryant): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osY0NWe4M0w
-OKC's futuristic defense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5VTLvw4Zpc
-The offensive explosion in one game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8bSEU7gAwI
-The evolution of the pick and roll: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pwt3k8PzhU
-How MEMORY helps LeBron move chess pieces on the board: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-cT9D-8ILk
THANK YOU !!! WE NEEDED THIS VIDEO
Average nba player today is so much better than a 70-80-90-00 even 2010s average player. Game is faster, demands more athleticism and durability. Everyone can shoot and I mean EVERYONE. Back in the day there were players called "specialists" the guy that can do one thing pretty good. Gary Payton, Joakim Noah, Tyson Chandler were defensive specialists, we got guys like korver, ray allen that were the three point threat on the court and the athletic/slasher type guys which were mostly non shooters such as rudy gay, josh smith or someone like early kawhi leonard. Now we have players like Jokic, Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic, SGA, Wemby etc. They literally have no weaknesses in their games. Average nba player has to do everything at an acceptable level nowadays. Back in the day people could be in a team's roster because they could shoot 5 threes in a game at 37 percent.
I think it's kind of dumb to decry one style of play instead of just preferring it
I like the old 'dump it inside and let the big man go to work' stuff cause I like post play, I think it's creative and fun to watch. I don't hate the modern game, it just bores me.
They removed and penalized defense. Simple bring back Defense.
Modern NBA is so much better, hence ratings are at an all-time high. People always gravitate towards a good product, right?
Totally agree with you. Everything is better about the game. The fights used to suck, the post ups to the same big man over and over- boring ah. I'm 66 and played/watched my whole life- I hope I never get like the old farts that always think they were better- in any sport.
I think the freedom of movement change is what messed up the NBA. Took out a lot of the physicality. It's not too complex it's too easy to lose the defender
Fucking great video, man.
Great video
Dawg u absolutely went crazy with this vid
I don't know what to tell you. Loved watching it in the 80s and at least to the mid 90s. Never watch it now. Endless threes.. I do think the defense is worse. A lot of that is the rule changes which I also hate. The players themselves are amazing athletes, even scrubs are hitting shots Larry Bird would never take. It's not on the players – I'm not one of those who think they couldn't play against stars of the past.. it's just to me.. boring to watch. pass, pass, pass.. Three.. dribble down.. three. Pass some more.. three. Almost every trip down the floor someone is doing something that would have been a violation 40 years ago. When they DON'T take threes sure it's better, but again they just don't, or can't defend properly and it's easy buckets. I dunno. People like what they like I guess I'm too old school. The sport has passed me by.
Ok so why are the ratings down?
I’m 30yrs old (ok fine, 32) and I distinctly remember every coach I ever had from grade-high school telling us to step in as close as we could.
Wide open three? Take one dribble step in and take the long two. The reasoning at the time was, “every foot closer to the rim your make percentage will increase.” What wasn’t considered at the time was points per attempt, e.g. 30% from three would be worth more than 35% from a long two. I do think the modern game has taken it a little far toward only taking 3’s or layups, but I love the increased off ball movement of the modern game when it occurs. 2014 spurs are the pinnacle of what is possible imo, tiki taka basketball making nba teams looks like middle schoolers
10:29 pinoy step
Really great analysis! Interesting data about the long 2-pointer rate being replaced by 3’s.
The only counterpoints I would offer are that:
1) defensive rule changes, loosening of traveling/carrying interpretations, and “gather step” shenanigans have completely increase the advantages offensive players have in PnR offenses in getting spacing.
2) Jokic is an outlier.
If those were called the way they were “supposed” to (in context of today’s players being more skilled), I wonder if the game would evolve again to one that is more pleasing to everyone.
🤯🤯🤯 critical thinking instead of lazy boring echo chamber takes from “analysts” who clearly dont watch games
Beautiful video. I can show this to people that don’t no shit about basketball and they’ll get it
Remember the 3 point line was introduced to the nba in 79 ,3s were not very popular
Thinking about the game as a product and then tweaking how the game is played in order to market the corporate product better is what's ruining the game. A quintessential reason why viewership has dropped off is because back in the day the games were on national or cable TV channels that were accessible to everyone. The local market showed our team, although home games were blacked out. Now their are multiple streaming services you need to follow the league as a whole. That isn't accessible to everyone. Should we make 10 minute quarters instead of 12 to "improve" the product? The incentive here is about money which is why it's referred to as a product and not a game. League executives embody the same corporate culture we see other places and whose main incentive is money. That's ruining the game. Let them play!
The idea of all players playing the same is funny. Name any two starting pgs and I guarantee they don’t play the same. I guy like SGA has a slow methodical game that looks super planned out and deliberate, while LaMelo Ball looks like he is making up moves on the fly and will take some of the most nonsensical shots you can imagine. I could take any two starting point guards and see how different they each play. No two play the same way.
Filipino right here!!!
The Game of Basketball now is more Dynamic. My pops who witnessed the 90's basketball prefer today's game.
Its the same with football (soccer). The modern game is faster paced, more physical. Most players are no longer one-dimensional now. There's better tactics employed in attack and defense. Players are a lot more organized while more skilled on average as well compared to 2-3 decades ago. Its just the evolution of the game based on necessity. So all these "the game was better back in my day" nonsense is just people looking through their personal nostalgic lenses.
And that’s why, ladies and gentlemen, LeBron James is the goat. He basically adapted in 3 different eras and dominated all of them
Hilarious that a YouTube channel presumes to know more than former NBA players about the state of the NBA today. you can’t be more ridiculous and arrogant than this.
That Gorilla video reference is an all timer type of analogy.
Ratings are down because the fans don't engage for the same reasons or in the same ways as they used to, especially younger demographics. They don't primarily follow one team, so they don't make a point to routinely sit down to watch that team's every game. They engage through highlights and statsheets and content channels like this one. Watching a whole game is more difficult than it used to be, and not just because of shorter attention spans, but because the broadcast schedules have been splintered across a dozen networks and services. The NBA's own League Pass service is way too expensive considering how hamstrung it is by blackout restrictions. Then you have the gambling push, which encourages a holistic and emotionally detached approach to fandom and engagement through secondary providers. The league has done this to itself by trying to squeeze every last dollar out of its fans. But instead of acknowledging this they blame the players for being boring. (And of course the old heads are going to seize the opportunity to support this story and shine up their own legacies.) This narrative problem is only going to get worse because the entrenched interests will never admit their own role in alienating fans, they'd rather run it into the ground and sell it for parts before moving on to the next venture. Just like what has happened in baseball over the last decade, the NBA is going to make rule changes and add gimmicks to try to prop up the product while they sell it out to casinos and sportsbooks. Sucks.
People love the 90s because of it's more slam dunks that's why Jordan, Kobe, and Vince Carter are very famous. Slam dunk can hype the team and fans up and give you momentum or shift momentum in your favor. Slam dunk is more apreciated than a 3 points shot in basketball, there is a mental or psychological component of getting dunked on as opposed to having a 3-point shot scored on you. There's nothing particularly fancy about a 3-point shot, it's a jump shot like 99% of all other shots. While a slam dunk, however is more of a spectacle, it also usually involves one player drastically out-performing the defenders.
As you went through your video and showed the differences and called out how the older game was all posting and less difficult to play and supposedly, "lower level basketball" than it is now. I thought to myself, wow I'm enjoying these older games and it seems a lot more fun. My point being that, you're probably right about everything you said in the video. But it doesn't make basketball more fun to watch and so many people as well as I do not care about the intricacies about modern basketball if it makes it less enjoyable for us.
Posting and isolation plays building suspense, as well as us getting to watch the player whose jersey we own hold the ball the most often IS what made basketball more enjoyable. I think through this video ended up showcasing that Basketball has become a more intricate and higher level game, but that it still doesn't matter and basketball is much less enjoyable.
My family who have been watching basketball every season since 1980, stopped watching basketball altogether since the current NBA took root. Most of my friends who I used to go play basketball with all rarely care about basketball now. But ALL of us still watch the NFL and baseball like normal, so take that as you will.
The problem is that old people dont like to learn so they hate. Or they have such fragile egos that their jealousy has them incapable of seeing reality
Couldn't care less about basketball, but the video vibes are immaculate
it’s so annoying all these old legends hate on the new guys like i just wanna hear abt the game not how it was back in ur day
You know this isn't a serious representation of either era or their complaints.
Which era had better passers than Jokic, Lebron, Harden, Luka, Trae, and Lamelo all at once?
Magic and Stockton were as good as any two passers, but that's only two guys. You could throw Bird in there- so three guys. Same with Nash and Kidd.
The depth of genuinely great passers today might be at an all time high. Of course, they are standing on the shoulders of the guys before them, but they are also adding their own contributions.
This video is spot on.
A lot of the media convinced fans, players and the rest of the media that only the playoffs mattered. So now players only care about the playoffs. And fans only care about the playoffs and media outlets only care to talk about the NBA when playoffs came.
This video states exactly how I feel and I have been watching since I was 4…the actual basketball has never been better. The athletes have never been more skilled or more athletic. The actual NBA package as a product has never been presented worse. This page, The Ringer, very few places actually like the nba season(even though the ringer continues to push for a shorter season) and care about the coverage of the game in general.
Just to simplify it even more…ever hear anyone say “LONG TWOOOOOOOOOO…YEAH!!!” like they do when someone takes a 3PT? No. Fans in the arena love the three.
We need more videos like this but I just don’t think enough media members care about the actual coverage and perception of the game. Bravo for this video though.
i hope that narrative of old school basketball being better fades away soon, it's really repetitive and insufferable. It ruins nba discussions for me because people will say that players shoot too much and that's why they don't watch… If you don't watch then how do you know what's really going on?
Maybe because if they do something a little off script they get a technical 💀
Should be shared everywhere the typical casuals are ignorantly flapping their gums.