NBA Today vs. NBA Yesterday

In almost every interview with a basketball legend, they usually let loose a lot of criticism about the quality of today’s NBA game versus when they played. I had always dismissed their comments as the usual talk you hear from the older generation when comparing today and yesterday. I thought of the NBA as continuously evolving. In my mind, right here, right now I was witnessing professional basketball at its highest level.

Yet being a basketball fan for only a short time, my curiosity about NBA years past was piqued and I started tuning into the retro games airing on NBA.comTV.

As I watched a game from the 1986 Bulls/Celtics playoffs, I was completely surprised at just how different the style of play was from today. Of course there were the usual go-to guys, in this case Bird and a young Jordan, but they seemed to not be as heavily relied upon as the go-to guy of today, the current “just-get-it-to-Shaq-and-he’ll-slam-it-in” mantra. A well-developed bench heavily complimented the two superstars. The general speed of the play was slower, but that was because players were paying more apt attention to executing basketball fundamentals. This was definitely a contrast to the NBA of today, where players are often in such a rush to be the quickest, most powerful guy to finish the job that their fundamentals are either executed flimsily or not at all.

Do young men who are starting out as basketball players have any awareness of the NBA of yesterday, or do they simply emulate the NBA of today? If put in the position to, could they accomplish a bank shot, or would they merely try to get themselves to the line? Do they ever box out for rebounds? Or is being “the man” to deliver the biggest slam-dunk of the night all they think they need to know to be a successful basketball player?

However, I don’t believe that the NBA is a total lost cause as far as the quality of the play goes. There are still some teams, mainly the smaller-market ones, who haven’t forgotten about the value of old-school play. Taking a slogan from the league, I “still love this game” and will continue to watch and attend NBA games with each chance I get. I just now realize that I am not watching basketball in its purest form.