How the NBA Game Has Changed over the Last Decade | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
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A decade ago, George W. Bush was in his first term as president, gas was much cheaper, Nelly was all over the Billboard Hot 100 and the NBA was a different league.
And not just because Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Stephon Marbury, Brad Miller, Steve Francis and even Michael Jordan were still All-Stars, though you might want to let that marinate for a bit.
Player turnover is a fact of life in the NBA, wherein the average career length as of 2010 (according to Weak Side Awareness) was a shade over six years. So, too, are periodic tweaks to the rules.
Over time, though, both factors have contributed heavily to a shift in the way the game of basketball is played at the highest levels.
Size Mattered
Let's go back to that snapshot of the early 2000s, specifically the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons. Both of those campaigns saw the Larry O'Brien Trophy awarded to teams built around dominant big men (Shaquille O'Neal's Lakers in 2002 and Tim Duncan's Spurs in 2003), the Maurice Podoloff MVP trophy given to Tim Duncan and the Rookie of the Year handed out to talented forwards (Pau Gasol in 2002 and Amar'e Stoudemire in 2003).
The 2001-02 All-NBA teams featured no fewer than eight players—Duncan and Shaq on the first team; Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Webber and Kevin Garnett on the second team; and Jermaine O'Neal, Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo on the third team—capable of playing the center position. That number dipped to seven in 2002-03, when, in an ironic twist of fate, Mutombo was denied a spot among the league's coveted top 15.
Mutombo, though, was one of only four traditional "bigs" on the 2002 Eastern Conference All-Star team, alongside Alonzo Mourning, Jermaine O'Neal and Shareef Abdur-Rahim. The West had six of its own—Duncan, Dirk, Garnett, Webber, Elton Brand and Karl Malone—seven if you count Shaq, who had to withdraw on account of an injury.
The East held serve in that respect in 2003, with Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Ben Wallace and Brad Miller joining Jermaine O'Neal. The West's numbers actually dipped from six to five, with Shaq and Yao Ming replacing C-Webb, Brand and the Mailman.
But that 2003 All-Star Game nearly featured the zenith of size in the NBA. At one point, West coach Rick Adelman had Shaq, Yao, KG and Duncan on the floor at the same time and could've gone for the full Seven-Foot Five if he'd put one Dallas Mavericks All-Star (Dirk Nowitzki) on the floor instead of another (Steve Nash).
Now, let's make like Doc Brown and go back to the future...or the present, if you will. The last two seasons have borne witness to two teams (the Mavs in 2011 and the Miami Heat in 2012) winning the title without being built around a traditional low-post presence, and a point guard (Derrick Rose in 2011, Kyrie Irving in 2012) and a point-forward (LeBron James in 2012, Blake Griffin in 2011) garnering the MVP and the Rookie of the Year, respectively.
The 2010-11 All-NBA teams featured seven bigs in all, but only one (Dwight Howard) on the first team. That number dropped to six this past season, and three of them—Griffin, Dirk and Kevin Love—spend some (if not most) of their time on the perimeter.
As far as the All-Star game is concerned, the East had five bigs in 2011 and just three (Howard, Chris Bosh and Roy Hibbert) this past February, while the West sported five in 2011 and six in 2012, though again, Griffin, Love and Dirk were among those representing their conference in Orlando.
In other words, as much as the NBA likes to say that it's "BIG" today, it was significantly bigger—or rather, more of a traditional big man's league—10 years ago.
Not that the players themselves have necessarily shrunk. According to the NBA, the size of the average player has hovered right around 6'7" and 220 pounds for the last quarter century or so, with Antoine Wright fitting that exact description in 2011 to "earn" distinction as the league's Mr. Average.
Styles, They Come and Go
So what's changed, then? If the players aren't getting any smaller, then why are big men with post moves so rare nowadays when they seemed to be so plentiful just 10 years ago?
Consider that Dirk Nowitzki is the only player 6'10" or taller who's remained relevant among the NBA's elite between the pair of two-year periods examined above. He was an All-Star and an All-NBA performer then and remains one to this day.
All the while, Dirk's game (at least on offense) hasn't changed demonstrably. He's still primarily a sweet-shooting seven-footer who can get looks for himself and demoralize the opposition with his patented one-legged fadeaway jumper on the block.
Kevin Garnett and Chris Webber were both capable of hitting jumpers and handling the ball a bit 10 years ago, but neither would've been considered primarily "perimeter-oriented." On the whole, the player who was 6'8" or taller and could play like a guard was still a rarity in the NBA.
Not so much today, wherein Nowitzki is joined in that regard by the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Blake Griffin, among others.
Over that same stretch, point guards and combo guards have risen to perhaps their most prominent place in the game, at least since the NBA went "modern" in the 1980s.
A quick count of top-notch, franchise-caliber floor generals from the 2011-12 season will yield a lengthy list that, while ignoring injuries, includes Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook, Steve Nash, Rajon Rondo, Ty Lawson, Kyrie Irving, John Wall and Ricky Rubio, with Kyle Lowry, Goran Dragic, Jose Calderon, Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis and Mike Conley all figuring into the fringes of the conversation.
Being a guard (or playing like one) seems to be all the rage these days, but why? Why is a game and a league that was, for so long, dominated by giants who controlled the paint now so strongly influenced by those who hover around the perimeter?
The Fabric of the Game
Part of the change can be charged to cultural undercurrents, if you will. As Dwight Howard told Kevin Fixler of playing center in a recent piece for Yahoo! Sports:
It's not a fun position. It's a very tough position. It's one that a lot of people don't really want to play, because of how physical and tough it is. You have to be the tough guy on the court.
This from the preeminent player at the most important position in the history of basketball, who added:
Nobody really talks about center. Center isn't a flashy position, but it's the centerpiece for the team. Most people don't understand it because all they care about is one thing, and that's points. Scoring doesn't get you titles. Scoring doesn't get you nothing but scoring titles, or, you know, you look good on "SportsCenter."
Indeed, centers don't tend to garner as much praise or exposure as their counterparts on the perimeter. Guards tend to have flashier games and partake in more highlight-reel-worthy plays, if only because they have the ball in their hands more often and are responsible with getting the rock to big men.
On the one hand, that may seem more like an issue of "big babies" starving for attention and/or not wanting to take the pounding that comes with playing down low. On the other hand, it could simply be that because of that disparity in exposure, tall youngsters are less privy to the exploits of post players in comparison to those of the great guards and wings. As Howard put it:
I always wanted to be a point guard, but then I started to grow, so I played center once I got to the league. I didn't have the opportunity to watch TV, or see any other centers. I had a Magic Johnson VHS, and I watched that every day. I went to guard camps. I knew who Wilt Chamberlain was, but that's because of a toy that I had.
It certainly makes sense that Howard, like any young basketball player, would begin his life on the court as a guard. After all, most people who turn out to be tall enough to play center in the NBA don't reach that height until their high school years, long after they've already learned to pass, dribble and shoot and fallen in love with each skill.
Of course, this is hardly a new phenomenon. As Jerry West, The Logo himself, told Fixler:
Who do kids emulate? They don't emulate big players. They emulate smaller people who can dribble the ball through a damn Coke bottle. Those are the things that excite kids.
Why? Because, as kids, those are also the things they're more capable of—not dunking and blocking shots like the great centers—and because those are the players to which young hoop heads are more commonly exposed. And as the prevalence of "glamorous" NBA big men continues to dwindle, so too will the ranks of those who aspire to play the position.
Even Patrick Ewing, a Hall of Fame center in his own right, couldn't ignore the facts, saying, "Everybody wants to be like Michael Jordan."
To be sure, there are some, like Lakers center Andrew Bynum, who start playing basketball later, when they're already gigantic and thus are more likely to be thrust into the middle.
But would an NBA team today, with the way the game is played, be so quick to designate someone like a young Dwight Howard—with the size of a big man but the skills of a little guy—as a traditional center in the making, especially after the way the Heat went about winning their title against the similarly perimeter-oriented Thunder?
Follow the Rules
The NBA's top two teams have taken advantage of more than just a sea change in grassroots basketball culture, though. The simultaneous decline of big men and rise of perimeter players has also been helped along by changes to the rule book in recent years.
In particular, the loosening of restrictions on zone defenses and the tightening of those governing hand checks and other forms of contact away from the basket have continued to siphon the advantage away from bigs toward guards, just as the widening of the lane, the introduction of the shot clock and the institution of the three-point line have over the course of NBA history.
The influx of international bigs, most notably Dirk, who play like guards has only served to accentuate the shift toward and the popularity of big, versatile players in an ever-changing league.
It makes sense, then, that the true center has become something of a dying breed, and that this shift in the paradigm of NBA basketball has created a more wide-open game as a result. People of ideal center height are few and far between, and with so many of them choosing to play other positions—and with the rules rewarding them for doing so—an unclogging of the middle and residual spreading of the rest of the floor is bound to follow.
Just as we've seen in the NBA over the last decade.
Possibility vs. Necessity
This isn't to say, though, that the traditional center is "dead" or that a team built around one can't win in today's NBA.
Quite the contrary, actually. The rarity of the low-post big man makes the employment of one that much of an advantage.
It's no coincidence that there's been such a feeding frenzy around the league to acquire Dwight Howard amidst his ongoing "Indecision" and that the Orlando Magic have been so reluctant to trade him away. Howard's a once-in-a-decade-type talent at center, and even that interval of time may be putting it mildly. He's consistently one of the two or three most valuable players in the NBA every year because he's such a game-changer—because he's so big (and so good for his size) while everyone else isn't.
In other words, he fills a basketball niche that so few others do these days.
That being said, gone is the notion that a team can't win a title without a true center, whether or not it's one of Howard's caliber. The Heat didn't have one this past spring, instead employing Chris Bosh and Joel Anthony (both power forwards) and even LeBron to man the middle at times on the way to the NBA title.
They'll be favored to defend their crown next season, unless something dramatic comes up in the on-going "Dwightmare" saga, and likely still without the benefit of a true center. As Heat president Pat Riley told the South Florida Sun Sentinel, "We definitely are going to continue to look for somebody in that spot, but unless there's an injury, we really don't need a center."
That's the point, really. No team needs a center anymore if it plays a brand of basketball that takes full advantage of the rules that currently govern the NBA game.
Building a team with a conventional lineup that includes a traditional center remains the most foolproof way to compete for a championship.
But thanks to changes in the game over the last 10 years, it's no longer the only way to win at the highest level in the NBA.
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How the Game has Changed
Throughout 69 seasons of the NBA, the constant evolution of players, styles, and regulations has always created a thrilling game for viewers. The game has has changed drastically since the era of the three inch inseam, creating a greatly different playing style. The implementation of the three-point shot and the elimination of hand and forearm checking were created in response to a highly physical, big man’s game, and resulted in the subsequent rise of “small ball”.
Three-point introduction
The introduction of the three-point shot began in 1979, when the NBA absorbed the failing American Basketball Association- who instituted the three-point shot in a desperate attempt to liven up the game. When the NBA and ABA combined, the three-point shot came with it. Despite the overwhelmingly positive reaction from crowds, players and coaches alike initially opposed the three-pointer. Famed coach and player Gregg Popovich claims “To me, it’s not basketball, but you got to use it. If you don’t use it, you’re in big trouble. But you sorta feel like it’s cheating… I still hate it.” Players of past eras echoed the same belief, such as twelve time NBA All-Star Larry Bird, who remembers “Back when I played, we just didn’t shoot it that much. Now, if you’re not firing up thirty 3’s, you’re just not playing basketball.”
“Now, if you’re not firing up thirty 3’s, you’re just not playing basketball.”Larry Bird
Although NBA stars of the past may see it as an easy way out, it is impossible not to acknowledge the immense role the shot plays in the game now. Consider the 2014-15 Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers during the playoffs: the teams took second and third place in NBA history for average 3’s taken during each game, 29.1 and 30.3 respectively, compared to the first season after its implementation (1981-82) where Pat Riley’s Lakers won the Championship while scoring just 13 total 3’s throughout the entire season. It is evident how dependent teams have grown on the shot, accurately summed up by Greg Popovich who begrudgingly concedes, “If you don’t shoot the 3, then you probably aren’t going to win. ”
No hand/forearm/body checking
Another massive rule change that shook the foundation of defense was the gradual eradication of hand and forearm checking. Due to the increasingly aggressive defense among teams like the “Bad Boy” Pistons in the 1990’s, the NBA aimed to combat fighting by instituting various regulations throughout the early 2000’s. In 1999 the biggest rule aimed at creating a softer game was eliminating defensive contact with hands and forearms both in the back and front court, except with offensive players who got the ball below the free throw line. Similarly, defenders were prohibited from “re-routing” players off the ball, or impeding offensive players setting screens.
The NBA received plenty of criticism for allowing the game to become too “soft” by outlawing strong defense. The Association acknowledges the new rules were intended to liven up the slow, physical game by choosing “a special committee of basketball experts… in the early part of the decade to study the game and make recommendations as to how to make it more exciting to watch,” in attempt to encourage a more fluid, inclusive offense. By doing so, the court successfully opened up, causing a steady rise in average points scored, field goal percentage and three-point percentage.
The rise of “small ball”
By following the new rules implemented in the early 2000’s, basketball drastically changed to fit this new mold. One of the greatest changes seen over the last decade is the successful rise of “small ball,” and the deviation from big men consistently stationed under the post. Small ball is played by teams who sacrifice player size and low post emphasis to instead utilize smaller, agile outside scorers. Small ball teams build around a strong forward, such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant or Carmelo Anthony, who are then surrounded by players who can fluidly switch between positions.
“Small ball is the way everyone’s going and it’s good for us, we’re good at it.”Steve Kerr
The 2014-2015 Golden State Warriors are an incredible example of the success of small ball. Without a massive player to physically dominate under the post, the Warriors won a Championship for the first time in forty years without starting a player over 6’8’’. Implementing offensive tactics that allow all five versatile players to execute quick, effective passes before shooting was essential to their success, and is certainly due in part to the athleticism and agile size of the players. Gone are the days of coaches preaching, “you can’t teach size,” and instead cue coaches like Steve Kerr, claiming, “Small ball is the way everyone’s going and it’s good for us; we’re good at it.” As the greatest basketball team in the world right now, ‘good’ is a crude understatement.
With a drastically more spread-out court and lack of big men posting up under the basket, players are also encouraged to increase outside shooting, once again leading to the mounting rise in three-point shots. League MVP Steph Curry, standing at just 6’3’’, is an embodiment of how greatly a team can benefit from having an excellent outside shooter, and is often regarded by many as possibly the greatest shooter of all time. Curry broke Reggie Miller’s record by hitting 59 three-pointers throughout thirteen games during postseason, while it took Miller 22 to complete 58 3’s. He also broke his own 2013 record by making 286 during regular season. Curry’s outside shooting is undeniably an essential factor to the Warrior’s postseason success.
European Contribution
Another factor contributing to the evolution of the NBA is the presence of international players in the league. International players are molded throughout their early careers with a greater emphasis on team fundamentals, rather than individual success. Because U.S. players grow up playing on numerous AAU basketball teams throughout their youth, they are taught more to focus on their individual development rather than that of the group. AAU can be damaging to young players who compete in upwards of 100 games throughout the year by participating in leagues during the offseason. Players are coached to be able to perform at their greatest caliber year-round.
In contrast, European players spend this time practicing the basics and essentials of basketball while working as a team during offseason. Upon recognizing the benefit of this style of play, international players have become increasingly present in recent years throughout the NBA – with nearly a quarter of players representing 37 nations and territories during the 2014-15 season.
One team that has adequately embraced the European-style of play is the San Antonio Spurs. When San Antonio’s coach, Greg Popovich was a young player, he had a shocking revelation after being badly beaten by a Lithuanian team. He remembers, “We didn’t get beat, we got shown up. We didn’t just lose the game, we got a reminder about passing, moving the ball, sharing responsibility and playing the right way. Personally, I had my eyes open to the fact that there were great basketball players all over the world, even if nobody back home knew it.”
“He decided there wasn’t a place in the world, a street we wouldn’t walk down, a rock we wouldn’t turn to find a player.”R.C. Buford
After acknowledging the massive talent that lay overseas, Popovich incorporated his beliefs into coaching and began building his rosters with international players – including nine in 2014 when they won a Championship. With this strategy Popovich became a three-time NBA Coach of the Year and earned five Championship rings. Spurs general manager R.C. Buford claims “This is all Pop’s vision. He decided there wasn’t a place in the world, a street we wouldn’t walk down, a rock we wouldn’t turn to find a player.”
Spurs star Manu Ginobili from Argentina claims, “Of course, in general, we’re not gonna run as fast or jump as high. That’s the Americans doing what they have. So with the tools you’ve been given, you’ve got to find a way. Here, we just play the way Pop wants, the way we like, the way that gets to most out of us.” Popovich knows how to tailor his game to international players, and the effects of European-style play have been nothing short of successful.
Conclusion
Overall, basketball has seen a drastic revolution since the ages of Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain and even Michael Jordan. With the addition of the three-point shot and the removal of hand and forearm checking, basketball as a whole has become a more spaced out game that emphasizes outside shooting, teamwork and speed. Coupled with the introduction of more international players than ever before, fans can expect an increasingly quick, smart game that develops in the NBA over the next several decades.
How has basketball changed over the past hundred years?
Basketball has changed over time. The changes affected both the appearance of the form of basketball players and playing equipment, and the rules themselves.
Here are some innovations:
1893 introduction of iron ring with net
1894 - ball dimensions increased to 76.3-81.4 cm.
1895 - introduction of free throws from a distance of 4.5 meters
1896 - all options for dribbling are described and legalized.
After basketball became popular in the US, the game began to be played in other countries as well.
1891-1918 - the period of the first stage in the development of basketball as a new game. The rules of the game, published in 1894, made it possible to hold official competitions. Gradually improved tactics and technique of the game. The functions of defenders and attackers were defined. Improved techniques of throws, ball passes and rebounds. At that time, the game had a static dynamic, as all the main actions were performed while standing still.
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1919-1931 - the second stage of the formation of basketball. Basketball federations were created, which was a sharp impetus to the promotion of the game. In 1927, a school of physical education was established in Geneva. Elmer Berry, a teacher at the Springfield Athletic College, was chosen to head. Basketball has become widely popular throughout Europe. The countries of East Asia began to hold their own continental competitions. At 19In 1919, the debut international basketball tournament was held. Teams from France, Italy and America participated in it.
1932-1947 - the period of the third stage in the development of basketball. The main event of that period was the creation in 1932 of the International Basketball Federation or FIBA. It included Greece, Latvia, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Argentina, Italy, Portugal and Switzerland. At the conference, all countries voted for the creation of the International Basketball Federation and the approval of the uniform rules of the game.
A significant date in the history of the game was 1935. Basketball was officially recognized as an Olympic sport. In 1936, the US national team won first place in the basketball tournament of the eleventh Olympic Games.
During the fourth stage (1948-1965) the skill level of the players increases significantly. More and more socialist countries are taking part in the Olympic Games and various international competitions.
The next stage in the development of the game began with the appearance of throwing the ball with one hand. This technique is more complex, but it improves the accuracy of the throw. As a result of the introduction of new technology, the total score of teams per game has increased. But, most importantly, the tactics of the game have changed. The offensive system was now conducted through the center player, which meant the transition from the game of each player individually, as if he was on his own, to the collective game.
One of the variations of the game was the creation of mini-basketball in 1948 by the US coach T. Archer. The game introduced reduced standards regarding the size of the ball and the height of the basket, as well as simplified rules. The game was intended primarily for children and won love around the world.
In the mid-50s. the attack was the predominant tactic of the game. At this time, tall players began to appear in the teams. Later, however, basketball lost momentum. The team that received an advantage in the score tried to keep the ball from its players as long as possible, preventing the opponents from attacking. To prevent such scenarios of game development, significant changes and additions were made to the rules.
1966 marked the beginning of the rapid development of basketball. Soviet athletes made an invaluable contribution to the development of the game.
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A series of scandals in the offseason. NBA, what's wrong with you?
It has long been no secret that we live in an era of propaganda of the notorious Western tolerance. The values of this colossus are rolling all over the world, sweeping away all those who disagree with its colorful and iridescent views in its path. More and more fields of activity are under the influence, ranging from science and politics to art and sports. Methodically and scrupulously, ideas are being planted in our heads that homosexuality is not only normal, but also good. Being transgender is a gift that every adult and child should definitely use. Violence is a casual glance at the opposite sex, and racism is the desire of a white man to have the same rights as a black man who calls for his exclusivity because of a 400-year-old resentment. How do you like such an imposed equality in which you will never be equal? They talk about tolerance for a different worldview, but fiercely and zealously fight for their own. They call the minority the majority, hiding behind the assessment of human rights and freedoms.
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Durant remains in Brooklyn. Marriage of convenience or Chinese wisdom?
Imagine that you are a highly skilled worker with advanced professional skills that can be counted on the fingers of the labor market. Your entry into any company a priori gives it new contracts, increased attention, additional revenue. Colleagues in the shop are watching you intently and with admiration, competitors are biting their elbows with envy. Even if you get sick "overtime", no one will go in cycles in your sick days - the main thing is that you are healthy and rosy. And then one day, with a bold swing of your foot, you take out the door of your general manager with a request ... no, with a demand to fire, say, his commercial and chief accountant. Simply because you do not find this union promising and do not see it next to you.
fifteen 9
Understanding how VTB United League clubs contribute to the development of basketball in Russia (2021-22 season)
Hello everyone… I'm back! Approximately a year ago I wrote an article on SD with the title "Understanding how VTB United League clubs contribute to the development of basketball in Russia." In this article, using basketball-reference (at the end I realized that the statistics there may not be the most accurate, but it accurately reflects the essence and trends), Excel and, of course, science, I looked at how many minutes our domestic professional clubs allocated to Russian players for the game. And those minutes were few. In fact, our top clubs were ready to give the Russians only a quarter of the total playing time. I also looked at how many young basketball players the teams are using. And, surprise, there weren't too many of them. I also looked at the budgets of the clubs and made sure that everyone already knows that basketball in Russia lives purely thanks to sponsorship money and donations. All this year I have been praying for our young Russian players to get more playing time. But that did not happen! And although the situation in the world has changed, the attitude towards Russia has changed, but the attitude to their work has not changed among domestic functionaries, sports "experts" and others who are not indifferent to the development of basketball. Today I will try to fully review all the actions and significant statements that have been made this year. So without further preludes, let's get started!
eight thirty
Handcuffs instead of a ball. Brittney Griner and Other NBA Players Jailed
Unfortunately for Brittney Griner, Articles 228 and 229 in our country do not select offenders based on gender, color, sexual orientation, or athletic merit. Someone can appeal to tolerance, someone can classify Greiner as a political prisoner. And the luggage was collected “in a hurry”, the prohibited substance was prescribed by a doctor, and the too famous athlete ended up in the dock. In the bottom line, we have: the fact of transporting a prohibited substance, an admission of guilt, a guilty verdict. Against the backdrop of all the ups and downs around the star basketball player, I would like to recall the real prison sentences of professional basketball players already in the United States. How and for what they put the players behind bars in the country of the all-seeing eye, in which the logs are stubbornly ignored. 90,071 of the League's strongest rookies that year, whose talent Phoenix hoped in vain. For six incomplete seasons, the seven-footer managed to play for the Suns, Detroit and San Antonio.
Average.
As Dwight Howard told Kevin Fixler of playing center in a recent piece for Yahoo! Sports: 
The simultaneous decline of big men and rise of perimeter players has also been helped along by changes to the rule book in recent years.
The Heat didn't have one this past spring, instead employing Chris Bosh and Joel Anthony (both power forwards) and even LeBron to man the middle at times on the way to the NBA title.
If you don’t use it, you’re in big trouble. But you sorta feel like it’s cheating… I still hate it.” Players of past eras echoed the same belief, such as twelve time NBA All-Star Larry Bird, who remembers “Back when I played, we just didn’t shoot it that much. Now, if you’re not firing up thirty 3’s, you’re just not playing basketball.”
”
By doing so, the court successfully opened up, causing a steady rise in average points scored, field goal percentage and three-point percentage.
Implementing offensive tactics that allow all five versatile players to execute quick, effective passes before shooting was essential to their success, and is certainly due in part to the athleticism and agile size of the players. Gone are the days of coaches preaching, “you can’t teach size,” and instead cue coaches like Steve Kerr, claiming, “Small ball is the way everyone’s going and it’s good for us; we’re good at it.” As the greatest basketball team in the world right now, ‘good’ is a crude understatement.
He also broke his own 2013 record by making 286 during regular season. Curry’s outside shooting is undeniably an essential factor to the Warrior’s postseason success.
Upon recognizing the benefit of this style of play, international players have become increasingly present in recent years throughout the NBA – with nearly a quarter of players representing 37 nations and territories during the 2014-15 season.
With this strategy Popovich became a three-time NBA Coach of the Year and earned five Championship rings. Spurs general manager R.C. Buford claims “This is all Pop’s vision. He decided there wasn’t a place in the world, a street we wouldn’t walk down, a rock we wouldn’t turn to find a player.”
Coupled with the introduction of more international players than ever before, fans can expect an increasingly quick, smart game that develops in the NBA over the next several decades.
Gradually improved tactics and technique of the game. The functions of defenders and attackers were defined. Improved techniques of throws, ball passes and rebounds. At that time, the game had a static dynamic, as all the main actions were performed while standing still. 
The main event of that period was the creation in 1932 of the International Basketball Federation or FIBA. It included Greece, Latvia, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Argentina, Italy, Portugal and Switzerland. At the conference, all countries voted for the creation of the International Basketball Federation and the approval of the uniform rules of the game. 
But, most importantly, the tactics of the game have changed. The offensive system was now conducted through the center player, which meant the transition from the game of each player individually, as if he was on his own, to the collective game. 
Soviet athletes made an invaluable contribution to the development of the game. 
How do you like such an imposed equality in which you will never be equal? They talk about tolerance for a different worldview, but fiercely and zealously fight for their own. They call the minority the majority, hiding behind the assessment of human rights and freedoms. 
And then one day, with a bold swing of your foot, you take out the door of your general manager with a request ... no, with a demand to fire, say, his commercial and chief accountant. Simply because you do not find this union promising and do not see it next to you. 
And those minutes were few. In fact, our top clubs were ready to give the Russians only a quarter of the total playing time. I also looked at how many young basketball players the teams are using. And, surprise, there weren't too many of them. I also looked at the budgets of the clubs and made sure that everyone already knows that basketball in Russia lives purely thanks to sponsorship money and donations. 
Brittney Griner and Other NBA Players Jailed 
