Basketball Imitates Art
Not only is there more to life than basketball, there’s a lot more to basketball than basketball.
-Phil Jackson
My first memory of NBA basketball was the 1991 Finals when the Bulls beat the Lakers, spawning the Michael Jordan epoch. If my memory serves me, we were living in Inglewood, California. During the Finals, my father had friends over to watch one of the games. I remember seeing yellow the court, meaning the game was at The Forum, and the Lakers lost because they did not win a single game after Game 1 in Chicago. Nonetheless, it was the summer of 1991 when little Christopher’s NBA fandom began.
My NBA heart belongs to the 1990s. I can pretty much remember any player who played during the 90s. I used to eagerly anticipate the NBA on NBC showcase game with the iconic Roundball Rock theme song. Jordan’s Bulls versus Patrick’s Knicks. Payton and Kemp’s Sonics versus Barkley’s Suns. Stockton and Malone versus Hakeem’s Rockets. Reggie’s Pacers versus Baby Shaq’s Magic. That era will forever be ingrained in my brain as the good ole days, routine final scores of 81 to 76 notwithstanding.
When looking back on the 90's and 2000’s eras, I miss the heterogeneity of the style of play. The current version of NBA basketball lacks some of the character and charm of previous eras. There was Bill Cartwright’s funky shooting motion. Chicago (and later the Lakers) had their triangle offense. Barkley used to take the ball and lead the break himself if he wasn’t backing down a defender in the post for 15 seconds leading to The Barkley Rule. We had unbelievable low-post play from Hakeem, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Shaq, and Rik Smits, to name a few. Payton and Kemp were running a high-flying circus act in the Pacific-Northwest. All this to say that we had a diversity in style and character for teams and individual players.
When I watch NBA basketball today, I find myself more bored with the game and players because of the homogeneity of the way the game is played. NBA games and offenses have seemingly been hacked. Every team seems to be chasing efficiency and pace, characterized by chasing the 3-point shot. This is evidenced by teams setting for a 3 when there is a clear fastbreak advantage. So many possessions are characterized by pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop sets. Outside of Steph Curry, we don’t see as many unique shooting styles. In pure basketball terms, I understand the drive for efficiency. Sadly, however, the drive towards efficiency has robbed the game of its artful aesthetic. I still love basketball and the incredible level of skill today’s players exude. But I miss the old charm and quirkiness of past eras that embodied NBA basketball as both artful and skillful.
I have essentially abandoned all basketball-related media. There is a prevalent NBA media groupthink that suggests basketball has to be played a certain way. I call this the “spreadsheetification” of NBA basketball. Pundits and analysts constantly remind us that a player’s worth is mostly tied to how well they can shoot the 3-point shot or spread the floor. Due to the analytics movement, all teams are aware of the value of the 3-point shot being worth 50% more than the 2-point shot. This has led to a denigration of the mid-range game, which has artistic value to me. The game also forced players who have no business hanging out at the 3-point line launching long-range bricks.
There is no way to verify this because I cannot remember the year and details. But there was an NBA video game, NBA Live. I forget the year, but this version included player tags denoting them as floor generals, shooters, defenders, scorers, and so on. I liken this to what I call player DNA. Each player has their own “genetic” basketball code. Some players are shooters (Dell Curry, The Person Brothers, J.J. Redick), which is different from scorers (Dwyane Wade, Allen Iverson, Donovan Mitchell). Some players are floor generals (Magic, Isiah Thomas, Chris Paul, Steve Nash). Others are jack-of-all-trade players (Scottie Pippen, Grant Hills, Penny Hardaway). Each players has a unique combination of skills, weaknesses, and strengths.
Currently, and I want to emphasize that this is not problematic, there is seemingly a drive towards playing a more positionless, homogeneous style in which many players play in a similar way. Given what the demand is at the top, we are seeing a trickle-down effect in which young players are training for this new positionless style of play. Positionless may be a dramatic description, but we are seeing all players, regardless of size and skill, shoot the three with few exceptions. Low post play has little value, due to defensive rule changes and style-preferences. Pick-and-roll basketball is ubiquitous, and a ball handler’s worth is heavily tied to how they fair in pick-and-rolls. A player can do many great things, but if they are a bad 3-point shooter, their value takes a hit. I will continue to watch the game and its evolution. This is not a criticism on today’s game, though the media disappoints me when they over-emphasize a player’s 3-point shooting ability while devaluing the other great things they do. Nevertheless, I missed when basketball imitated art a little more.
