As of December 3 2022, there are five players currently averaging at least 30 points per game. There are nine players averaging between 25 and 29 points per game. That is insane to think about. I can’t remember another time where the league had so many players averaging 30 points per game. The NBA and the game of basketball itself is in a great place.
With the rise in individual scoring, the conversation will always shift to rule changes. The rules have changed, and they change every decade. But even if the rule changes makes it easier to score in theory, at the end of the day this is still the NBA. Players like Luka Doncic, Steph Curry, and Jayson Tatum are at the top of every opponent’s scouting report. Even with the floor spaced out with all the perimeter shooting, it’s only easier to score in theory. You still have to go up against the best defenders in the world on a nightly basis.
Biased towards our own era
We are all biased towards the era where we became basketball fans. I am guilty of this myself. I became a basketball fan in the mid 2000s. That was the era of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Gilbert Arenas. There is always going to be something special about the era that made you a fan of the sport. So I understand why fans from the 70s, 80s, and 90s think today’s players wouldn’t be as successful back then.
But the reality is that today’s players are just more skilled. It is true that the past was more physical. Basketball in the mid 2000s and early 2010s was more physical than the game today. The 80s and 90s were definitely more physical than the game today. But in my opinion, it doesn’t matter all that much. Skill is going to triumph over physicality. Especially when that skill is also paired with modern day sports science.
Bigger, stronger, faster, and better
The 80s and 90s were a special era for the NBA. I have a lot of respect for the players from that era, and from all eras of the NBA. Those guys played a physical tough brand of basketball. A brand of basketball that I was only able to see a little bit of in the mid 2000s.
But those players aren’t as strong as the players today. Especially the players from the 80s. It’s not a shot at that era. It’s just evolution. Players from 2022 are stronger and more athletic than players from 2006. Sports science evolves with time, and with that evolution comes improvement in athletic training. Plus players today get individual skills training that wasn’t available to players in the past.
We all see the game differently
This is just how I see the game. We all see the game differently. Which is awesome, because as fans we can learn from each other. But I really do think the NBA is at its’ absolute best right now.
