What did you think of the last 25 years of the NBA?

[72-10]

Was it an enjoyable ride?

[Mr.GOAT2408]

I liked the 97 - 14 period (loved the late 00s / early 10s period, the league was not overkill on really anything during that period) but not so much since

2016 was really good though, as was 2019, but the rest of the post 2014 period was meh for me

[HoopsNY]

That's tough to really compare. I think most people would say the league was fine up until about 2014. Then the rule changes and three point shooting fest really impacted big changes, together with a lack of defensive schemes and aggressive play.

It's always funny that LeBron stans take an aim at the 90s, simply because they want to discredit MJ's accomplishments; yet the league was pretty much the same from 1999-2010. 1-2 stars, slower paced, coaching, offensive/defensive systems, etc.

The league in 2005 was more akin to the 90s than it is now. Yet LeBron stans don't seem to complain about the 2000s. Reason being? LeBron came into the league in 2003. To complain about the league then would create a massive fallacy in their argument.

But it's a very strange type of cognitive dissonance. You would think there is a healthy dose of skepticism and an application of that skepticism to the 2000s, and even say, 2011. But there isn't.

[NBAGOAT]

good recently. yes defenses have had a tough time past few years and 3's are overpowered but tbf i always hated teams taking long 2s and i'm glad that shot is gone. I'm not a big fan of superteams but playoffs are honestly exciting when there are 3-4. Right now the all out arms race is really exciting. The part that hurts is a few teams are complete jokes but that doesnt matter in the grand scheme of things and I wont watch their games. The guy above who says there arent defensive schemes isnt giving enough credit to coaches though tbf a lot of nba defense in the playoffs is just being as switchable as possible and drop coverage isnt very exciting either. still stuff like scram switching and the return of more zone defense like you saw from bos vs tor last year is very clever(that was a fantastic defensive coaching series)

mid 00's had a lot of balance but there were some underwhelming champions, we cant say that right now. Even 19 toronto was loaded. What lebron did in 09 likely wouldnt be possible today because there are too many talented teams and wouldnt even happen as a team cant afford to have 1 or 2 wasted years with their superstar before he demands a trade. Early 00's has some ugly basketball compared to even the 90s but there was a lot of great isolation scorers who did have their moments

[kawhileonard2]

2011, 2014, 2019 were awesome!

[FKAri]

94-2007 was dog shit
Then it got a little interesting as we saw changing playstyles and fresh faces
2014-present dog shit again as the game warped into a running and shooting drill.

Late 80s-early 90s really was the best. Probably just bias speaking.

[Mr.GOAT2408]

mid 00's had a lot of balance but there were some underwhelming champions, we cant say that right now. Even 19 toronto was loaded. What lebron did in 09 likely wouldnt be possible today because there are too many talented teams and wouldnt even happen as a team cant afford to have 1 or 2 wasted years with their superstar before he demands a trade. Early 00's has some ugly basketball compared to even the 90s but there was a lot of great isolation scorers who did have their moments

We literally saw that shit with Giannis recently, fit > talent for RS, the PS is where that star power / veteran experience (which the 09/10 Cavs did have for the latter) matters more. The 09 Suns were loaded with talent (19 Raptors? The ****? The 11 Mavs had more talent than them on top of 09 Suns) but missed playoffs, injuries were one reason but defensive fit was another, teams back then were just better at maximizing their talent (and providing depth) than any recently where it's been these top heavy but flawed superteams that's watered down the product greatly

[Sulico]

NBA becomes better and better with each passing decade, as it should. And this won't stop.

25 years ago NBA was at the end of ass-pushing era. A lot of plays still were - give ball to a big in the post and see how far he can push defender with his ass before turnaround fadeway. Yes, teams also had a lot of other schemes and plays so it was watchable, unlike early 90's.
Still, there were a lot of standing around. 40 minutes per game in regular season wasn't something crazy, cuz players didn't have to run all the time like today.
The good side of this - there were a LOT less injuries.

Fast forward to today, NBA is fast, dynamic league with complicated schemes and smart defense.
There's always some nostalgic or plain stupid people who would say that NBA was better 30 years ago, cars were better 30 years ago, grass was greener 30 years ago, etc.

[hiphopanonymous]

I've enjoyed it for sure

Pros
Baggy jerseys are finally disappearing (2010's onward)
The game looks as pretty as ever on the offensive end
Many tremendously fun talents to watch.
Rivalries the first 15 of the last 25 years.

Cons
Baggy jerseys became a thing then persisted for too long (1996-well into the 2010's)
The game recently is a joke as far as what defensive players are allowed to do (virtually nothing) - looks worst of any era ever IMO
Over emphasis on 3 ball at the present time (past 5 years), hopefully that will mitigate to some extent and I think this is tied to what defenses are allowed.
Superteaming the past 10 years

[DoctorP]

[Indian guy]

I think most people would say the league was fine up until about 2014. Then the rule changes and three point shooting fest really impacted big changes

Ummm what rule changes? The rules from 2005-2018 are unchanged before league passed the freedom-of-movement rule in 2019. 3pt shooting didn't see a notable rise until 2017 (from 24 to 27). Prior to that 3PA increased by increments of 1-2 shots from season to season.

The 4 major things that changed how the game is played in the last 25 years are:

2002 (zone defense legalized)
2005 (hand check "ban" ends scoring dearth of 1999-2004)
2016 (GS' record breaking season leads to league-wide embracement of 3's, small ball and ball movement)
2019 (freedom of movement rule further softens the game)

[Micku]

It's cool. It had its ups and downs.

It really went through a big change. From the late 90s, early 00s and onwards to the late 00s till now.

I miss the defense and the variation of teams play in the late 90s and early 00s, but hated the bad iso ball. Love the team play from late 00s onwards, but hate that the 3pt is op and teams abusing it now. There are so many different styles of play and rule changing of the 25 year period. But you got to see some sick teams. I don't really like superteams, but they make for some good babershop talk and it's cool to watch them play.

It seems like players back in the day didn't get injured as much. It could be because the modern nba, players got to move around more often, especially on defense, that it's wears on the body.

I really love the late 00s and early 10s era tho. Although they lack big men, it was a nice balance imo. 2000-02 was cool for the top west coast teams. The east sucked.