Does the NBA have a problem?

[LogGrad98]

Another tell tell sign is there are more injuries even though teams are load managing and players playing much less.

There is a theory out there that the players today are tending to specialize much earlier in their sport so they don't get training from different kinds of activities. So they are dealing with over-use injuries much earlier and more frequently than in the past when you might see players who played multiple sports or otherwise engaged competitively in other activities besides basketball, which better prepares the body generally.

 

[LogGrad98]

All I know is teams played harder competed harder and laid it on the line more in the regular season and played through injury a lot more played while sick. They do none of those things now. Whether it’s Shaq or MJ saying those things it’s true.

To me partly this is the "good old days" fallacy, but I think there is something to it as well. I think part of this is from the early days in the sport the money wasn't always great. Players didn't get endorsements like they do now, and they played for love of the sport and the pride of competition. In the 80's when we started seeing the multi-million dollar salaries they played for pride and were thrilled to be making so much more money. Even into the early 2000's when the salaries were just starting to get really big, there was still the sense of love of the game and pride of competition and gratitude for the salaries they were earning.

But now, when even the worst players in the league who maybe even hate the game and just coast on natural ability are guaranteed to walk away with more money in maybe 5 seasons than a player like even Magic Johnson or John Stockton (to bring it closer to home) earned in their entire career, that aspect of love of the game and pride in competition has turned into entitlement and complacency. Unless they get tied to a superstar team, they know they don't have a chance at a ring, and the money is a given. So what matters anymore? There isn't anything else driving them.

Again, I'm not saying this is everyone but I think this is an aspect that has an effect on some level across the league. This also explains the constant player movement, holding out to get traded, etc. because they just want to be in the easiest situation to win. There is little else to motivate a lot of them.

 

[Elizah Huge]

Players are much more skilled now than ever and will only keep getting more skilled. It’s extremely hard to play great defense when there is just more great offense.