Change is tricky.
For some, change is something that is easy to cope with and for others, not so much. When people think of change, they think of starting all over or starting from scratch..
But does the popular opinion on change differ when discussing sports? Or more specifically an entire professional sports league?
It has become an increasingly popular occurrence for fans of the NBA to compare all aspects of today’s modern NBA league to that of the past, specifically the ’90s era. Many fans feel as though this was the best decade of basketball the NBA has seen and that today’s league just will never live up to the level of competitiveness or entertainment.
So what is the difference between ’90s NBA and modern day NBA?
“Hard fouls, trash talk, aggressive nature,” host of WNYO radio show NBA Hoops Chan Daniels said.
This has seemingly been a popular opinion amongst fans of the game. They argue that the ’90s were more aggressive whereas now, the league is “soft.” For some fans, the aggressive nature of NBA basketball is what made the game enjoyable to watch. They say it allowed players to play with their raw emotions instead of worrying about the technical fouls that might come their way if they don’t play otherwise.
This kind of trash talk however did not always pan out well for the game.
In the past, the NBA had a reputation of being a fight league. Due to the aggressive fouls, and the unlimited boundaries of trash talk, players would get caught in the moment and react violently to it. Physical altercations between players was something that was common.
For example, the brawl between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers in 2004 that according to NBA records, resulted in nine players being suspended a total of 146 games, and some players even being charged and put on probation. This brawl was major for the NBA in that it highlighted that there was in fact an issue with how aggressive the league was.
“It was too much,” avid fan of the game Aaron Robinson said. “All of the fighting was taking away from the true talent and skill that you need to play NBA basketball. If I wanted to see fighting I would just watch boxing or UFC. The NBA is not the place for that.”
As of late, the NBA has done a good job in “cleaning up” the game. There has been less physical altercations and the referee’s no longer turn a blind eye to intense fouls and trash talk that is deemed “provoking” or “taunting.” Players are not allowed to stare each other down after offensive or defensive plays and any form of excessive trash talk can and usually is punished at the exact moment it occurs. Although this is something that is proving to be successful in keeping the league free from fights and brawls like in the past, some fans express their dissatisfaction with this, saying the calls are too excessive.
“The refs blow whistles for everything now,” Robinson said. “Literally everything is a foul.”
Although Robinson expressed his delight in the fact that the NBA has gotten cleaner, he is still dissatisfied in the fact that it’s too clean. This is a common opinion for many fans of the game as well.
“The fact that they call everything really takes away from the game,” George Assam said. “It takes away from the fluidity and the fun. They need to let the game flow sometimes, like soccer.”
Another comparison people often have for the two era’s of NBA basketball is talent, skill level and competitiveness. Fans commend the ’90s era for being the league of real competitors and unpredictability because of the skill and talent virtually any team had. One of the main comparisons made by fans recently is the 95-96’ Chicago Bulls team and the 2015-2016 Golden State Warriors team.
This year’s Warriors team have encountered countless comparisons with the 95-96 Bulls team because of their chase and eventual success in breaking the Bulls’ record for most regular season games won. Fans compare the teams saying that the Bulls would beat the Warriors if they were to play each other in a playoff series.
“I would give the Warriors one win against the Bulls,” Daniels said. “That Bulls team was phenomenal.”
Here again lies the common theme that physicality results in the best basketball play. Fans argue that because the Warriors are primarily a jump shooting and three point shooting team, they could not reach the success that they have in modern day NBA if they played in the ’90s league. Other fans argue that comparing talents in the two era’s shouldn’t be a thing.
“You can’t compare the two because they were way more physical so I would say you adapt to your time and just play,” Assam said.
The various changes made to the NBA that help define the ’90s era and the modern era will continue to be up for debate as to whether or not it had a positive or negative effect on the league as a whole. The aggressive nature for some caused too much controversy and for others, it made the games enjoyable to watch.
It seems as though there will never be a definite answer for which NBA league is in fact the best as it is a matter of opinion.