Basketball is a sport that has impacted the lives of millions across the globe. The sport that once began with players throwing a ball of leather into peach baskets is in the distant past. The NBA is now a multi-billion dollar per year organization. The sport originated over 100 years ago and with the progression of the sport the conversation arises, is the evolution of basketball good for the sport as a whole? Basketball is better off now as a sport due to the changes that have occurred and have given the opportunity for players of all sizes to participate. 

One of the alterations made to the sport that greatly improved it was the installation the three-point line. The 3-point line was created in order to space out the floor and make the game faster paced. Originally when the line was instituted some coaches quoted it as a “gimmick shot.” The three-point line is 22 feet away from the basket. The reward for making a shot from this distance is that shot is worth three points instead of two. Thinking that it was simply a waste of a possession to shoot the ball from that far away, coaches would rarely let their players take these shots. “In the early years of the line teams would only take between one and three of these shots per game” (Mather). The game really started to evolve around the 2000’s when we see the three point shot attempts sky rocket. “The league average attempts have gone up about ten more per game in the last five years alone” (Katz). 

The three point line led to a game revolving around smaller players, a scene that the league has not seen before. With players attempting more and more three pointers per game shooters became more desirable. This is the big change that the three point caused. The game of basketball from its first days until recently has been dominated by big players. These players are generally over six-six and bulky. They were not fast and this meant that players just bullied there way as close to the basket to have the “best shot possible,” despite being heavily guarded. With the three point line these big players now have to begin to move away from the basket in order to guard the shooters. The three-point line did a lot for smaller basketball players because now the game is much more spaced out. Big men are now less dominate in the game because the ability of shooters to make three pointers have risen. Since baskets from 22-away are also worth more points it’s more important to guard them, thus leaving big men with a dilemma. Get lighter and faster. This has benefitted the game because it opened the opportunity for smaller faster players to be more effective in the league and created a faster paced game. Players have adapted to the changes and thrive in them. An example of this is Russell Westbrook. Smaller players are currently dominating the game due their ability to shoot effectively from distance and the inability for larger players to guard them from that distance.

For a very long time basketball has been dominated by height and now is equaling out for players of modest height but with great skill and athleticism. Westbrook is a 6”3 point guard having one of the best seasons of any basketball player ever, and he is doing with his athleticism and skill, not his height. He is an example of the new breed of basketball player that is shaping the sport. “He averages around 30 points per game with ten assists” (Cacciola). These are MVP numbers coming from one of the smaller guys in the league. This is great for the sport as a whole because he is inspiring the youth that may not be the “best-suited” for basketball to work hard and that they can one day make it to the NBA. The shift in the NBA has already inspired the youth to this new style of basketball. Players in high school and the NCAA are dominating the game with average height but great athleticism and extreme skill in shooting the basketball efficiently such as Lamello Ball and Frank Mason. Players across the globe are making this transition as well. Foreign leagues have also implemented a 3-point line and players similar to those like Westbrook are being the given the opportunity to play in the NBA. The NBA is also recognizing talent outside of the US and giving foreign players roster spots. 

Originally basketball was only played in North America. The game has been around long enough that the NBA has begun to realize that there is a lot of talent outside of the United States. The NBA has started to recruit heavily in Europe and Africa. “In 1980 the NBA only had 1.7% of its players born outside of the United States and in the 2015-2016 season the percentage has risen to 28.6” (Pontin). The increase is nothing like the sport has ever seen before, but it is for the betterment of the sport. The NBA is an organization for the best basketball players around the world and only recently have they given people from other parts of the world the chance to play at the highest level. Since they have given foreigners the opportunity to play, the sport has evolved to be better than ever with all the influx of new talent and styles of play. The NBA is currently being flooded with young forging basketball stars. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kristaps Porzingis are two examples of players coming from overseas, Greece and Latvia, to play basketball and having it pay off. Both of these players are under the age of 23 and both competed for rookie of the year when entering the league they quickly became household names in the basketball community. These are two of the most dominate players in the league and are the best on their prospective teams. This was not common in the NBA but foreigners are now beginning to dominate the league and we can continue to expect this with players having increased opportunity to make it to the league and better their lives. Foreign style of basketball also benefitted the NBA because they brought moves with them that were uncommon before their arrival. Without the influence of the other players from around the world the league would not be as competitive or innovative as it is. The evolution of players becoming more skilled and athletic has helped all basketball players believe they can make it to NBA if they work hard enough.

One high school standout, Lamello Ball, is following in the new style trend and progressing it even further by dominating with his sharpshooting and athleticism. Lamello is just one example of the game has progressed in another, more selfish way. The world has seen NBA stars shine when they are offensive powerhouses. Jordan, Kobe, Lebron. These players dominate with the ball in their hand and Lamello embraces this on the court. In a game Lamello was able to score more than 90 points drawing ridiculous media attention (Sondheimer). The reason for this is because he shot nearly every shot for his team that night. He is progressing the game in a more selfish, one player dynamic to winning games. His high school, Chino Hills, believes they will win games if the offense is through him. NBA teams have done this with superstars but doing this for a high school player is unheard of. Lamello epitomizes the new style of basketball that will dominate the college and professional level. People find it easy to identify with one player and root for someone dominate, and basketball is shifting in that direction. This benefits the sport because it gives the fans a focal point to follow and cheer for inside the game itself. People around the country now know the Ball name after his prolific scoring night. This trend has made basketball more common in media and has made the game more entertaining to watch than it ever has been. 

Basketball’s evolution has left fans and players happy because it is more interesting to watch and play. The game when originally played had low scores and slow play. During the leagues early development in the 60’s and 70’s they struggled to get viewers to watch the games. This was in large part that people did not like to watch a big man back down another and lay it up. The game needed to be sped up and that they did with the three-point line. “Players now have to be faster and have to move out of the paint and play better defense on guards” (Katz). This created transition basketball. This is good for the sport because teams are now moving faster back and forth on the court getting more dunks and big plays. Fans want to see scoring and this shift into a fast paced game did just that. The average score of games has risen nearly thirty points since the three-point line was installed. Interest in the NBA has also risen significantly with games being aired on cable instead of just being seen by fans who attended the events. 

The common fan can follow their team easier than ever before because the NBA is now being aired on cable on local TV or national depending on the game. With the evolution of basketball it is no longer necessary to attend the actual game be a real fan because of all possible ways to follow a franchise. Reading the scores of last night’s game in the newspaper is a thing of the past; with new technology being able to watch your game on TV at home or with your mobile device on the move is easier than ever. Different platforms offer different ways to watch the game such as WatchESPN, NBA Live, and The NBA Network all offer NBA games and highlights able to stream at ones convenience. Having access to all the games makes it easier for fans to follow teams and their favorite players. With these TV contracts it is not only the fans who are benefitting from the evolution of the sport but the players are also seeing the bright side of change. With the pressure of being on TV night in and night out players see the befit of this when it comes to their salary because of TV contracts.

TV contracts are how the players get so much money and possibly the reason they train so hard. NBA players are not all in it for the money but it is a driving force to why they do what they do. They would not train to be as good if it were not for the money that comes from the TV contracts. TV contracts are made because people want to watch their teams play and cable companies are willing to pay in order to have this accommodation. In 2006 the NBA struck up the biggest contract it has ever before. Prior to this deal, the NBA was seeing 980 million dollars coming in from the TV contracts. The restructure of the contracts that the NBA just signed gave them a deal for 2.6 billion dollars per year annually. This is nearly a 180% increase from the amount of money the NBA was generating prior to the new contract (Surdam). With this the league has many ways to benefit their organization. The owners benefit from this because they are directly allocated funds from the NBA as well as the salary cap being raised. A salary cap is a guideline the NBA sets that a certain team can collectively pay its players only a certain amount of money. Exceeding this cap results in a luxury tax that must be paid back for exceeding the limit, and can cost the team a great deal of money. They do this so that a rich city can’t always have the best players by paying more for them. The increase in salary cap also helps out the players because the average amount players will be paid in the 2015-2016 season, when this cap is increased, is expected to pay players up to 20 percent more than they are paid currently. Players being paid more means they are more likely to focus on their craft and do the right things to be the best player they possibly can be. This results in the fans watching their teams play harder and be better. The evolution of basketball shifting to the digital age has helped the sport grow larger than originally ever thought of. The digital age of media involvement in the NBA has also increased dramatically. With TV contacts making the players better the contract also make the players do certain things such as post game interviews.

The NBA now makes it requirement for the players, if requested, to attend a post-game interview as well as giving the press all access to the locker room after the game to ask the players questions. This evolution of the game has given the fans insight to what the players were thinking during the game and access information the player gives not pertaining to the game of basketball. Players began voicing their opinion on many topics and recently players have talked about social issues. One huge step NBA have taken in recent years is being more socially proactive. We see super stars of NBA standing up for their beliefs and voicing their opinions. This is best seen by Carmelo Anthony, future Hall-of-Famer speaking up about the civil unrest between police and the black community. He gathered with other league superstars in Lebron James, Chris Paul, and Dwayne Wade at the ESPYS this past year to speak on the subject. Their dominance on the court gives them credibility among not only basketball fans but everyone. Having those basketball icons speak about racial unrest is an example of how the game has evolved to give these men the platform to cause change and bring non-basketball issues to the forefront of America. This evolution has come off the court but still revolves around basketball. This has had an outreaching affect to more media attention and could draw attention from others wanting to be in their position and strive to get there. One way basketball has transformed due to players coming together and being friends off the court is the forming of “super-teams.” 

Many basketball fans see super-teams as detrimental to the NBA. A super-team is a team consisting of multiple superstars that dominate the league consistently. Currently the league has two super teams in the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. Each team has at least two of the league’s top 15 players in Steph Curry and Kevin Durant for the Golden State Warriors and LeBron James and Kyrie Irving for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers and the Warriors have some of the highest salary caps in the league and what came with this is seven of the league’s top 20 resulting on two teams. This benefits the NBA because people want to see who the better team is. When these two are matched up they are given a crazy amount of media coverage and analysis. This draws anticipation to the game, but some people argue that it is bad for the league because two teams dominate and get all the attention while small town teams are losing fans. Although this may be true, it is good for the sport as a whole. With two super-teams constantly going back and forth it is easy to pick a side and root for one or the other (Honkasalo). The reason this is good for the sport as a whole is because it keeps fans interested in their team but also allows fans to follow one of the super-teams deep into the playoffs where as their team may not even make the playoffs. Fans keep interest in the season for longer increasing viewing ratings for teams one may not have originally rooted for if they didn’t have the captivating superstars. 

Basketball has had a long history and a lot of changes have occurred on and off the court that have impacted the game. The evolution of the game has resulted in opening up space for players of all sizes to play the game at any level, domestic or foreign, and has given basketball fans an easy way to view, follow, and stay involved with the sport. People can now understand that the games evolution impacts a massive population and embracing these changes can lead to benefits. With all the adaptions the league has seen it is undoubtable that the sport is better off as a whole now than it was in the past.
