The National Basketball Association (NBA) faces a critical issue amongst its fanbase; older fans cannot accept the game’s advancements such as athleticism, play-running and basketball IQ. In the number one player of all time debate, staunch Michael Jordan (23) fans argue that Lebron James (23) could not survive the 1980s & ‘90s stifling defense. As another means to tear down Lebron supporters’ arguments, Jordan fans look at how scoring numbers keep rising with no foreseeable plateau, a sign of regression in NBA defenses. With the three-point revolution pioneered by Stephen Curry (30), NBA defenses found leaps and bounds in their own right. In a league dominated by shooters, two-way play rules the court and player contracts.
Looking at where everything starts, the NBA draft, defense determines a player’s odds of rising up the boards. The intangibles that can not appear in statistics, such as effort, catch coaches’ eyes when scouting players. Carter Bryant (9) exemplifies what coaches search for. With 6.5 points per game freshman year at the University of Arizona, Bryant hustled for loose possessions and consistently defended the opposing team’s best ball handler. The San Antonio Spurs selected him for his defensive tenacity. In the Summer League, his play on the court garnered love from fans leaguewide, advocating for him to win the Rookie of the Year (ROTY) award.
The argument that defenses succeed primarily due to offensive growth holds no ground in Most Valuable Player (MVP) talks. While offensive juggernauts such as Nikola Jokic (15) and Luka Doncic (77) gain all the praise in their ability to run a franchise’s offense, their effort on the other end of the court garners mass criticism. In turn, leaguewide, teams focus their primary goal on limiting their prowess and testing their willingness to put effort.
The Boston Celtics placed Doncic under a microscope for the majority of the 2024 NBA Finals. Players took turns isolating him in offensive possessions and scoring with relative ease in each matchup. General Manager (GM) Nico Harrison opted to trade Doncic, rather than take a second chance on the team, gaining all-defensive big Anthony Davis (2) to hunker down their front court.
“I can see why Nico Harrison wanted to trade Luka back then. He was a little bit chunky, if we are being honest, and he cost the Utah Jazz the game because he couldn’t run over to get a stop. I’m not defending the trade, especially since Luka’s lost weight, but Harrison definitely boosted the Mavericks’ defense with Anthony Davis,” senior Xavier Duke said.
Despite injury woes and an unsuccessful postseason, the Mavericks experienced a significant uptick in their defensive statistics. On the West Coast, the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a brutal five-game round of the playoffs. Out of all players, Rudy Gobert (27) became the Timberwolves’ saving grace, scorching the Lakers’ interior defense and outrebounding the Lakers’ front-court players.
Even further up the totem pole of impact, defense can affect a player’s odds for All-Star selection. Trae Young’s (11) standing in the league’s top 10 nearly guarantees an argument between basketball fans. Due to his relatively short stature and wingspan, the Atlanta Hawks find themselves disadvantaged at the perimeter. To cover up for his lapses, the Hawks’ front office surrounded Curry with defensive specialist Dyson Daniels (5), along with two-way players such as Jalen Johnson (1) and Kristaps Porzingis (8). For his leaps in perimeter defense, Daniels secured an all-defensive first team selection and won the Most Improved Player (MIP) award.
“Trae Young is good, but his defense is a cost for the Hawks a lot of times. I’m glad we managed to swipe Daniels from New Orleans for such a cheap fee; his perimeter defense makes up for a lot. With even more defensive depth, the Hawks have a solid chance of getting back to the Eastern Conference finals,” senior Andrew Muyiro said.
The idea that defense wins championships remains an ideal mentality for NBA teams even up to now. Reigning champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, rebuilt their entire squad based on this mentality and capitalized on their first opportunity to steal away the Larry O’Brien trophy. While offensive numbers may continue to rise for years, defense creeps closely behind.
