Why is NBA Media so much worse than other Major Sports

[The Amerikkkan Idol]

There was no balance in the 90’s, just a severe lack of talent on offense as the league expanded which made it obvious that it expanded too fast. It was unwatchable because every other team ran the same struggle post up based offense while relying on guys who didn’t have the talent to make anything happen. It was by a sizable margin the oldest and slowest the league has ever been. If teams coached by George Karl, led by old Karl Malone and old John Stockton, led by Reggie Miller, a team whose 2-4 scorers were John Starks, Charles Oakley, & Charles Smith, or led by 3 guys in their 13th season or later (not to mention how old the bulls were by the 1997-98 season), all were making deep playoff runs, it’s a sign that something was wrong. Even the following season (1999-2000) saw the lakers play at a pace of 87 for the conference finals vs Portland and a pace of 92 vs Indiana. There’s no other era in the history of the game besides the early to mid 90’s going through the mid 2000’s where it was played that way.


The mid 80’s to early 90’s were played at the same pace as the present day except nobody rotated or play much help defense or did a good job in transition defense.

I stopped reading after this dumb shyt

So, no offensive talent in the '90s, but it's the decade with the most great offensive players IN HISTORY from Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Isiah Thomas, Dirk Nowitzki, Ray Allen,

2 of the 3 greatest draft classes of all-time, 1984 & 1996 were heavily represented in the decade, but nobody could play any offense.

A full 1/3 of the NBA's top 75 players of all-time played in the '90s

This is why I stopped going into the Coliseum & arguing with you dumbasses.

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

I stopped reading after this dumb shyt

So, no offensive talent in the '90s, but it's the decade with the most great offensive players IN HISTORY from Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Isiah Thomas, Dirk Nowitzki, Ray Allen,

2 of the 3 greatest draft classes of all-time, 1984 & 1996 were heavily represented in the decade, but nobody could play any offense.

A full 1/3 of the NBA's top 75 players of all-time played in the '90s

This is why I stopped going into the Coliseum & arguing with you dumbasses.

It was the oldest, slowest, and least efficient offensive era in league history. Name dropping a bunch of the very best players doesn’t change that. On top of this you named guys who retired at the very start of the decade and guys who turned pro at the very end of it and didn’t develop until we reached the following decade. Basically no contenders besides the bulls had a bench to speak of, most teams had 1-3 non scorers in their lineup (the bulls for example had 3 starters from 96-98 who were total non factors on offense), damn near nobody could shoot as evidenced by the league actually moving the 3 point line in, and most teams were luck to have a second star at all.

Teams with John Starks and Charles Oakley as the 2 and 3 or Reggie Miller as their best player were considered contenders. Teams with no second star, no bench, no center, and no 3 point shooting (like the early 90’s trailblazers) were looked at as legitimate threats to win it all. A team with no bench, no true #1 scorer, and coached by George Karl was considered a legit contender. A team led by Karl Malone and John Stockton with no shooters, no center, and no bench was looked at as top tier competition despite their annual playoff meltdowns being James har_en levels of predictable and catastrophic. That’s only possible in an era with a serious lack of offensive creativity and talent. There’s a reason we don’t have 87-75 or 77-73 type final scores in finals games anymore.

 

[TrillaMonsoon]

Maybe that's why I still enjoy the actual sport of basketball because I never really watch anything other than the games. I don't watch pre/post game shows and I don't watch any national TV coverage because I find those conversations boring and lacking much depth that I can't find in the game itself.

But that's with all sports. I just like the actual games. I don't need a narrative or storyline to enjoy anything but Wrasslin and the NBA media feeds into that, but at some point, the fans are to blame too. If you can't just sit and watch a game on its own, you've probably gone too far down the rabbit hole yourself and forgot that it is just sports and the story is the game itself. There is absolutely 0 need for 24 hour sports coverage. The only shyt that matters is the games

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

I stopped reading after this dumb shyt

So, no offensive talent in the '90s, but it's the decade with the most great offensive players IN HISTORY from Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Isiah Thomas, Dirk Nowitzki, Ray Allen,

2 of the 3 greatest draft classes of all-time, 1984 & 1996 were heavily represented in the decade, but nobody could play any offense.

A full 1/3 of the NBA's top 75 players of all-time played in the '90s

This is why I stopped going into the Coliseum & arguing with you dumbasses.

You're being hella disingenious with this.

- Dirk was drafted in 1998 and didn't become a star until like 2001, 2002
- Magic retired for the 1st time in 1991
- Kobe didn't become a star until 2000
- Bird injured his back in 1991 and retired shortly thereafter
- A.I's prime was during the 2000s
- Zeke was winding down his career when the 90s hit
- You only get half a point for Duncan considering his prime was during the 2000s, but yes he did hit the ground running in the last couple of years in the 90s.

Nearly a third of the players you listed aren't even considered 90s players.

And despite whatever emphasis you want to put on the star players, the league was top-heavy during the 90s, which doesn't debunk the point of that era lacking overall offensive talent. The expansion of the league during the 90s made damn sure there was an imbalance in that regard.

 

[The Amerikkkan Idol]

It was the oldest, slowest, and least efficient offensive era in league history. Name dropping a bunch of the very best players doesn’t change that. On top of this you named guys who retired at the very start of the decade and guys who turned pro at the very end of it and didn’t develop until we reached the following decade. Basically no contenders besides the bulls had a bench to speak of, most teams had 1-3 non scorers in their lineup (the bulls for example had 3 starters from 96-98 who were total non factors on offense), damn near nobody could shoot as evidenced by the league actually moving the 3 point line in, and most teams were luck to have a second star at all.

Teams with John Starks and Charles Oakley as the 2 and 3 or Reggie Miller as their best player were considered contenders. Teams with no second star, no bench, no center, and no 3 point shooting (like the early 90’s trailblazers) were looked at as legitimate threats to win it all. A team with no bench, no true #1 scorer, and coached by George Karl was considered a legit contender. A team led by Karl Malone and John Stockton with no shooters, no center, and no bench was looked at as top tier competition despite their annual playoff meltdowns being James har_en levels of predictable and catastrophic. That’s only possible in an era with a serious lack of offensive creativity and talent. There’s a reason we don’t have 87-75 or 77-73 type final scores in finals games anymore.

It was a more violent sport. The players had to fit that mold. It was a more brutal game.

There was no "load management", guys had to play back to backs, and you almost had to kill somebody to get a flagrant foul called.

Different things were valued. You had to have enforcers & rebounders who could fight with Shaq or David Robinson or Buck Williams for rebounds

There's a reason you went from teams like the Nuggets in the '80s averaging 127ppg on 52% FG to teams averaging under 90

It wasn't because everybody just stopped being able to play out of the blue.

It became a slugfest after the Detroit Pistons.

It's all about styles of play, not because people couldn't play.

And again, nobody wants to go back to the slugfests of the late '90s.

Just find a happy medium between 1980s Denver Nuggets & teams attempting 100 3s a game & not even developing a midrange attack.

You're being hella disingenious with this.

- Dirk was drafted in 1998 and didn't become a star until like 2001, 2002
- Magic retired for the 1st time in 1991
- Kobe didn't become a star until 2000
- Bird injured his back in 1991 and retired shortly thereafter
- A.I's prime was during the 2000s
- Zeke was winding down his career when the 90s hit
- You only get half a point for Duncan considering his prime was during the 2000s, but yes he did hit the ground running in the last couple of years in the 90s.

Nearly a third of the players you listed aren't even considered 90s players.

And despite whatever emphasis you want to put on the star players, the league was top-heavy during the 90s, which doesn't debunk the point of that era lacking overall offensive talent. The expansion of the league during the 90s made damn sure there was an imbalance in that regard.

They still all played in the '90s.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar was drafted in 1969, he's still considered a '60s player.

 

[IIVI]

Wackest thing in NBA media is the in-game commentary.

Somebody flops off brushed contact and announcers like “Yup, uh-huh he got hit badly there. Sometimes it doesn’t like like a lot but…” like come on breh, don’t act like the people watching are clueless.

Now compare that to NFL commentary. These people broadcasting cats clown and despise that flopping shyt. “I don’t know what the officials are seeing with that one” or “They’ll be talking about this one all week” happen often for bogus calls. They don’t act like the average fan is clueless.

 

[K-Apps]

 

[K-Apps]

 

[jwinfield]

I mean, if I walked into a restaurant and the hostess told me the food was trash I probably wouldn’t eat there.

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

"We don't have anybody that's willing to step up to the fact that this is an awesome game, and that we should talk about it and celebrate it, in a positive way."

Say it louder for dem casuals in the back, JJ.

 

[FakeNews]

 

[FakeNews]

So glad JJ made that point about the media saying the league is trash and in turn turning the casual fan off. I literally made the same point about a month ago

Maybe its just me but I think its been a good start to season so far. Some surprisingly intense games. I think when you have fans, media, former players shytting on the product saying the game is watered down, the players are soft and couldn't play in other eras etc.. it hurts the perception of the game. People probably don't want to watch a league that they no longer considered good which is too bad because Minny-Dallas, Minny-Denver, LAC-Suns, Indy-Bos were all incredible games on national tv.

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

So glad JJ made that point about the media saying the league is trash and in turn turning the casual fan off. I literally made the same point about a month ago

I damn near said word for word the same thing JJ said to my brother earlier today when he started complaining about how the 3 pointer has single handedly ruined the league . It’s always something that’s ruined the league, whether it’s the “boring” spurs, the trash ball pistons, LeBron leaving Cleveland for Miami, the warriors just being too good, or now the 3 point shot being used so much. That’s entirely on the league office for letting this noise go on.

 

[The Amerikkkan Idol]

This is complete nonsense.

Ryan Clark has literally launched a JIHAD against Aaron Rodgers

Guys like Swagu & them are critical of NFL players all the time.

Magically, NFL ratings are up.

It's a bad product, simple as that.

And not only that, plenty of people are ONLY watching because of "Inside the NBA". If it wasn't for Chuck & Shaq & them a lot of people wouldn't even be paying attention to the league at ALL

We're at the point where the NBA stans sound like the AEW stans who blame their bad ratings on Jim Cornette & Disco Inferno making fun of them or something.

Dude, fans, especially casuals don't give a fukk about "commentators", they watch what they like.

If ratings are down, it's the product.

And I just thought about this today, but the NBA is really made for an international audience today, which is the reason it's never been more popular elsewhere, but is losing appeal here.

NBA basketball today is played like soccer, with a bunch of flopping, primadonnas, & dudes switching teams all the time.

There's a reason that soccer has never been popular with (native born) American audiences & now the NBA is basically that.

A mostly non-physical, skill sport, full of foreigners.

There's a reason Caitlyn Clark & Angel Reese are more famous than ANY American player under 30 & it aint because Charles & Shaq make fun of the product.

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

So glad JJ made that point about the media saying the league is trash and in turn turning the casual fan off. I literally made the same point about a month ago

Precisely.

If your NBA idol from your childhood is calling today's game and players soft, you're naturally going to adopt that mentality aren't you?