June 2, 2022; San Francisco, California, United States; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks with the media before Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
NBA scoring has skyrocketed into another stratosphere in recent years. The new reality the league has entered has not gone unnoticed.
The NBA’s competition committee has “officially begun examining” whether offenses have become too favored in today’s game. Depending on the committee’s findings, the NBA could consider changing its rules “to achieve a better balance.”
Joe Dumars, executive vice president of the NBA, recently spoke to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Kevin Pelton about the potential changes.
“This is a topic we are following closely,” Dumars said. “We’re diving right now to make sure we’re on the safe side.”
The NBA abolished hand checking in 2004, in part to address what was then a league-wide scoring shortage. During the 2003-04 season, only two teams – the Dallas Mavericks and the Sacramento Kings – averaged at least 99 points per game. The following year, the number increased to 10 teams (exactly a third of the league).
The 7 seconds or less Phoenix Suns of the 2005-2006 season paved the way for the NBA’s new offensive direction. They averaged 110.4 points per game, almost seven points more than the nearest team. 110.4 points per game would rank 28th in today’s NBA scoring. The last highest scoring team in the current league, the Memphis Grizzlies, would have been the second highest scoring team when the Steve Nash era Suns were the NBA’s scoring kings.
Dumars added that the NBA is not considering cracking down on infractions just to reduce scoring totals. He said what the NBA ultimately wants is “incredible competition,” whatever form it takes.
But judging by the way the NBA commissioner Adam Silver seemingly threw shade over the lack of defense played in the 2024 NBA All-Star Gamemaybe even the league has become jaded by all the scoring.
