David Stern Has Single-Handedly Destroyed the NBA

When David Stern succeeded Larry O’Brien as commissioner in 1984, the NBA was at an all-time high, both in terms of quality of competition and fan interest. Competition was fierce, as the Lakers and Celtics, led by Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, renewed the greatest rivalry in basketball. Officials encouraged physical play, which led to intense battles and more importantly, tremendous interest in the game. Players did not receive lucrative contracts, relative to modern day, so they focused more on team play rather than individual statistics. However, as soon as Michael Jordan left the NBA following the 1997-98 season, the league has progressively deteriorated, and much of the blame should be pointed to the man calling the shots, David Stern.

Although Stern has received a positive reputation amongst the people associated with the basketball industry, he has turned off basketball aficionados for some of the decisions he has made. First, he has turned the NBA from a physical, competitive league into a soft, cry-baby confederacy. Nowadays, officials call even the slightest of hand-checks fouls, so any time a player attacks the rim, he will most likely draw a foul and shoot free throws. Gone are the days when Kevin McHale can clothes-line Kurt Rambis. That famous play in the 1984 NBA Finals only drew a regular personal foul. Today, it would result in a flagrant-2 foul, an automatic ejection, and most likely, a suspension.

In the recent 2010 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Lakers, there were a combined 350 free throws shot between the two teams. 350 free throws! That is an average of 50 per game between each team. This would have never happened in the NBA glory days in the 1980’s and 90’s. To put that in perspective, the Celtics/Lakers 1984 Finals, which went seven games, featured only 155 free throw attempts. Officials can often dictate the outcomes of a number of games with the large number of foul calls.

As more fouls have been called, more players have increasingly complained to the referees. Every hand-check that is not called a foul almost always results in an argument from the player. Stern could have eliminated this problem if he did not ask his officials to call the game so tightly. If every basketball game allowed for physicality, competition would be fiercer, bitter rivalries would exist, and individuals would focus more on the team game instead of isolating themselves at every given opportunity.

In addition, Stern has always been more concerned about gaining money rather than improve the quality of the game. During the 1984-85 season, when the salary cap was first introduced, the average player salary was at $330,000, while the total cap was at $3.2 million. Granted, inflation rates have considerably increased over the past 25 years. However, since players relatively made the same amount of money for a low price, they focused on winning much more than earning individual accolades. In today’s game, the average player salary is at $5.2 million, so players often attempt to increase their scoring average and total individual statistics in order to earn a more lucrative contract. Thus, instead of using more teamwork and skill, players have become more egocentric; as a result, there are more isolation plays than ever in the modern game. Gone are the days when the Showtime Lakers, the Bad Boy Pistons, or the Michael Jordan’s Bulls entertained the basketball universe with exemplary teamwork and physical play.

With the salary cap and maximum player salaries, the NBA has become less competitive as ever. It’s why LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and a multitude of other stars have colluded to form super teams, which has eliminated the parity of the NBA. There are two major problems with the summer of 2010. First, it has again proven the notion that players are far less competitive as they were before. Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson would have NEVER attempted to form a super team because they were the ultimate competitors and wanted to dethrone each other. LeBron, Bosh, and Wade do not have that same mentality. Second and more importantly, only FOUR teams have a legitimate shot at winning the NBA championship in the 2010-11 season: Magic, Celtics, Heat, and Lakers. The other 26 teams cannot possibly compete with these four powerhouses. The competitive imbalance, from both the league and player standpoints, directly correlates with Stern’s encouragement of passive play and his sole desire of making as much money as possible.