For most NBA teams, one or two players possess the ability to initiate offense or create in a way that crucially threatens the defense from the wing. Think John Wall and Bradley Beal on the Washington Wizards. However, the number of individuals who can consistently threaten world-class athletes from 24 feet away from the basket …
We’ve established that the NBA is a copycat league. In fact, not only from a strategic sense does mimicry run rampant, but the movement of players, coaches and front offices highlights the NBA’s incredibly incestuous hiring practices. Strategies spread because they are demonstrated to be successful and the people who practice them pollinate the league …
In the previous edition of the NBA meta series, we talked about players who have an athletic build and basketball tool kit that allowed them to adjust their offensive or defensive play styles based on their matchups. Players like Paul Millsap and Harrison Barnes can play on the wing and use their speed to beat …
The 1990s and 2000s were riddled with dominant power forwards. Karl Malone, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett represented the archetypal 4: a dominant big who could score in myriad ways and stall an offense with his impeccable defense. However, another future Hall of Famer broke from this strain. Dirk Nowitzki, though not the first jump-shooting …