DURING THIS YEAR’S Olympic basketball competitions, viewers witnessed what appeared to be blatant holding and moving screens on nearly every play. But because International Basketball Federation (FIBA) rules were in effect, those normally illegal moves were not called by officials. I questioned whether the competitiveness of those games was worse or better than what we typically see in sanctioned NBA and WNBA matchups.
But how exciting were the Olympic men’s and women’s basketball games and the finals? Off the charts—that is, if you are a fan of USA Basketball. Even if you aren’t, the on-court action in nearly every game was fast, exciting, and fantastic.
If the NBA adopted a smattering of FIBA rules, those changes would greatly enhance the play, competition, and entertainment value of NBA games. My suggestions include:
- Eliminate the defensive three-second violation, allowing players to stay in the free throw lane indefinitely, even when not defending an opponent. Removing this violation helps defense but also puts the onus on offense to cut through the lane to open the middle and move the ball effectively around the perimeter of the court to create open shots. It also helps if the center can hit 3-point shots. Getting rid of this violation would not take away layups, just uncontested blow bys or overmatched back downs.
- Limit the number of fouls allowable to five per contest per player, instead of six. This puts more pressure on players to perform better and coaches to work smarter.
- My biggest recommendation is to allow players to be more physical. With a big man allowed to clog the middle and the expectation that defensive players keep their hands and arms vertical—especially when an offensive player initiates contact (which, in my estimation, is an offensive foul that never gets called)—this change would help keep defensive players from getting backed down to the basket, where they have two choices: Allow a score or get called for a foul. Actually playing defense is not a choice in that situation. This would change that.
The NBA is all about high energy offense, while defense is the casualty. If the adage, “Offense wins games; defense wins championships,” is true, then let teams play defense in the paint without getting a foul called. Offense has a distinct advantage in the game with the current rules.
For much of the 1980s, I played basketball at the Jordan YMCA on Westfield Boulevard. At the time, the first court in the old gym was reserved for talented Hoosiers like John Laskowski, Ray Tolbert, and Vicki Hall, among other former high school and college stars who came to play pickup ball.
Those games were self-officiated. If I called a foul, it had to be a good one. Many times, games devolved into a pushing match for inside position or a hack-fest for driving players, with an occasional minor “discussion” over a call.
In retrospect, those games had many of the same characteristics as FIBA-officiated games. We saw lots of holding, moving screens, and slapping, but very few fouls were called. Each game was hotly contested, and the competition was fierce, but we shook hands at the end (fist bumps and high fives weren’t the norm yet). The winners stayed, and the losers called next game.
I enjoyed watching that same style and physicality play out in the Olympic games. Let’s face it, the NBA—and don’t get me wrong, I love watching the NBA—has become desensitized.
When I say desensitized, I’m referring to the plethora of ticky-tacky fouls officials call based on what they see on screens away from the ball for things like reaching and hand checking—the overemphasis on these fouls to get calls that do nothing but slow the game and stop the flow of play.
In my opinion, the main reason to adopt some of these FIBA rules is to give the players final say in how they play. Let the game be decided and settled by the athletes instead of the officials. And really, isn’t that all we ever want out of basketball anyway?
