Former All-Star Gilbert Arenas has ripped into people overrating the 1990s, attacking the poor level of offense played in the era. He noted that elite scorers like Michael Jordan were averaging over 30 points because there were very few shot-makers to take buckets, while also claiming he’d average 100 points per game in the ’90s.
“In the ’90s? 100. There are only one-and-a-half scorers in every team. So when you’re talking about the Bulls, all the balls just went to Michael Jordan, so he’s taking all the shots. So you’re telling me that I’m taking all the shots? With my skill set and these guards with a 28-inch vertical, what am I dealing with here?”
The point about averaging 100 points is obviously an exaggeration, but it seems Arenas is pretty confident in his scoring skills translating to that era. He averaged 20.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in his career, with his best season coming in 2005/06, which saw him average 29.3 points.
The league average for team points per game that season was 97.0, showing how heavily Arenas impacted the game.
Gilbert Arenas Uses Three-Point Line Changes As Evidence For His Argument
The league decided to shrink the three-point line from its stipulated 23 feet and nine inches to 22 inches for the 1994/95 season. Arenas used this fact and Gary Payton’s shooting numbers as proof of what he was saying.
“Gary Payton, first four years in the league, he was shooting 20% and he shot 125 threes. They moved the line two feet, he shot 915 threes the next three years. This is when I knew they needed scoring. They were just holding the ball, they couldn’t. If you’re a defensive player and someone yanks you every time down the court, how are you awarded defense?”
Payton scored 21.0% of his three-point attempts through the first four seasons of his career on just 0.4 attempts per game. In the three seasons the three-point line was shortened, Payton scored 31.5% of his threes, attempting 3.7 per game.
Offenses would get worse throughout the ’90s, with league-scoring bottoming out in 1998/99 with a team average of 91.6 points per game. The league hadn’t seen such poor offense since 1952/53, which led to gradual rule changes to open up offense in the coming years.
The League Changed The Rules For Offense
In addition to moving in the three-point line in 1994, the NBA brought about a number of rule changes in the early 2000s that led to the scoring-heavy game we see today.
The two major ones were the legalization of zone defenses in 2002, which many would assume would help with more defensive rigidity but ended up doing the opposite. It encouraged ball movement and started laying the foundations of the modern offenses we see today.
The second major one was the banning of hand-checking in 2005. This gave perimeter players a lot of control over the game, with the NBA entering the era of guards after being dominated by athletic forwards and centers for the last 20 years.
The league average for a team score last season was 114.7, showing how much offense has advanced. It isn’t purely about different rules, but offense has become a more valued skill set in the modern game with players becoming increasingly skilled. That’s shown through the increase in three-point accuracy over the season, heavily contributing to the historic offensive highs we’re seeing in the modern NBA.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
