Jason Richardson is a 14-year NBA veteran and has criticized the state of youth basketball in the USA, adding to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s recent criticism of the same.
“Grassroots coaches/directors offended by Adam Silver’s comments yet don’t see how they’re part of the problem. Politics, controlled narratives, social media, and $$$ is what’s killing youth basketball. Can’t keep celebrating individual play and low basketball IQ. Develop your players!”
Grassroot coaches/directors offended by Adam Silver’s comments yet don’t see how they’re part of the problem. Politics, controlled narratives, social media and $$$ is what’s killing youth basketball. Can’t keep celebrating individual play and low bball IQ. Develop your players!
— Jason Richardson (@jrich23) February 19, 2024
We have seen a distinct shift in the NBA over the last two decades which can’t be attributed to the league changing defensive rules. There’s a fundamental problem with how youth players are trained nowadays, as they’re rushed into playing multiple AAU games without enough emphasis on practice. The AAU circuit is extremely lucrative, as they generate major sponsorships and media attention for displaying the next generation of hoopers.
That financial success has gotten to a point where certain AAU tournaments will have teams play multiple games on the same day for four days. These tournaments allow top players to play alongside other top players, but they rarely get to work out and practice under the modern set-up. They’re rinse-and-repeating games to get viral highlights as the players lose touch with the fundamentals that will bring them actual success at higher levels.
Adam Silver Openly Criticized The State Of Youth Basketball Development During All-Star Weekend
Jason Richardson is directly referring to Adam Silver dissecting the state of youth basketball in one of his All-Star media appearances.
In a long statement, Silver said the NBA is shifting focus from having their own G League team to developing players at a younger age, similar to their efforts internationally. The NBA wants to impact the youth basketball structure in the USA as international players continue taking over the league.
“I’m not sure what the future of Team Ignite will be, because before there was a hole in the marketplace that we thought we were filling before doing that, and now my focus is turning to earlier development of those players. If you’re seeing now, what we’re seeing in terms of that close to 30 percent of the league, players born outside the United States, it’s clear that the development is very different in many of those programs outside the United States, more of a focus on practice, less of a focus on games, which seems to be the opposite of many of the youth programs in the United States.”
Silver also called out the poor defensive fundamentals of highly-touted lottery picks coming into the NBA, claiming coaches have complained about the inability to play defense for many of the players being drafted into the NBA now.
“There’s no question, (players) they’re coming into the league incredibly skilled, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to being team basketball players. And then what I’m hearing from some of those same coaches that may be complaining about their inability to play defense is that these players are not as prepared as I’d like them to be, particularly as very high draft picks.”
Some interesting comments from Adam Silver on the state of basketball, youth development and the NBA's role in that. Is he foreshadowing some type of NBA Academy type program in the US? Clearly, he's not thrilled with the way some Americans are entering the NBA. pic.twitter.com/jMWNVSiFUo
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) February 18, 2024
With the NBA Commissioner saying the league might need to invest in youth development in the USA, it’s clear that they’re worried that more American players will lose their spot in the NBA with the influx of elite international talent. Basketball development for youth players is more concentrated on fundamental skills and if the USA can’t instill that in their young players, the league is in trouble.
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