Rick Barry perfectly articulates what so many long-time NBA fans believe, which is that the NBA has lost its way. We need a return to real basketball instead of the glorified pick-up games the league has turned into. The game isn’t being taught the right way by the coaches, the game isn’t being called the right way by the refs, and the game isn’t being overseen the right way by the league officials, especially Adam Silver, who is much too passive as a commissioner.

There’s more to basketball than three-pointers and dunks. There’s fundamentals, which includes being able to set legal screens and dribble the basketball without traveling, which seems to be a big challenge for today’s NBA players. It doesn’t get called, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen repeatedly, and the result is a lot of bad basketball.

There are no great defenders in today’s league either, and you can count on one hand how many truly great ball-handlers there are. In fact, there may be only one: Kyrie Irving. So when you hear guys like J.J. Reddick talk about today’s players being more “skilled”, keep in mind they’re talking mostly about athleticism and shooting, not about knowing how to play the game. Today’s players are so athletic that they seem to believe they’re above needing to know the fundamentals. They’re not and you’re seeing the results of that every day in the product the NBA is turning out.

Make The NBA Great Again.