The Foul-Baiting Crackdown: The 2021 Rule That Reshaped Scoring
In 2021 the NBA stopped rewarding the lunge, the leg kick, and the abrupt stop. How one points-of-emphasis change cooled the foul-baiting era.
7 min read
Category
Basketball History
The league's past, re-examined through modern statistics — record-setting seasons, rule changes, and trades revisited with the benefit of hindsight.
The ABA's Legacy: How a Rival League Reshaped the NBA
The three-point line, the dunk contest, and a 1976 merger. How a flashy, doomed rival permanently changed the way the NBA looks and plays.
8 min read
Legalizing the Zone: How the 2001 Defensive Rules Reshaped the NBA
In 2001 the NBA scrapped illegal defense and allowed zones — then added defensive three seconds. How the rule changes squeezed the post and opened the floor.
8 min read
The Death of Positions: A Short History of Positionless Basketball
Point guards, centers, and the slow dissolving of both. How the five fixed positions gave way to ball-handlers, wings, and bigs who do everything.
8 min read
Hack-a-Shaq: The Math Behind Fouling on Purpose — and How the NBA Fought Back
Fouling a bad free-throw shooter on purpose was cold, rational math. The break-even logic behind Hack-a-Shaq, and the 2016 rule that finally curbed it.
7 min read
The Hand-Check Ban and the Guard Revolution: A Statistical Before-and-After
In 2004 the NBA cracked down on perimeter hand-checking. The rule that freed up guards and helped set off two decades of scoring growth, by the numbers.
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The Pace-and-Space Revolution: How the Three-Pointer Rewired the NBA, by the Numbers
In two decades the three-pointer went from a luxury to the center of gravity of NBA offense. Here's the rewiring, charted season by season.
8 min read
Revisiting Five Famous Trades with Win-Share Hindsight
Trades are judged the day they happen. Win Shares let us re-grade five famous deals years later, when the production is finally in.
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The 10 Most Statistically Improbable Seasons in NBA History
Some seasons don't just lead the league — they break the distribution. A tour of the most statistically absurd individual years on record.
8 min read