The Forgotten Art of Defense in the Modern NBA
David Ceballos from Madrid, España, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Do you know who Tony Allen is? What about Michael Cooper or even Dennis Johnson? Although these defensive stalwarts carried their teams to championships, their names rarely garner the same admiration as offensive superstars like James Harden or Carmelo Anthony, who have never won an NBA title despite their scoring brilliance. This imbalance in recognition is not just some quirk of history, rather, it reflects a deeper shift in basketball’s priorities over time.
Over the last thirty years, defense has become a smaller focus to offense in the NBA. The statistics tell the story: the league’s average points per game (PPG) have skyrocketed from 95.1 in 2004 to 114.7 in 2023. Meanwhile, defensive rating (DR), a measure of how many points a team allows the other team to score per 100 possessions, has declined across the board, with even top-ranked defenses today allowing more points scored than mid-tier defenses from previous eras. As current Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown bluntly put it, “Defense is a lost art.”
On the stage of one of the World’s largest and most influential sports leagues, the decline of defense is no accident. Rule changes favoring offense, the league’s marketing strategies, and the erosion of defensive fundamentals in player development have all contributed to this shift. As the game tilts further toward scoring, the very principles that once anchored championship basketball have been forgotten—reshaping the league, and arguably, not for the better.
Handcuffing Defenders: The NBA’s Rule Changes
The decline of defense in the NBA is largely driven by rule changes and a systemic shift in refereeing attitudes. Over the years, rule changes have skewed the game in favor of scorers. Notably, the elimination of hand-checking in 2004, a rule that previously allowed defenders to use their hands to impede offensive players’ movement, has tremendously handicapped defenders ever since. This change has had the direct effect giving ball handlers far more freedom, enabling the rise of dynamic and aggressive scorers like Stephen Curry and James Harden who thrive on one-on-one “isolation” plays.
Additionally, the defensive three-second rule introduced in 2001 prohibited players from occupying the area directly under the basket (the paint) for more than three seconds, effectively opening driving lanes for perimeter players to score. Furthermore, the shift in refereeing attitudes has created an environment where offensive players are increasingly rewarded for initiating contact, while defenders face scrutiny for even minor physicality. In recent years, NBA referees have become even more inclined to call fouls in favor of offensive stars, a scheme exposed by former NBA referee Tim Donaghy when he revealed “when you blow the whistle against those individuals [attacking stars], it’s a foul that you basically can’t let go.”
Media: Highlighting Only Offense
NBA marketing and media coverage have played a massive role in diminishing the value of defense. Scoring sells. The league and sports media’s strong social media presence is filled with highlight reels of flashy dunks, deep three-pointers, and ankle-breaking crossovers far more than defensive stops, rotations, or lockdown one-on-one matchups.
Further compounding this trend is the effect of media on youth basketball. These social media platforms like House of Highlights, ESPN, and Barstool Sports, dominate the content consumed by young players. As a result, aspiring players idolize scorers and mold their games around offensive skill sets while defensive fundamentals are increasingly neglected. This erosion, literally starting with the young, results in future generations prioritizing scoring and flashiness over the grit and discipline that once defined championship-level basketball.
This emphasis on offense is also reflected in all-star and awards voting. Since 2000, only two non-offensive superstars, Dennis Rodman and Ben Wallace, have won multiple Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) awards while not being focal points of their teams’ offenses. Compare this to the MVP race, where virtually every winner has been a prolific scorer. Even all-time great defenders like Tony Allen and Andre Iguodala were often underappreciated and underpaid relative to their impact on winning in terms of all-star voting and media attention.
The Three-Point Revolution
The NBA’s embrace of the three-point shot has fundamentally altered defensive strategy. When the Golden State Warriors revolutionized basketball in the mid-2010s with their “pace and space” offense with an emphasis on freeing up their best scorers, teams scrambled to keep up. Defensive schemes that once relied on protecting the paint became outdated as teams realized the math favored three-pointers over mid-range jumpers. Consider this: a below average three-point shooter, say 33% field goal rate, averages one point per possession whereas an above average midrange shooter, say 50%, averages the same one point per possession. Given this, the three-pointer is a mathematically sound gamble, turning it into the NBA’s most lethal weapon.
This shift has led to a defensive dilemma: do you chase shooters around screens and risk leaving the paint vulnerable, or do you protect the interior and allow a barrage of threes? The result has been a defensive arms race that many teams have simply given up on. Today, even traditional centers like Nikola Jokić and Joel Embiid are expected to step out to the perimeter and contest jump shots, making it infinitely harder to anchor a defense.
As a result, defensive fundamentals such as strong-side help defense, weak-side rotations, and on-ball pressure are no longer critical. It’s no coincidence that as offense has exploded, the league has also seen a decline in players who specialize in defense.
The Unintended Consequence: A Game That’s Lost Its Edge?
The NBA’s increasing emphasis on offense has had unintended consequences. While high-scoring games can be entertaining, they have also led to a sense of monotony. Fans and analysts have pointed out that the modern NBA, dominated by pick-and-rolls and three-point chuck-ups, lacks the diversity of styles that made past eras so compelling.
From 2012 to 2024, NBA viewership declined by nearly 40%. While various factors contribute to this decline, many believe the shift in playing style has played a role. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has acknowledged the issue, noting that current gameplay feels too uniform with excessive reliance on three-pointers.
Can Defense Make a Comeback?
Despite the league’s offensive explosion, history continues to prove that defense is the key to winning championships. The 2020 Lakers, led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, dominated the playoffs with their defense, ranking first in defensive rating. The 2021 Bucks, spearheaded by Giannis Antetokounmpo’s two-way brilliance, shut down the Phoenix Suns in the Finals. Even the offensive-leaning 2022 Warriors relied on lockdown defense from Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins to secure their title. Perhaps no moment exemplifies defense’s impact more than LeBron’s iconic chase-down block on Andre Iguodala in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals—a game-changing play that preserved Cleveland’s lead and sealed their historic championship victory.
The NBA’s shift toward offense has transformed the game for better and worse. Rule changes, media narratives, and strategic evolution have all contributed to the decline of defense, leaving the league with a style of play that, while efficient, can feel repetitive and one-dimensional. Yet, history suggests that great teams must still defend to win at the highest level. If the NBA wants to regain some of the balance that once made it so compelling, it may need to reconsider how it values defense. Whether that means rule adjustments, greater recognition for defensive players, or a shift in coaching philosophy, something must change.
But one thing is certain: if defense remains a “lost art,” the NBA risks losing not just its balance, but the competitive spirit that once defined the game.