OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) 鈥� Draymond Green had just spoken for a few minutes Saturday morning about the state of the game, about how he believes it's officiated differently than it once was, how stars don't get the benefit of being stars like they did in the past.
And then the four-time champion with the Golden State Warriors was asked a simple question: Does he think the NBA game is boring?
鈥淎bsolutely,鈥� he said.
Such is the challenge that the NBA is trying to fend off right now, the notion that this era of higher-scoring games, more 3-pointers than ever before and a lack of rock-'em, sock-'em physicality like there was a couple generations ago is hurting the product.
鈥淚 think as a league now, we look so deep into analytics, and you hear people saying out loud, we want a 3 or a layup. Don鈥檛 be shooting too many mid-range jumpers,鈥� Milwaukee guard Damian Lillard said Saturday. "You hear that, and I think it just kind of takes away the originality of the game, I would say. It鈥檚 meant to be played at three levels. It鈥檚 meant to be played a certain way.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 a copycat league that we play in, and you can鈥檛 have everybody playing one way, a successful way and you playing a different way. You鈥檝e got to get in line with what鈥檚 working to win, and right now that鈥檚 what it is.鈥�
On the one hand, the NBA is about to enter a new series of broadcast and streaming deals that will generate at least $76 billion, about three times more than the last deal 鈥� so interest still obviously exists, even though ratings are down from a few years ago in a stat that the league freely acknowledges. Player salaries are bigger than ever, the league keeps setting attendance record and merchandise keeps flying off shelves.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver points to all that, and more, as proof that the state of the game is, he believes, 鈥渆xcellent.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e paying a lot of attention to it," Silver said. "I鈥檓 never going to say there isn鈥檛 room for improvement. We鈥檒l continue to look at it and study it. But I am happy with the state of the game right now.鈥�
But the NBA keeps hearing the question about the on-court product. And Green is among those that think issues exist. He cited an interview he recently saw where the late Kobe Bryant, who died in 2020, called the game 鈥渁ccidental basketball.鈥�
鈥淚t's all penetrate and pitch," Bryant said in that interview. 鈥淵ou may make the shot, you may not.鈥�
Said Green: 鈥淗e couldn't have been more right.鈥�
Green talked about a recent Golden State game against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, and how it was 鈥渞efreshing鈥� to go against a thinker like James 鈥� who is notorious for finding weaknesses and exploiting them.
"Every possession is some type of chess move," Green said. 鈥淵ou don't get that today in the NBA, often. ... You don't just get that on a regular basis. It's just who can run faster, who can hit more 3s, it's no substance. I think it's very boring."
And for a team like the Warriors 鈥� with proven champions like Green and Stephen Curry, along with a champion coach in Steve Kerr 鈥� the run-and-shoot-all-the-time game isn't exactly the preferred game plan.
鈥淵ou want to be one of the teams that aren't playing an accidental game,鈥� Green said. 鈥淭hat's the challenge.鈥�
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AP NBA:
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
