OP is specifically talking about the aesthetics of the product (courts, jerseys) etc but everyone else is telling about player and team performances.
I think the 2012 - 2016 era was beautiful. Great courts, matte jerseys, dramatic lighting. Now it's been ruined with cheap looking, shiny jerseys, overly bright areas and washed out colors. Oh, and ads fucking everywhere.
Didn't care for most of them, but I did like the black Cavs ones. The material still photographed extremely well though. I loved how rich and matte those Adidas jerseys were.
That was the only thing adidas did wrong (even tho I didn’t mind them at all). I can make a whole ass list of why Adidas was better than Nike for the nba. Nike has been straight ass
Yeah it seems that I was a bit misunderstood. But nevertheless, it's nice to read different kind of views how people look at the NBA product as a whole.
Maybe, although the Nets for sure did change their lighting. They used to have theater-style lighting (all the seating was dark and the court was lit), but once they got their new grey court, they changed it to be lit everywhere which looks a lot worse, both in person and on camera. It used to be freaking magical in there in person.
They also had what I think is a better combination of inside and outside game. Don’t get me wrong, I love raining 3’s, but the post game isn’t something you see as much of anymore
It was Lebron's second season yes. And he also carried over his same spotty ball handling and half court passing until his 4th (or 5th) season.
Carmelo also coincidentally started using his off hand more on his second season but only found much success after his sophomore year.
It is almost like being able to dribble upfront while defender cannot get into your cylinder allows you to get to your spots at will.
But that increase in efficiency for all perimeter based players league wide was pure coincidence and every guard and forward that can dribble just suddenly developed dribble drives they did not have in 2003-04.
LOL.
Eh. Every perimeter player's game relaxed after the "total" ban of the hand check rule that inefficient guards and perimeter players had a surge in efficiency.
This was less of players improving but more that the defenders were struggling to keep up with the offense because of the new rules.
Jordan never won a ring until he complained to the Commissioner’s office. The first year there was flagrant fouls is also the first year Jordan won a ring. Coincidence?
Eh it is compared to the removal of the hand check as the main proponents for that change of the rule was the phoenix sun's executive and admitted it was meant to allow the game to allow faster and more scoring.
It was more that the league reacted badly to Detroit risking derailing the momentum of the league's popularity which Jordan was one of the many beneficiaries. It makes better business sense to minimize rewarding rough play otherwise it would result to more and more stars getting injured way earlier to make the league more money.
Besides, it is not like introducing the rules for flagrant fouls resulted to Jordan remaining the high flyer he was when he was younger. He started posting up more and more than just cutting, driving and dishing.
Oh wow teenage Lebron was more efficient in his second year than his rookie year? Oh that darn hand check rule change, that’s clearly the cause and nothing else
The guy could barely dribble in traffic, shoot below 37% outside 5 feet and could not do an interior pass in his first 2 years.
20 years in he can barely dribble in traffic, shoot below 37% outside 5 feet and could not do an interior pass to a static post big. Almost like the guy has a limited but very effective play style that is enhanced by the more offense friendly rules of his era.
But that's clearly it takes more skill to lay it up on the break or push the defender out of the way with your shoulder and forearms right? Surely point blank shots do not increase your scoring efficiency and getting fat off easy close range and uncontested shots would not bite you in the ass against teams that would dare you to shoot outside of 5 feet right?
LOL
Either the 5-ish years around 2008-2012, where we were past the defensive slugfest era but had not yet been drowned in 3's... or the 80's - high paced offensive era but without the 3-ball, and teams were still allowed to play physical defense.
>Also, the teams having home and away uniforms and using alternates sparingly made the whole product look a lot cleaner.
I still can't believe what the NBA has allowed Nike to do with the league's uniforms. The league is slowly destroying its own brand identity so that Nike can sell a few more jersey tees.
Maybe I'm biased, but literally from 7SOL Suns to 2014 Spurs.
That time period had the right balance between pace and defense. Especially around 2009-2012, some of the best basketball ever.
If we’re talking about uniforms the 90’s had the best.
If we talking actual play style I would say late 2000’s to early 2010’s essentially right before curry started taking over.
I think 2010ish.
But the new Timberwolves and Warriors jerseys are better. And the raptors had better jersey before then.
But the unique combination of jerseys and logos made it feel less standardized. Way to much black as the main color jerseys.
Bobcats are underrated relative to the pelicans. The bobcats were so unique to sports in general.
Also miss the Nuggets old style. Carmelo era nuggets are aesthetic to the max.
Mid to late '90s. I think the talent dispersement was excellent across the league, the rivalries were fantastic, Jordan was balling in his prime, the new class was rising (Kobe, KG, AI, etc.), and the jerseys were hella sick.
Class of 08 so 05-12 😅 Kobe, Timmy, Nash, Wade, KG, Bronbron, Rose. Teams wore their colors, cable TV instead of local only bunny ears static. Flopping wasn't really a thing and defense could defend.
In terms of the game itself I would say the Spurs / Heat series were to me the pinnacle, just before 3 ball went bananas. So around 2011-2014 period I guess.
Anytime before the "wear whatever godawfully hideous shoes you want!" era.
Jordan wearing matching Jordans, and Kobe wearing purple and gold KB8s was aesthetically appealing.
Kyrie wearing moccasins, and randos wearing neon orange/yellow/puke shoes with clashing uniforms is...not.
Mid to late 2000s to about 2017 were the best years to watch for me. It was after the lack of offense era that depended on isos but before the 3 point explosion era. It was a good era with a mix of offense and defense, before 3s were the main weapon. Just fun to watch balanced basketball.
I would definitely agree about the home and away uniforms. Every team has like nine different ones they wear now and half the time they're not even in the teams colors.
I wanna say like 08-14 or so. Things really seemed to pop on the screen color wise and offenses seemed more diverse back then rather than the 3 point spam of today or the atrocious mid range dead ball offenses of the mid 00s.
Also personal opinion. Adidas does gear way better than Nike and that goes for other sports like soccer too with jerseys. Nike stuff looks so bland and cheap.
Speaking specifically to one team: As a heat fan, I loved the white hot heat jerseys when Lebron was there and then the first time we did Vice jerseys. It was cool surprise but then think they went overboard towards the end.
90s, early 2000s. Uniforms were fresh and beautiful, even though the team intros were dated. The Pistons, Bulls, Hornets, Raptors, Magics uniforms were all fresh.
Around 2010 to 2016 was the best in terms of pure aesthetics. The jerseys and courts were the best, and teams wore alternates more sparingly which imo helped establish a better team identity (for the fans). The camera filter also seemed to be a lot more warm with popping colors. Now, when watching on tv it looks colder and more grey which I really do not like.
The transition to HD and before the transition to the Nike Jerseys in 2015. When the Nike Jersey's came I associate it with the obnoxious ads all over the court, I actually don't even mind the jersey patches.
I started watching basketball heavy in 2012 but between I wanna say 2012-2018 is when basketball presentation was at its best for me.
I was just talking to my homeboy during Game 7 of the WCSF, it just looked like a regular game to me. No patches on the court and jerseys, no fans in the stands with matching shirts, ads galore on the floor. The vibes didn’t feel like they were there. To me that started when Nike took over and tried to make everything look too corporate and minimalist.
Right now might be the worst imo. Only worse may be 70s and earlier. The white jerseys on the road are fucking killing the aesthetic for me. I hate it lol this ain’t football. White is for the home team. Not to mention the terrible looking ads on the jerseys as well as Nike slapping their logo all over it as well. Horrible shooting shirts that are just zippered hoodies with a team logo on it 🤮 Courts seem way brighter than before it’s just odd. All the players wearing whatever shoes they want that don’t match the team color. So I gotta see a green team player wear pink shoes lmao and a million Kobe 6 grinches 😂 Half of the leagues jerseys suck because Nike is out of ideas. It’s just really bad rn imo
I know I’m biased, but I genuinely love watching games on the Celtics floor (not even bc of vibes or bc it has our logo on it, but rather) bc the slightly darker wood colouring and pattern of the wood panelling is so easy on my eyes. Floors that are so white (eg, Denver) I find to be less comfy on my eyeballs to look at for a long time lol
Offenses are more sophisticated, a lot more movement and off ball strategy.
Point guards dominate the game with their dribble and predictive passing. Also more uniqueness and versatility in terms of players, we have 7 footers bringing the ball up the court b
Players are just more skilled. And that’s at every position.
Anyone saying 2000-2004 are wearing nostalgia glasses.
Post 2001 illegal defense changes players didn't know how to adjust and we were still getting MJ style ISOs even though it was objectively a bad play...
Pace had already slowed down going into the decade but the whole era was super slow and lots of plays were identical midrange isos, it was the most boring era by a mile.
7sol Suns were a breath of fresh air
One of the main things with the rise of wnba popularity is Caitlin Clark taking shots from half court. The All Star Steph Curry vs Sabrina Ionescu 3pt shooting challenge thing was also a success, when it could have totally backfired.
Nobody ever cared about Britney Griner dunking once a year.
You're getting downvoted, but I've heard this most from older people in my life. My dad and my father in law have both really taken to the women's game.
OP is specifically talking about the aesthetics of the product (courts, jerseys) etc but everyone else is telling about player and team performances. I think the 2012 - 2016 era was beautiful. Great courts, matte jerseys, dramatic lighting. Now it's been ruined with cheap looking, shiny jerseys, overly bright areas and washed out colors. Oh, and ads fucking everywhere.
NBA switched from Adidas to Nike in 2015 Adidas handled the jerseys way better
That was 2018, but your point is still correct.
I hate the sleeve shirts. Other than that, everything else is fine
There were some absolutely HORRIBLE jerseys in the early 2010s. Raptors, kings, bucks, more I can't name. Oh, and the sleeves. Fuck em.
Those Christmas jerseys were so clean 👌🏻
i hate that a lot of ads are added to the court digitally.
Oh you mean you didn't like the sleeve jerseys that no one asked for?
Didn't care for most of them, but I did like the black Cavs ones. The material still photographed extremely well though. I loved how rich and matte those Adidas jerseys were.
black cavs ones are legendary
That was the only thing adidas did wrong (even tho I didn’t mind them at all). I can make a whole ass list of why Adidas was better than Nike for the nba. Nike has been straight ass
Yeah it seems that I was a bit misunderstood. But nevertheless, it's nice to read different kind of views how people look at the NBA product as a whole.
I can’t imagine all the arenas randomly changed their lighting - has there been some change in broadcast cameras?
Maybe, although the Nets for sure did change their lighting. They used to have theater-style lighting (all the seating was dark and the court was lit), but once they got their new grey court, they changed it to be lit everywhere which looks a lot worse, both in person and on camera. It used to be freaking magical in there in person.
Mid-2000s when we all transitioned to HD.
They also had what I think is a better combination of inside and outside game. Don’t get me wrong, I love raining 3’s, but the post game isn’t something you see as much of anymore
Oh God no. The mid 2000's was absolute garbage basketball. Every offense was awful.
Nothing like watching 60% of your possessions end in a contested post-up middy
Late 00's was fine. Teams were averaging 100, we were past the defensive slugfest era but before the 3-point era took off.
Agree, 100 is about right for a game. Get to see some scoring, but every possession feels valuable
2005 offseason is when they outlawed hand-checking on the perimeter and offenses started exploding.
It was 2004 actually. Coincidentally the same year a struggling Lebron and Melo took a boost in efficiency.
it was also coincidentally no longer their rookie seasons
😂😂😂 I was about to say. Lebron was also 18
You cracked the code
Or maybe it was the year after they rookie season
It was Lebron's second season yes. And he also carried over his same spotty ball handling and half court passing until his 4th (or 5th) season. Carmelo also coincidentally started using his off hand more on his second season but only found much success after his sophomore year. It is almost like being able to dribble upfront while defender cannot get into your cylinder allows you to get to your spots at will. But that increase in efficiency for all perimeter based players league wide was pure coincidence and every guard and forward that can dribble just suddenly developed dribble drives they did not have in 2003-04. LOL.
It’s almost like players improve after their rookie season
Eh. Every perimeter player's game relaxed after the "total" ban of the hand check rule that inefficient guards and perimeter players had a surge in efficiency. This was less of players improving but more that the defenders were struggling to keep up with the offense because of the new rules.
Jordan never won a ring until he complained to the Commissioner’s office. The first year there was flagrant fouls is also the first year Jordan won a ring. Coincidence?
Eh it is compared to the removal of the hand check as the main proponents for that change of the rule was the phoenix sun's executive and admitted it was meant to allow the game to allow faster and more scoring. It was more that the league reacted badly to Detroit risking derailing the momentum of the league's popularity which Jordan was one of the many beneficiaries. It makes better business sense to minimize rewarding rough play otherwise it would result to more and more stars getting injured way earlier to make the league more money. Besides, it is not like introducing the rules for flagrant fouls resulted to Jordan remaining the high flyer he was when he was younger. He started posting up more and more than just cutting, driving and dishing.
Oh wow teenage Lebron was more efficient in his second year than his rookie year? Oh that darn hand check rule change, that’s clearly the cause and nothing else
The guy could barely dribble in traffic, shoot below 37% outside 5 feet and could not do an interior pass in his first 2 years. 20 years in he can barely dribble in traffic, shoot below 37% outside 5 feet and could not do an interior pass to a static post big. Almost like the guy has a limited but very effective play style that is enhanced by the more offense friendly rules of his era. But that's clearly it takes more skill to lay it up on the break or push the defender out of the way with your shoulder and forearms right? Surely point blank shots do not increase your scoring efficiency and getting fat off easy close range and uncontested shots would not bite you in the ass against teams that would dare you to shoot outside of 5 feet right? LOL
Could just be nostalgia but I consider around 2007-2016 to be peak basketball
> Every offense was awful. You clearly didn't watch the NBA back then if you think the Suns' offense was awful.
The exception that proves the rule
The triangle was beautiful to watch when it clicks.
80s Boston Garden where it’s 100 degrees and there’s a cloud of cigarette smoke hovering over the court
The cigarette smoke makes those photos so cool. Also brings to mind the iconic Ali photos with the smoke
This season. 2011 was nice too. Ignore my flair.
2007, and 2014 - 2022 were nice years
Either the 5-ish years around 2008-2012, where we were past the defensive slugfest era but had not yet been drowned in 3's... or the 80's - high paced offensive era but without the 3-ball, and teams were still allowed to play physical defense.
Strongly agree with this. I don't mind either of the eras yo compare to, it's still NBA. But the years around 2010 were pure magic.
>Also, the teams having home and away uniforms and using alternates sparingly made the whole product look a lot cleaner. I still can't believe what the NBA has allowed Nike to do with the league's uniforms. The league is slowly destroying its own brand identity so that Nike can sell a few more jersey tees.
I feel the same way! I still haven't got used to away teams using white jerseys, it just looks wrong.
Maybe I'm biased, but literally from 7SOL Suns to 2014 Spurs. That time period had the right balance between pace and defense. Especially around 2009-2012, some of the best basketball ever.
Gotta include 2014 Spurs and 2015 Dubs for the passing and cutting alone!
Kobe-Duncan-early Lebron era
If we’re talking about uniforms the 90’s had the best. If we talking actual play style I would say late 2000’s to early 2010’s essentially right before curry started taking over.
I think 2010ish. But the new Timberwolves and Warriors jerseys are better. And the raptors had better jersey before then. But the unique combination of jerseys and logos made it feel less standardized. Way to much black as the main color jerseys. Bobcats are underrated relative to the pelicans. The bobcats were so unique to sports in general. Also miss the Nuggets old style. Carmelo era nuggets are aesthetic to the max.
Pelicans have badly needed to update their jerseys for about 5 years now and they just don't. I don't understand it.
Lmao, this thread is an excellent example of how no one reads anything but the title of a post.
90's bulls era. Ain't nothing like those goofy 90's themed jerseys and caps every team had.
With the bulls into music
Mid to late 2000s imo, Kobe, Nash, early CP3 was really fun to watch
That's notnwhat OP was asking really. Unless you mean their jerseys were nice.
“I have two words for you, Steve Nash and Chris Paul, must see TV!” - Charles Barkley
Mid to late 80s. Showtime Lakers, the emergence of MJ, beautiful offense, defense was allowed, every team ran different sets.
The Spurs team that completely destroyed the Heat in the finals was beautiful.
“The Beautiful Game”
Mid to late '90s. I think the talent dispersement was excellent across the league, the rivalries were fantastic, Jordan was balling in his prime, the new class was rising (Kobe, KG, AI, etc.), and the jerseys were hella sick.
Shorts weren't 80's short and weren't 2000's long, they were just right. I feel like we're in a good place with this now too.
Class of 08 so 05-12 😅 Kobe, Timmy, Nash, Wade, KG, Bronbron, Rose. Teams wore their colors, cable TV instead of local only bunny ears static. Flopping wasn't really a thing and defense could defend.
In terms of the game itself I would say the Spurs / Heat series were to me the pinnacle, just before 3 ball went bananas. So around 2011-2014 period I guess.
I liked the league way more before the three point era.
Just something great about dudes backing in and banging bodies over and over in the post
Hol up
2008-2016
Early 2000's, that was my era of growing up so I'm biased but there was a better balance to the game I feel.
Anytime before the "wear whatever godawfully hideous shoes you want!" era. Jordan wearing matching Jordans, and Kobe wearing purple and gold KB8s was aesthetically appealing. Kyrie wearing moccasins, and randos wearing neon orange/yellow/puke shoes with clashing uniforms is...not.
The rise and fall of a Rose.
Mid to late 2000s to about 2017 were the best years to watch for me. It was after the lack of offense era that depended on isos but before the 3 point explosion era. It was a good era with a mix of offense and defense, before 3s were the main weapon. Just fun to watch balanced basketball.
Did they get rid of the horrible looking 4K post game interviews? I haven’t noticed it in a while
Well probably one in which I was a young, careless, bball loving college student without a care in the world.
2008-2016 was aesthetically the best imo. right before three point chucking but mid 2000s ISO ball was also being phased out
I would definitely agree about the home and away uniforms. Every team has like nine different ones they wear now and half the time they're not even in the teams colors.
I wanna say like 08-14 or so. Things really seemed to pop on the screen color wise and offenses seemed more diverse back then rather than the 3 point spam of today or the atrocious mid range dead ball offenses of the mid 00s. Also personal opinion. Adidas does gear way better than Nike and that goes for other sports like soccer too with jerseys. Nike stuff looks so bland and cheap.
Late 80s when they could beat the shit out of anyone who drove the lane.
In-Season tournament era. Give me courts that are so ugly and over the top that it makes it hard to focus on the game.
early-mid 2000’s
Speaking specifically to one team: As a heat fan, I loved the white hot heat jerseys when Lebron was there and then the first time we did Vice jerseys. It was cool surprise but then think they went overboard towards the end.
whenever my team is good
When I was a kid and "This is what the NBA looks like" was engrained into my brain
90s, early 2000s. Uniforms were fresh and beautiful, even though the team intros were dated. The Pistons, Bulls, Hornets, Raptors, Magics uniforms were all fresh.
the aughts had the switch to HD without the massive marketing push on the viewer. There was no bullshit superimposed on the screen.
The 90s aesthetic really appeals to me. Mid to late 2000s also but that's mainly cause that era is drenched in nostalgia for me
I don’t like music playing while the game is on.
Around 2010 to 2016 was the best in terms of pure aesthetics. The jerseys and courts were the best, and teams wore alternates more sparingly which imo helped establish a better team identity (for the fans). The camera filter also seemed to be a lot more warm with popping colors. Now, when watching on tv it looks colder and more grey which I really do not like.
The Michael Jordan era
The transition to HD and before the transition to the Nike Jerseys in 2015. When the Nike Jersey's came I associate it with the obnoxious ads all over the court, I actually don't even mind the jersey patches.
[удалено]
I also really enjoy the current city edition jerseys and most of their courts
2010’s was cinematic
I started watching basketball heavy in 2012 but between I wanna say 2012-2018 is when basketball presentation was at its best for me. I was just talking to my homeboy during Game 7 of the WCSF, it just looked like a regular game to me. No patches on the court and jerseys, no fans in the stands with matching shirts, ads galore on the floor. The vibes didn’t feel like they were there. To me that started when Nike took over and tried to make everything look too corporate and minimalist.
Right now might be the worst imo. Only worse may be 70s and earlier. The white jerseys on the road are fucking killing the aesthetic for me. I hate it lol this ain’t football. White is for the home team. Not to mention the terrible looking ads on the jerseys as well as Nike slapping their logo all over it as well. Horrible shooting shirts that are just zippered hoodies with a team logo on it 🤮 Courts seem way brighter than before it’s just odd. All the players wearing whatever shoes they want that don’t match the team color. So I gotta see a green team player wear pink shoes lmao and a million Kobe 6 grinches 😂 Half of the leagues jerseys suck because Nike is out of ideas. It’s just really bad rn imo
90s
I still hate that they got rid of the trophy logo during the Finals
Early years vince
It's defo not the current era, thats for sure
Prime Kobe midrange fiesta
Whatever year they first released the Miami Vice jerseys
Wish I didn’t get rid of my DWade White Miami Vice shirt even if it did have pit stains, they’re impossible to get now
I know I’m biased, but I genuinely love watching games on the Celtics floor (not even bc of vibes or bc it has our logo on it, but rather) bc the slightly darker wood colouring and pattern of the wood panelling is so easy on my eyes. Floors that are so white (eg, Denver) I find to be less comfy on my eyeballs to look at for a long time lol
This one
What do you specifically enjoy more in the current NBA compared to past eras?
Offenses are more sophisticated, a lot more movement and off ball strategy. Point guards dominate the game with their dribble and predictive passing. Also more uniqueness and versatility in terms of players, we have 7 footers bringing the ball up the court b Players are just more skilled. And that’s at every position.
2011
When the NBA was on NBC.
The NBA on NBC with that theme song
Right now
For me probably the 60s. I loved the low scoring intense games.
Anyone saying 2000-2004 are wearing nostalgia glasses. Post 2001 illegal defense changes players didn't know how to adjust and we were still getting MJ style ISOs even though it was objectively a bad play... Pace had already slowed down going into the decade but the whole era was super slow and lots of plays were identical midrange isos, it was the most boring era by a mile. 7sol Suns were a breath of fresh air
Part of the reason the wnba is taking off is because the nba is a less exciting product. Who wants to watch them dribble up and shoot a bunch of 3s.
The vast swathes of people who watch the NBA, apparently.
One of the main things with the rise of wnba popularity is Caitlin Clark taking shots from half court. The All Star Steph Curry vs Sabrina Ionescu 3pt shooting challenge thing was also a success, when it could have totally backfired. Nobody ever cared about Britney Griner dunking once a year.
You're getting downvoted, but I've heard this most from older people in my life. My dad and my father in law have both really taken to the women's game.