
Six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen recently opened up about the changes in the NBA that, in his view, have diminished the league’s appeal. Speaking on the PBD Podcast with Patrick Bet-David, Pippen reflected on how the evolution of the game has prioritized offense over defense, reducing the physicality that defined his era.
“I feel like the game changed, it became more of a perimeter shooter game,” Pippen said. Reflecting on his playing days, Pippen recalled how the NBA in the 90s favored a more balanced approach, with scoring averages staying below 100 points. “When I was leaving the game in the early 2000s, the league promoted more scoring. They wanted to get more points up on the board. They felt like that would get the fans more engaged.”
Pippen believes that this focus on scoring came at the expense of defense. “At that point, it started looking more like a game built for offensive players. Guys that did play defense and took pride in playing defense were to some degree punished,” he said. He highlighted changes like the introduction of the restricted area, where players are not allowed to take charges in certain positions in the lane, as part of the shift toward favoring offensive play.
While acknowledging that some changes, like reducing the physicality of the game, were beneficial, Pippen feels the overall shift in focus left the game unrecognizable. “A lot of it was for the good, looking at how the physicality of the game was in the 90s, but I think a lot of that got wiped away. That’s where a lot of the fans lost interest in the game,” he explained.
Pippen also compared the leadership styles of former NBA commissioner David Stern and current commissioner Adam Silver, noting how the latter’s more player-centric approach has influenced the game’s direction. “I feel like David Stern ran the game,” Pippen said. “Adam Silver’s era, he’s more or less allowing the players to have some input in terms of how the rules of the game are changing… It looks like it’s pretty bad right now.”
The Hall of Famer also took issue with the modern trend of load management, especially players opting out of back-to-back games. “From a standpoint of players being healthy, those are some precautionary measures they’ve taken in the game,” Pippen said. “Players don’t like to play back-to-back. It’s a lot of things.”
Furthermore, Pippen criticized the overwhelming reliance on the three-point shot, claiming it detracts from the teamwork that once defined the game. “There’s no teamwork in shooting a three-point shot. It’s not the same as executing a play where everybody touches the ball and you get a bucket out of it, whether it’s a two or a three,” he said. “That’s something that drew fans, made people love the game, and love certain teams that played a certain way.”
While Pippen praised the Golden State Warriors for their team-oriented approach during their dominant years, he lamented the absence of such chemistry in today’s NBA. “I don’t think you see that in today’s game. The last team that played with that kind of chemistry was the Golden State Warriors,” Pippen said. “They had the greatest shooters in the game at that time. But in today’s game, we don’t see that great team chemistry.”