Everyone in the league employs the positionless basketball that the Golden State Warriors brought in.
In the history of the NBA, the game of basketball has constantly evolved. From the days of physical dominance to swanky scorers taking over, the evolution has been constant.
However, the biggest change to the game came about since Stephen Curry and his Golden State Warriors brought out their way of playing basketball, feels Raymond Felton.
As a guest on the Tidal League podcast, former player Raymond Felton talked about the Warriors and their impact on the game.
They changed how the whole league wanted to play offense. They basically changed the game of basketball. If you think about it, when I came in, it was legit 5's. When you had to throw the ball in posts and these dude's trying to get buckets. But then few years later, they come in and the stuff they was doing shooting the 3's. Now they got big men shooting threes. Now the whole game changed.Raymond Felton said
Felton suggested that no other team in the history of the game had such a major impact on how basketball is played. Now most of the teams play the game the way the Golden State Warriors have shown them.
Felton alluded to the fact that Stephen Curry and his Warriors brought in a new brand of basketball that was never seen before. Earlier, the teams with the best big men had the highest chance of success. Once the Warriors came in, the game became positionless and everyone could score.
Most point guards, such as Felton himself, had to get the ball to the big men and let them dominate. Now, anyone from any position can score, most importantly from anywhere on the court.
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Golden State Warriors and positionless basketball revolution
Mark Jackson introduced the concept of positionless basketball when he was the head coach of the Golden State Warriors. Then, when Steve Kerr took over, he advanced it to the state we see today. Prior to them joining, Curry was playing true to the position of a point guard. However, Jackson knew the college 3-point record holder was more effective in a catch-and-shoot situation.
Kerr developed forward/center Draymond Green to become the primary playmaker, hence taking Curry off the ball and allowing both himself and Klay Thompson to worry about scoring. This positionless system has effectively ended the big-man dominance in the NBA for almost a decade.
So much so that current college big men are not seen as a great fit for teams. Forcing some to say that teams should not throw away lottery picks for them.
