Even the NBA, a legendary competition forged by quality and bringing together the best basketball players in the world over the decades, has to adapt to the new times. Over the years, it has condensed the regular season schedule so much that teams can hardly practice consistently. They spend almost all their time playing and traveling and that is making it very difficult for young players who enter the league year after year.
Steve Kerr, head coach of the Golden State Warriors, believes that this is one of the main problems facing the NBA at the moment as it prevents young players from learning the concepts of the game properly and progressing adequately in games. When Kerr, who won five rings as a player and four as a coach, speaks, it is worth listening to him, because he does not mince his words. He did so recently on the ‘The Glue Guys’ podcast where he spoke about this problem that is plaguing the league.
A tight schedule
Steve Kerr publicly admits that the game is changing and that not everything suits his strengths: “Now, basically, the schedule is to play every other day all season long. In the NBA we don’t practice anymore. So we have to develop these 19-year-old kids who come into the league without much practice time… And frankly, I’m not very good at that; I’m an old-school coach. So I lean on the young coaches.”
Nowadays the schedule is to play every other day throughout the season. In the NBA we don’t practice anymore and we have to develop these 19-year-olds who come into the league without much practice time
Years ago, young players would come into the NBA and hone their great skills with quality training that was basic to their improvement and has now all but disappeared. “One of the reasons the league is so different now is that we are now a developmental league. A difference that is due to such a tight schedule. We used to have three games in four nights, and then four days off, so we had at least two great practices.”
Learn on the go
In the modern NBA, schedule and culture changes have made practices scarce, meaning young players have to learn on the fly. Kerr cites the example of one of his players, Jonathan Kuminga, the 22-year-old forward whom they selected with the No. 7 pick in the 2021 draft and has established himself as an elite prospect for the Warriors.
Before, we had three games in four nights, and then four days off, so we had at least two great practices
Last season, in 47 games, he averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, shooting 45.4% from the field. But his role in Kerr’s team has been inconsistent, which has created a rift between him and his coach, who has not hesitated to punish him or even not call him up to penalize him for his mistakes. His inconsistency increased and his statistics dropped at the end of the year.
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