It’s been happening in the NBA for years now, and the recently comlpeted Tokyo Olympics but a spotlight on it: many players, even some of the league’s best, focus too intently on drawing fouls rather than simply looking to score field goals.
And the NBA has apparently had enough. According to the NBA league office, via its official Twitter account, the NBA will crack down on such “non-basketball” moves, starting with the Las Vegas Summer League.
Well, that’s certainly sudden. But I can’t help but think that the U.S. men’s basketball team has something to do with this change in NBA rules. During the early stages of the United States’ run to a gold medal, they appeared to be looking to draw fouls too often — and to no avail due to different rules in international play.
And you’ll notice that the above tweet is a thread. It contains video examples of attempts to draw fouls that won’t fly any longer, and one of the videos is of Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
Well, Curry will have to holster that move, it appears.
He’s not the only superstar that will have to adjust, however. Nets G James Harden comes to mind. But these types of plays happen throughout the NBA. The league office had plenty of film to choose from.
I’m extremely relieved to see this rule change on the horizon. Curry has gone to these tactics far too often, and it appears to me that he puts himself at unnecessary injury risk in many cases. Taking that off the table, I think Curry will be better off to simply use his supreme skill rather than attempting to draw fouls. Often, Curry puts up wild shot hoping to get the call, but he doesn’t.
But league-wide, prepare for some growing pains among all players. These “non-basketball” moves have become a part of the game, unfortunately. But after the adjustment, NBA basketball will be much better off, as will Curry and the Warriors.
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