I’d argue Basketball is actually seeing the decline of height as the primary factor.
It was definitely true early on and up to the 80s. Why? Because in general the talent was not at skillful on an individual basis. The game relied on team play passing the ball for an open shot (the skill came down to the team and the plays they ran), but that shot was almost always a layup. The ball movement and player movement was always to get someone a path to the basket.
Tall people simply had an advantage with this style of play because their reach and height allowed greater accuracy up close or even if they had to go a little further out, such as when the hook shot began catching on. But most importantly it came at defending the basket as well, because that’s where everyone went to get their shots.
In general jump shots were actually pretty rare, because the risk was greater and people didn’t really train themselves or alter the play styles to mitigate this risk. Jump shots didn’t really become a standard common mundane thing until the 80s (maybe late 70s) onward, and they exploded in the 90s.
Once jump shots became popular, it allowed smaller players to score the most points and compete with the big guys because they no longer had to fight against a wall at a singular point. They could run circles and shoot from anywhere and the tall guys couldn’t do anything because it would be goal tending. And we have seen a change in the record books for the types of guys who hold the records once this style of play was adopted. We went from guys like Mikan and Chamberlin to Jordan and Kobe to now even smaller guys like Curry (although he’s still 6’3”) and Isiah Thomas Whose like 5’8”!! (before he flamed out)
So we have still seen the same evolution away from tall guys continue today with the adoption of 3 point shot becoming so heavy in the last 10 years. As people continue to hone and develop their individual skill at shooting the basketball, and the further away they can do it, the less it matters about height. It’s not uncommon for players to pull up from just past half court and drain a shot. Defensive schemes (as they are now) mean literally nothing in that scenario, and height is just as worthless.
If genetically enough tall people who can also run around as fast as Stephen Curry and can shoot like him, come to existence, then I’d say we’d go back to height being the primary factor. But for the foreseeable future, and as long as the 3 pt line still exists, I think it’s just jump shooters
Isiah Thomas is 5’8”. My point is play style is changing where size doesn’t matter.
There were smaller guys in the past like Mugsy, but they were limited playing in the confines of the then system. You’d never see a 5 foot dude leading a team in the old style. But now with the new style we can see it.
I’d argue Basketball is actually seeing the decline of height as the primary factor.
It was definitely true early on and up to the 80s. Why? Because in general the talent was not at skillful on an individual basis. The game relied on team play passing the ball for an open shot (the skill came down to the team and the plays they ran), but that shot was almost always a layup. The ball movement and player movement was always to get someone a path to the basket.
Tall people simply had an advantage with this style of play because their reach and height allowed greater accuracy up close or even if they had to go a little further out, such as when the hook shot began catching on. But most importantly it came at defending the basket as well, because that’s where everyone went to get their shots.
In general jump shots were actually pretty rare, because the risk was greater and people didn’t really train themselves or alter the play styles to mitigate this risk. Jump shots didn’t really become a standard common mundane thing until the 80s (maybe late 70s) onward, and they exploded in the 90s.
Once jump shots became popular, it allowed smaller players to score the most points and compete with the big guys because they no longer had to fight against a wall at a singular point. They could run circles and shoot from anywhere and the tall guys couldn’t do anything because it would be goal tending. And we have seen a change in the record books for the types of guys who hold the records once this style of play was adopted. We went from guys like Mikan and Chamberlin to Jordan and Kobe to now even smaller guys like Curry (although he’s still 6’3”) and Isiah Thomas Whose like 5’8”!! (before he flamed out)
So we have still seen the same evolution away from tall guys continue today with the adoption of 3 point shot becoming so heavy in the last 10 years. As people continue to hone and develop their individual skill at shooting the basketball, and the further away they can do it, the less it matters about height. It’s not uncommon for players to pull up from just past half court and drain a shot. Defensive schemes (as they are now) mean literally nothing in that scenario, and height is just as worthless.
If genetically enough tall people who can also run around as fast as Stephen Curry and can shoot like him, come to existence, then I’d say we’d go back to height being the primary factor. But for the foreseeable future, and as long as the 3 pt line still exists, I think it’s just jump shooters
Isiah Thomas is 5’8”. My point is play style is changing where size doesn’t matter.
There were smaller guys in the past like Mugsy, but they were limited playing in the confines of the then system. You’d never see a 5 foot dude leading a team in the old style. But now with the new style we can see it.