Dime Magazine: Worst basketball trends since 2000

Article here.

You wouldn’t be reading, and we wouldn’t be writing about basketball if it weren’t a sport so easy to love. The players keep the game new but the undercurrents of tradition tie it to the legends who came before. The barriers of entry – just a ball, really – are so low it inspires anyone to pick it up and try to reach the dizzying ceiling of its stars can. It is timeless and under constant renovation at the same time. That persistent evolution isn’t just for show, though; it’s weeding out what can’t survive. The game isn’t perfect.

Since Dime was born, we’ve brought you as close as possible to the game we love. That doesn’t mean, however, that we haven’t kept track of what we’ve seen and the ways to make it better. These 10 trends since 2000 are things the game could do without.

I'd say it's a pretty accurate and concise summary of our common complaints and various contentious issues. However, I'd have to rank flopping at number one. Inconsistent officiating and the zero tolerance approach resulting in ridiculous technicals also should have made the list, in the top five.

I agree that officiating should have been on there. More so than just flopping, but the inconsistent calls, the star calls, and the odd moments where they won't let the players' play or the exact opposite while swallowing their whistle.

Bad officiating isn't a trend though but something that has always existed. They probably improved it by implementing video review but definitely has taken couple step back by giving referees more power and silencing players' emotions.

True, bad calls and questions about officiating are nothing new, but it certainly feels like it's been worse in the past decade or so with the increase of flopping (and constantly shifting criteria for blocking/charging calls), some very questionable calls in big games and in particular, the ridiculous technicals and inconsistency in the way they're called.