NBA’s Defensive Effort Standards Trolled by Kenyon Martin

In recent years, basketball has undergone significant development. The way the games are played now differs greatly from how they were played in the 1990s and 2000s. Many people overlook the fact that defenses have also had to adapt, even if we see a lot of quick-fire threes on offense. This has been a minor […] The post NBA’s Defensive Effort Standards Trolled by Kenyon Martin appeared first on BlackSportsOnline.

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Feb 25, 2025 - 11:00
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NBA’s Defensive Effort Standards Trolled by Kenyon Martin

In recent years, basketball has undergone significant development. The way the games are played now differs greatly from how they were played in the 1990s and 2000s. Many people overlook the fact that defenses have also had to adapt, even if we see a lot of quick-fire threes on offense.

This has been a minor point of contention in the greater discussion of the stylistic distinctions between the league’s various periods and how some fans believe that players nowadays are less skilled on defense.

Kenyon Martin praised today’s NBA players for their defensive efforts. In an interview with Gilbert Arenas on “Gil’s Arena,” he explained how his team used to defend.

Two seasons before the NBA permitted clubs to use zone defenses, Martin entered the league in 2000. Zone defenses were prohibited prior to that because the NBA felt they made scoring more difficult; even His Airness Michael Jordan openly admitted this. Defensive tactics, such as a slew of double or triple teams on an opponent’s best player, were a little easier to implement because players were only allowed to play man-to-man.

Kenyon Martin’s complaints about NBA defense

Martin’s main complaint is that modern defenses don’t play deny defense, whether of zone or man-to-man tactics. He said that the elite players are able to run freely because of their lack of effort.

Although he clarified that “not everyone” in the current NBA can move like Curry, he highlighted Steph Curry as an example of someone who is difficult to ignore due to his distinctive movement. Martin said: “I was terrified to let Tim Duncan catch the ball. Terrified to let Kobe catch the ball. Deny him. If he give it up, deny him as far as you possibly can,” . “You can’t go backcourt to catch the mother f***er…it’s illegal.”

Although players like Martin will always argue about this or that, the NBA is very different now than it was even ten years ago, let alone in the 2000s. Given that big men like KAT or Jokic can easily sink a 23-footer, it is challenging to “deny” all the time when the 3-ball is being shot at such a high frequency. Furthermore, there is evidence that Martin isn’t paying as much attention to every game as he ought to.

The post NBA’s Defensive Effort Standards Trolled by Kenyon Martin appeared first on BlackSportsOnline.

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