For the past decade or so, we’ve witnessed a gradual metamorphosis shift the landscape upon which the NBA’s giants trod. In the ancient days of basketball lore, big men stood alone as they dominated the NBA. In blatant retaliation, the modern age of basketball is seeing the rise of guards and wings often come to the expense of the bigs. The traditional big man prototype in the mold of legends like Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, and the like is carefully becoming obsolete as basketball traded in size and strength for IQ and length.
The 3-point revolution has cast doubt on the validity of rim-protecting bigs who struggle to maintain spacing both on offense and defense.