Less Is More In The New NBA

Once upon a time, a player’s worth was measured anecdotally; but with the rise of preservation within the hierarchy of NBA front offices, we are entering into a brave new world where efficiency reigns supreme.

Throughout the annals of NBA history, the more was — by and large — the merrier.

Greats of the past made their names by putting up gaudy numbers —Wilt Chamberlain famously had his 50 and 25 season while playing over 48 minutes a contest, Oscar Robertson averaged 30/10/10 for an entire year, and Michael Jordan captured an unprecedented 10 scoring titles during his illustrious, incomparable career.

Players were celebrated through the sheer, unadulterated stats they accumulated because, after all, anecdotal numbers was all that was available.

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However, as years pass, fans and analysts alike are becoming increasingly more knowledgeable, driven in large by the advent and public availability of advanced stats.

Slowly, but surely, the pendulum started to swing towards efficiency’s favor. Yeah, it was great Allen Iverson led the league in scoring in 2001-02, averaging over 31.4 points per game; but his middling TS% (true shooting percentage) of 49.6 percent left a lot to be desired.

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Conversely, Kevin Durant‘s 2014-15 MVP season, in which he led the association in scoring by pouring in 32.0 points a contest on a blistering 63.8 percent TS%, serves as the epitome of contemporary dominance.

Certainly, the rise of the 3-ball is a direct fruit of the modern NBA’s never-ending search to satisfy their collective efficiency hunger. But it’s not just the efficacy of a player’s output that has been put on a magnified microscope; the preservation of a player — and not just players at the tail-end of their careers — is meticulously accounted for more so than ever.

Perhaps its Gregg Popovich’s fault that the Golden State Warriors are sitting and resting Draymond Green in a season where the Dubs are chasing history. Results don’t lie, though, as the San Antonio Spurs‘ perpetual linchpin, Tim Duncan, continues to mock “Father Time” with his fine play.

And in 2015-16, the entire league has finally followed suit.

The NBA is experiencing one of the most talent-enriched eras in recent memory, but yet, no player is averaging over 30 points a game, and only two players (Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins) are averaging over the long-time benchmark for an elite big man of 20 and 10.

However, coaches — whether self-willingly or not — are avoiding the “Tom Thibodeau”, a.k.a. running their players into the ground.

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At present, Jimmy Butler, ironically, leads the league in minutes per game at 38.0. In comparison, Allen Iverson was leading the NBA in minutes 10 seasons ago, playing over 43.1 minutes per game, while both LeBron James and Gilbert Arenas averaged over 42. In fact, a total of nine players averaged over 40 minutes a contest in 2005-06.

To put it into perspective, Butler would rank 26th in minutes per game if he were to play a decade ago.

And this is just the beginning, folks. Minute caps will be instituted on players younger and younger — especially ones plagued by a seemingly eternal laundry list of nagging injuries (see: Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, etc.) — and established playoff teams will strategically “DNP-Rest” their players as they look forward to the postseason.

The Washington Wizards have already deployed a minutes limit on their 22-year-old shooting guard, Bradley Beal. The fourth year sniper told J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic the following:

“Probably, especially with the way my body works,” Beal said about having his minutes capped at a maximum. “It doesn’t want to listen to me so I got to as much as I can take care of it, be smart about it moving forward through the rest of my career that’s probably something that’s going to happen every year.”

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The days of big numbers and outrageous minutes are officially over; welcome to this brave new world where doing less — albeit more efficiently — will the key ingredient to etch your name on the highest of pedestals.