When did basketball stop becoming a contact sport?

[BobbyStrawberry]

Another bad part of the current NBA game is the "offensive player going to the basket goes out of their way to shove their shoulder into the defender, resulting in a defensive foul." Harden and Luka Doncic do this a lot

Watching some of the NCAA tournament the last few days (mens and womens) is a refresher that outside of the NBA, basketball is still basketball for the most part.

[bk400]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

Another bad part of the current NBA game is the "offensive player going to the basket goes out of their way to shove their shoulder into the defender, resulting in a defensive foul." Harden and Luka Doncic do this a lot

Watching some of the NCAA tournament the last few days (mens and womens) is a refresher that outside of the NBA, basketball is still basketball for the most part.

Yes, it's the whole feet not set thing that I don't understand. I never understood why the defender doesn't have the same right to the space as the player with the ball. Allow the contact when both players are fighting for the same space.

You can tell from scores like 145-130 in games that defense has been handicapped. Kind of like baseball in that way.

[Balticfox]

Not to mention the travelling allowed. As played under the rules/officiating of the NBA, the game has become a travesty of that which was intended.

[steve B]

A few random thoughts.

I watched a video of a guy getting autographs of the greatest for each main sport on an album page that had originally just had Babe Ruth. My wife wondered why that was a thing, and that it seemed odd.

The autos?
Ruth
Brady
Gretzky
Lionel Messi ?

I said basketball would be tough as the greatest all time were mostly dead.
Wilt, Bill Russell, and maybe Mikan, leaving Jordan in 4th but first living.

To me basketball started it's long decline in the mid 90s.
The first dream team was amazing and showed what basketball could be.
By 96, it was still sort of amazing if you didn't look too closely. I was at US/China at those Olympics, and one player was set up for an easy dunk.... and missed it three straight possessions. They still massively outscored China, but didn't look good doing it.
It had become theater, a bunch of set pieces for the star of that drive to show off.
Seeing a few NBA games on tv after that has not changed that opinion.