Three seconds left, and the game is on the line. He shoots. He makes it! The crowd goes wild, screaming and cheering, but it doesn’t count. Everyone is confused except for the referee; he makes the call, and the ball is out of bounds. This happened because the ball hit the top of the backboard and then went in the net. This dumb rule causes the team to lose the game, and the player is not a hero. While hitting the backboard might not be a skilled shot, he still made it, and the shot should count. The NBA’s ignorant rules cause controversy, and if they were taken out or fixed, then most of the arguing would stop. The sad thing is that: this is not the only dumb rule. There are plenty more.
If you are a left-handed player, then you are most likely not winning a jump-ball. Why, you ask? Well, because players cannot use their left hand. While it is an unwritten rule, almost everyone lines up with their right hand at the tip-off. From tip-offs at the start of games or jump balls, players don’t use their left hands. About 8.5% of players are left-handed in the NBA right now. That means that 34 players right now would most likely lose a jump ball to the other 91.5% of players who have an advantage. If you try to do a tip-off with a left-handed person and a right-handed person, it does not affect the jump ball. So, if this was changed, then it would give a fair chance to both players in a jump ball. While most jump balls don’t significantly affect the game, if it was in a critical situation, being able to use your left hand might be helpful.
This one might be a little controversial, but here is another unnecessary rule: the take foul. For those who don’t know what a take foul is, it is a foul that is made not on the ball – it is made in a fastbreak and stops the player from an easy bucket. “These acts upset me because they prevent fast break highlights which often include monster dunks, alley-oops, ankle-breakers, business decisions, taunting, celebrations, finishing moves, bench mobs, and everything I hold close to my heart,” Rob Perez wrote in his article, “The Next NBA Rule Change” about take fouls. This foul is becoming more and more common and honestly slows down a fast pace game. When the game is just filled with a bunch of fouls, it is just not fun to watch. A way to fix this problem is to make a rule that says if you have too many take fouls, then you get a technical foul. Or they can make it a technical foul in general. Players are allowed six fouls in a game, and to use your fouls on useless take fouls to me is just foolish. Take fouls should be removed or penalized only if there is more than just one foul. Players should be given only one take foul because to stop for each take foul ruins the game. Basketball is a fast paced game, and these take fouls slow down the pace and take away an exciting part of basketball.
Another dumb rule: the two-way deal. What is it and why am I talking about it? A two-way deal is a contract between a team and player where the player is bounced from the NBA team and the G-league team. Being added in the 2017-2018 season, it was meant to attach up to two players on an NBA team. This year almost 30 players are on their two-way contract. That means that almost every team has a two-way player. This can have some effect on the player’s mental health and can throw them off their game. Imagine having to play in a pro game and the next day go and play in a G-league game. This is controlled somewhat; only a player that has been in the league for 4 years or less can be on a two-way. So, Lebron cannot be put on a two-way contract. The two-way contract can be fixed by making it so that a player has to play on one team for at least 20-30 days. If this was done, then players would be less stressed knowing that they are on a team for some time. They don’t have to worry about going back and forth between multiple teams within the same month.
In conclusion, foolish rules exist. If we don’t do anything about it, then these rules such as how the tip-off isn’t fair, how the take foul slows the game down, or even how the two-way rule tires players out will stay there and will inevitably ruin the game. These are just a few rules, and there are many more to be fixed. If we go one by one, then we can save the NBA game. We can make this amazing game better and pass it on. I would hate to see basketball fall in popularity because of these unnecessary rules.
