Expansion and Franchise Moves:

Since the Charlotte Bobcats were introduced in 2004, there have been no new teams that have joined the NBA. Also, from 2010 there was only one franchise movement; the New Jersey Nets, who moved to Brooklyn for the 2013-14 season.

Playstyle:

From 2010 onwards, the NBA experienced an increase in three point shooting, commonly referred to as the NBA’s three point revolution. One team that is known for facilitating the use of three point shooting in the early 2010s was the Golden State Warriors. Therefore, in today's game, three point shooting has become an integral part of scoring. For instance, in the 2018-19 season, the Houston Rockets attempted a record 45.4 three pointers per game. Also, in the most recent season (2022-23) the Golden State Warriors made the most three pointers ever in a season at 1,363. It is widely considered that Stephen Curry was the main pioneer to the NBA’s three point revolution.

Furthermore, the 2010s brought an emphasis on the importance of point guards when it came to playmaking. Players such as Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry and James Harden revolutionised the position, significantly changing various teams playstyles. This led to more adaptation of small ball as well by replacing big men with more versatile and agile players. The change to versatile players meant positions weren’t as prominent called positionless basketball. For example, smaller players playing in the post whilst bigger players play around the perimeter. Additionally, teams aimed to play swiftly to create scoring opportunities and create space for three point shooting as well as driving to the basket.

Rule Changes and Innovation:

During 2010 and later there were many crucial rule changes to shape the game to what it is today. For example, further restrictions on hand checking rules were implemented in 2010, allowing players more offensive freedom, whilst defenders had to be more careful. Moreover, the defensive three second violation was added in 2013 allowing defensive players to be in the paint for three seconds, without having to guard anyone. Also, flopping rules were added (2012) to penalise players for exaggerating to draw fouls and in the last two minutes of the last quarter, anyone in the teams would be allowed to take the free throws no matter who was fouled (2016). To add, a rule was added to set the shot clock to 14 seconds instead of 24 after an offensive rebound, adopted in 2018 and encouraging faster play. Lastly, for the 2019-20 season, coaches could now challenge fouls or other calls during a game, allowing the team possession of the ball if successful.

Notable Teams and Players:

A new style/composition of teams were made apparent in the 2010’s, known as super teams. Superteams are usually as dominant as well as featuring multiple star players. Some examples of these teams in the early 2010’s include the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. The Heat’s big three included LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Cris Bosh. With his team, they won in 2012 and 2013, as well as being runner ups in 2011 and 2014.

The team with the most championship wins from 2010 to present is the Golden State Warriors. They won four times in 2015, 17, 18, and 22. Apart from this, the Lakers won twice with the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets each winning once. Therefore, no team was particularly dominant especially due to various player trades and a range of different teams winning.

LeBron James is one of the best players of this era winning four championships across three teams, as well as four finals MVPs to go with it. In his ongoing career LeBron has averaged 27.2 points over the 20 seasons he has played. LeBron also became the highest scorer of all time in the NBA, has won three MVPs and is the only player to be in the top 100 of all time points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocks and three pointers.

Another notable player is Kevin Durant who is known for his versatility being a great ball handler while being seven foot, playing at the small forward position. He has won two championships in his continuing career, averaging 27.3 points per game. Some more recent stars in the NBA include Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Devin Booker, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum.

Cultural Impact:

The international appeal of basketball has continued to grow, helped by more star international players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic. In the 2022-23 season, 120 international players from 40 different countries were included in the roster. Furthermore, NBA players still influence fashion through social media and their walk in outfits. Basketball shorts became slightly shorter and less baggy to sit above the knee again and compression gear such as sleeves and tights became popular. Activism and philanthropy is also practised by many NBA players as well as the NBA, for example, the NBA’s support of the BLM movement. To add, basketball has expanded to esports with the NBA 2K games. The first NBA 2K tournament called the ‘NBA 2K League’ was held in 2018. The WNBA has also continued to grow and expanded to 12 teams.

The Most Recent Season:

The playoffs ended with a finals matchup between the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets in which the 2022-23 season concluded with the Denver Nuggets as champions. In five games the Nuggets beat the Heat (4-1). This was the first time the Nuggets won a championship in franchise history. Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers ended the season with the most points per game at 33.1 and was MVP. The Milwaukee Bucks had the best regular season record with 58 wins and 24 losses, but were eliminated early in the playoffs by the Heat.