Why has shotblocking declined so much?

[CharityStripe34]

Many factors as have been discussed. More long-range shooting and guys passing up layup/floater attempts for the kick-out. There's also more zone and "man/zone" shading type of team defenses employed to encourage guards to take mid-range shots. There's generally a more concentrated effort by offenses to bring rim protectors/big men away from the paint on defense. The high screen game is literally designed to get the rim protector away from the hoop to create open lanes, especially if there's a switch or the big he's guarding can step out and shoot a three/long-range jumper.

As goofy as it sounds the "business decision" some big guys make to avoid a poster dunk/twitter gif plays a bit of a role too, lol.

[hoosierdaddy34]

This is pretty much common sense. Jump shots are harder to block.

[nikster]

Wrong. A shot blocker can cause shot altering. Shot blockers cause hesitation, indecisiveness, intimidation. These things get players away from what they are best at, what they practice the most. This absolutely will lower the probability of a scoring basketball.

Sure but you don't need to block shots to do that. Rudy gibert is as good as anyone in altering shots and protecting the rim and he does it with a modest 2 blocks per game. The sweet spot is blocking shots without giving up position. That plus the switching and increased spacing leads to the drop in overall block numbers

He averages 2.2 blocks per game over his career. That's significant all things being considered.

Sure but that's like half the blocks elite bigs were posting 2 decades ago and he's having similar impact

[Mephariel]

In the 90s.... fans didn't LAUGH at their own player if they got dunked on.

They might have been impressed by the dunker but they appreciated the defensive attempt.

Now... idiots who have never played post memes are all "oooooo RIP" and players are soft and super sensitive.

Yes all the technical and analytical reasons are true.... but this is also a huge factor. Probably the biggest.

I don't think so. How many teams have players that an dunk on people regularly? Most rim attempts are layups. Especially contested.

[Ursusamericanus]

All this makes me wonder how many BPG prime Hakeem, Ewing, D-Rob, and Dikembe would average today.

[ellobo]

1. Spacing. It's not so much the amount of 3 point shots, but the effect of more 3 point shots spacing the floor, spreading out the defense, forcing switches, and keeping shot blockers farther from the rim.

2. More emphasis on driving to collapse the defense and kick, or driving to take advantage of an open lane against a spread out defense, rather than driving through the defense to score.

3. Popularity of the floater. The whole purpose of the floater is to neutralize a shot-blocker. So if smaller guards and shooting more floaters instead of going all the way to the rim, there are fewer opportunities for blocks.

4. I am of the opinion that while shot-blocking is valuable in that a blocked shot erases a field goal attempt and has an intimidation factor, pursuing blocks is often counterproductive. Block-hunting leads to biting on head fakes, more fouling, opening up passing lanes for dump offs, kick outs, and lobs, easy putbacks when the offense recovers the ball, or just many possessions where the offense keeps the ball after a block out of bounds. So while the threat of a blocked shot from players who are capable of blocking shots can still be important anchor to a defense, maximizing the actual number of blocked shots is not necessarily the most effective approach. I'm not privy to analytics that support this, but my guess is it's true and teams are more aware of it nowadays.

[SelfishPlayer]

Sure but you don't need to block shots to do that. Rudy gibert is as good as anyone in altering shots and protecting the rim and he does it with a modest 2 blocks per game. The sweet spot is blocking shots without giving up position. That plus the switching and increased spacing leads to the drop in overall block numbers

He averages 2.2 blocks per game over his career. That's significant all things being considered.

Sure but that's like half the blocks elite bigs were posting 2 decades ago and he's having similar impact

Defensive three second rule didn't exist 2 decades ago.

[Plutonashfan]

Longer shots on the perimeter, terrible reffing. Mobley gets a foul a game called on him that are textbook clean blocks.

[TwitterFingers]

Blocked shots are not actually very valuable, aside from the emotional impact. Typically the shooting team just gets the ball back and tries again.

Not at all.

It ticks the shot clock down either way, it also mentally puts off shooters knowing a good shot blocker is deterring them from the easiest shot on the court.

A presence of a shot blocker can shutdown the pain. That’s valuable. The Knicks last season were built on shutting down the paint. And the Knicks overachieved last year.

[Profound23]

Blocked shots are not actually very valuable, aside from the emotional impact. Typically the shooting team just gets the ball back and tries again.

Not at all.

It ticks the shot clock down either way, it also mentally puts off shooters knowing a good shot blocker is deterring them from the easiest shot on the court.

Agreed - it leads to a lot of shots being altered, too.

Plus if you have guys like Zo, Embiid, or Giannis who know how to block shots and keep the ball in play that helps tremendously.

[nikster]

He averages 2.2 blocks per game over his career. That's significant all things being considered.

Sure but that's like half the blocks elite bigs were posting 2 decades ago and he's having similar impact

Defensive three second rule didn't exist 2 decades ago.

It may have prevented blocks but it didn't prevent the massive impact someone like Gobeert can have protecting the paint

[SelfishPlayer]

Sure but that's like half the blocks elite bigs were posting 2 decades ago and he's having similar impact

Defensive three second rule didn't exist 2 decades ago.

It may have prevented blocks but it didn't prevent the massive impact someone like Gobeert can have protecting the paint

You failed at minimizing shot blocking.