A fans perspective 

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He speaks

Commissioner Silver stated he was extremely disappointed in the gambling probe and arrests. Until there are further developments he really can’t say much more. As mentioned earlier the indictments and arrests impacts NBA fans. This portion of news is almost as bad, “Members of Congress sent a letter Friday to NBA commissioner Adam Silver requesting a briefing and expressing concern over “allegations of illegal gambling and sports rigging” after Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player and coach Damon Jones were indicted in a pair of sweeping federal investigations this week.” The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is requesting a briefing by October 31. Whatever occurs from a future standpoint Congress’s ability to impact this development is severely limited in my view.

Portions from ESPN

Rule changes

Every season the NBA adopts or revises the rule book, 2025-26 will be no different. I located this information and believed it was worth you being informed of the changes.

End-of-quarter heaves: 

Unsuccessful shots taken from at least 36 feet away with under three seconds left in the first three quarters will now count as a team attempt, not a personal one. This rule aims to encourage players to attempt these long shots without fear of hurting their shooting percentages.

Foul rules:

“High-five” rule: A player cannot be hit on the hand during their shooting motion.

Delayed contact rule: A foul can still be called even if contact occurs after the shooter has released the ball.

Coach’s Challenge: When a coach challenges an out-of-bounds call, a Replay Center official will now determine if a proximate foul should have been called, instead of the on-court crew chief. This is intended to speed up the review process.

A generation

I hadn’t thought about this until it was pointed out to me by a friend, do you realize this generation of the NBA will be retired in 5 years? It’s likely LeBron James who turns 41 in December will be the first to retire, he is certainly not alone because LeBron will be joined by a number of well-known NBA players. Who are they, you are familiar with them you have long watched them in person or on television. The were the nucleus of the last gold medal Olympic team for the U.S. The names are easily recognizable, they are:

Steph Curry

Chris Paul

Kawhi Leonard

James Harden

Kevin Durant

Russell Westbrook

Joel Embiid

Kyrie Irving

Anthony Davis

Nikola Jokic

Giannis Antetokounmpo

A couple of the names you might question if they will be retired, its possible they might play an extended period. That is indeed a possibility later you will read another account on Vince Carter, he played long after his 35th birthday. Keep this in mind everyone on the list will be 35+ in 5 years. Who replaces them or is the future in front of us currently? Is it Wemby, SGA or Ant Man or several other players I’ve failed to mention in this short account, everything must change and that includes NBA players.

Jack Molinas

Some reading this might remember the name Jack Molinas, he was one of the culprits in the 1961 college basketball betting scandal. What I found most interesting he was a very good NBA player for the period. Molinas attended Columbia University 1950-1953, he set the scoring record for the team at one time which was later broken. There are reports he was part of the college basketball point-shaving scandal in 1951 but was never caught. In any event the 1953 NBA draft would see Molinas chosen as the 3rd pick in the first round. Molinas was banned by the NBA after playing but 32 games for the Fort Wayne (Detroit) Pistons.

Molinas was barred for betting on Piston games which resulted in a lifetime suspension by the NBA. He became the first active player to receive a lifetime suspension before Jontay Porter in 2024. What I’ve always found so interesting about Molinas he was near genius with a 175 reported IQ. Unable to play in the NBA Molinas would play in the Eastern League which could be equated with the G-League however there was no connection with the NBA. This is but a shorten version of an earlier time in the NBA. What we are witnessing at present is not necessarily a new thing, it reminds me of an old idiom, “The phrase “nothing new under the sun” means that the fundamental human experiences and struggles are repeated throughout history, even though the circumstances may seem new.”