The Arc of NBA Stars

The perception of NBA stars in recent years seems to take a predictable arc. When they first come into the league, they are praised up to the sky. They can do no wrong. Then, at some random moment, they are panned; their weaknesses are highlighted. Their strengths simply evaporate. Later, they become heroes again. They are placed in the pantheon of legendary performers. They are considered in the top 10 of all time.

This tired narrative keep resurfacing. It happened with Kobe Bryant. It happened with LeBron. it happened with Wade and Pierce and Garnett. It's happening with Dirk. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are going through it now. The latter two are asking themselves the same think virtually every NBA star of the past ten years has asked himself, "I'm the same player I've always been. If anything, I'm better than I've ever been. Why is everyone criticizing me now?"

The truth is that most NBA stars gradually improve. The flaws in their game are their from the beginning and slowly erode. This is true of Durant and Westbrook, who are both better this year than they were last. Fans and experts should not lose sight of this. Instead, the strengths and weaknesses of players should be fairly pointed out from the beginning.