In the early 2000s, the NBA underwent a shift that permanently changed how perimeter defense was played. The league began phasing out the art of hand checking, a once-prized tool of defenders that had ...

For anyone who has followed the NBA for a long time, the most contentious, famous and widely discussed rule change is hand checking. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why it has become the barometer by ...

There was a time when the NBA's hardwood was a warzone of elbows, sweat and pride. Defense ruled and guards learned to survive under the pressure of a palm pressed into their ribs every trip down the ...