"League de-emphasized the physicality of the game" - Grant Hill explains how rule changes helped Steve Nash's Suns revolutionize basketball
The Mike D'Antoni-coached Phoenix Suns changed the game forever. Their high-octane and positionless style, led by Steve Nash, became a precursor to the modern NBA game we see today.
Legendary forward Grant Hill, a member of those Suns teams, claimed that while D'Antoni's system was revolutionary in itself, changes within the league also helped propel it to what it became.
"That [D'Antoni] style of play changed things," Hill said in 2013, via ESPN. "A lot of the sets that people run, the thinking, the getting up and down are Phoenix and Mike D'Antoni's system. A couple of things came together and aligned perfectly. The league de-emphasized the physicality of the game, [made it] less physical, more scoring. I think they made a concerted effort to increase the scoring and not have these 84-85 ballgames."
The banning of handchecking, reducing the back-court violation to eight seconds, and the legalization of zone defense were some of the rules that paved the way for faster and entertaining games. While most teams stuck to their old ways of orchestrating half-court sets and letting plays develop, D'Antoni was cooking up a system to take advantage of these new rules.
Copycats
The world first saw D'Antoni's radical offense in the 2004-05 season. The Suns led the league with 95.9 estimated possessions per 48 minutes. With Nash at the point guard spot, the Suns jacked up shots in less than seven seconds.
Some were 3-pointers, while others were quick layups or dunks. Phoenix easily breached the 100-point mark, and more importantly, they were winning games. Other teams tried to integrate some of D'Antoni's principles into their playbooks.
"It's a copycat league. People see something that works, they try it," Hill noted. "The same thing happened back in the '90s: very methodical, coaches called plays. A lot of trapping. It was a grind-it-out, physical, defensive battle. Maybe that started with the Pistons and was carried over by [Pat] Riley in the early '90s with the Knicks. Slowly teams started to incorporate that."Relentless
Speaking on the "Mind the Game" podcast with LeBron James, Nash reflected on the Suns' timeless influence on the NBA. He observed that teams could not keep up their tempo. Nash and company did not waste time getting into their actions and sets. This constant pressure broke teams even before the final buzzer sounded.
"I remember we started the year, I had like 31 and five or something. And I think what we noticed is, by the fourth quarter, teams were done. A lot of times, teams were done," Nash told LeBron James.
"It was the relentless pace—pace after makes, getting it out, and I'm just going. Happy to throw ahead, or happy just to take it. If it's semi-transition or, you know, secondary break, we're straight into our drag action. We're running the floor. We're getting to it against a defense that's just trying to get back," the two-time MVP continued.
Only a fool would call the Nash-led Suns bums. They may not have won a title but changed the game for good. If it weren't for the Suns, the NBA wouldn't be as entertaining and tactical as it is today.This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
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