Spineless ZoneBasketball is a great American sport. June 6, 1946 was one of the best days in the history of sport. On that glorious day in American history, the National Basketball Association (NBA) was created. Less than seven months later the NBA banned zone defense (NBA). Those great men decided that professional athletes should protect each other, instead of guarding an area. In my experiences with basketball, there was nothing more frustrating than a team with less skill falling back into a zone defense. Zone defense is a slap in the face for me and the work I've done to become a good defender. As an athlete I wanted to prove that I could compete with the best, one man against another man. All basketball players should feel this way, especially professional basketball players. Zone defense is cowardly and has weakened professional basketball. Now, the glory days are over, there is no illegal defense, slashers are limited and insulation is poor. After zone defense was banned, there was a 54-year period of nothing but old-fashioned self-defense. I remember watching clips of Magic Johnson, Pistol Pete and Michael Jordan using their athleticism to get around the defender and penetrate the lane. There's footage of Magic Johnson driving through the lane as he wraps the ball around his body, fakes a pass to a teammate, and executes a flawless fingertip shot. In today's game there would probably be a great center waiting for him and blocking his layup. The three-second area was where the action took place. A deft dribble or cut off the ball could take you to the promised land of points. The excitement of yesterday's game has dissipated and an ugly cloud of zone defense...... middle of paper......on. I hated playing zone defense, being told to guard one area of ​​the field felt like cheating. I was told to wait for the attacker to recover instead of facing him head-on in combat. The game now was who could make the longest distance shots. I didn't run for countless hours, sweat gallons and bleed to prepare for eight minutes of HORSE. Therefore, I am with Bomani Jones when he says, “The zone is for cowards.” Works CitedAllowing the zone is indefensible for the NBA. The Washington Times. 2001. Network. December 10, 2013. www.washingtontimes.com History of NBA Rules. National Basketball Association. 2008. Network. December 10, 2013. www.nba.comWinderman, Ira. NBA 'Change the Game': zone defense banned again. Sentinel of the sun. 2011 Web. December 11, 2013. http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_basketball_heat/2011/10/nba-change-the-game-ban-zone-defense-again.html