By the 1990's they were all wealthy enough. But the average salary has increased 12 fold since then. Guys today care far more about their money and treat it more like a job (which it is for them).

I think Jokic and Lebron generally like each other. I have seen them goofing off at the All-Star game together and what not. But when they took the court in the Western Conference Finals they went hard at each other and each other's teams trying to gain any tiny advantage that they can.

I will say I don't think the NBA is as bad as many Utah fans on here think. The reports of the NBA's demise are exaggerated as their TV deal dwarfs every league not named the NFL.

I will be complainer #1 about the officials. They need to get better. They need to quit bailing out the offensive player initiating all of the contact (so do college officials). They do MUCH better in the playoffs. They need to go back to actual travel rules and eliminate the gather step. It isn't hard, every other league on the planet can do it. They need to stop DEI (there are a few good female officials but by in large they are the worst in the league) hires.