These days, trashing the state of the NBA in any mainstream discussion feels unavoidable. And here’s yet another trend we should keep a close eye on.

According to Alberta Basketball communications coordinator Brian Swane, there have been more 50-point NBA blowout wins in the last two seasons alone (11) than there were in any other individual decade in league history. This, of course, comes on the heels of the lowly Portland Trail Blazers randomly waxing the woeful Charlotte Hornets by 53 on Saturday.

A 50-point blowout is much more notable than a normal double-digit win or something in the 20s because that implies the game was a wash altogether. It says players on the losing team never even had a realistic chance to make the matchup appear as if it was close, even in garbage time, with the deep bench of both squads featured on the court. For anyone watching at home or in attendance at the game after paying money for tickets, it was effectively a giant waste of time.

After all, who really wants to watch a game with no tension, not a drop whatsoever?

I understand a lot of conversations about the NBA’s problems are invoked in bad faith. I’m frustrated by that dynamic, too, and I get it. But maybe we shouldn’t gloss over this latest trend so flippantly. Yes, fan perception and criticism are not everything, especially when it comes from people who were disillusioned by the league for various reasons long ago.

But it’s not nothing either:

NBA games decided by 50+ points:
2020s – 19
2010s – 8
2000s – 6
1990s – 7
1980s – 6
1970s – 9
1960s – 3
1950s – 0
1940s – 0

There have been 11 games decided by 50+ points since the start of the 2023-24 season. https://t.co/auox4LaiLI

— Brian Swane (@BrianSwane) February 23, 2025

In the grand scheme of things, 11 massive blowout games over two seasons with 2,460 total matchups being played overall doesn’t seem worth highlighting in itself. Quite frankly, that’s an inconsequential percentage. But if there are more games rising up to 50-point margins lately, it stands to reason that there are more significant blowouts happening in general, even if they never get all that close to the half-century mark.

Lest I forget, there has to be some correlation with three teams over the last two years (this season’s Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers, last season’s Boston Celtics) on pace to finish with three of the highest seven average margins of victory of all time. The only other NBA decade with as many representatives on this list is the 1970s when the league was roughly half its current size and player empowerment did not nearly have as much of a hold as it does now.

For the time being, the NBA doesn’t have to worry intently about trends like this. It’s got its TV deals locked in for the foreseeable future. It’s still sold as one of the four big American sports leagues.

Still, the laundry list of problems — perceived and real, depending on who you ask — keeps growing.

The ship is not taking on any meaningful water. For now.

If it’s not a lackluster and casual All-Star Game annoying fans, it’s the faces of the league mailing it in way too often during an arduous regular season. If it’s not convoluted gimmicks like the in-season and play-in tournaments, it’s a tired, 2017-like focus on the soap opera, memeable aspects of the league — i.e., trades, team drama, and player movement — rather than the basketball itself. If it’s not seemingly the entire league, even the scrub teams, figuring out that shooting an obscenely high volume of 3s can make most defensive play and strategy null and void without too much discernible effort, it’s a lack of distinct and earnest marketing of the latest generation of stars.

Now, you have this simmering issue of blowouts thrown into the mix.

You get the idea.

While it (rightfully) feels like there’s a tendency to invoke these problems with deceit, that doesn’t mean people working with the league should put their heads down in the sand. We can and should have productive discussions about the NBA’s health without grinding our respective axes.

But maybe thinking we could ever accomplish that without petty, dismissive fighting is wishful thinking on my part.