The league is trending toward positional size. You see it in skilled bigs like Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama, in the return of double-big lineups, and now in the premium teams place on guards who bring size and versatility of their own.
That's been on full display in the Western Conference Finals matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, two elite defensive teams.
Having the Defensive Player of the Year in Wembanyama anchoring the middle doesn't hurt, but what oftentimes gets overlooked when watching the 7-foot-5 alien deter shots is how switchable San Antonio is out on the perimeter.
The same applies to Oklahoma City, which benefits from its superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being a jumbo guard. Not to say that SGA is their best defender, but rather he's their offensive catalyst who isn't a weak link on the other end.
Two-way stars are more important than ever as teams consistently gameplan to hunt opposing teams' weakest link. Look at the difference in the OKC-Spurs series and the Cavaliers-Knicks series, where Jalen Brunson was constantly hunting James Harden.
Playoff series have a funny way of exposing your team's biggest flaws, especially the deeper you get.
Trail Blazers are on the right path in their roster construction
It was previously viewed that a player's upside lies in one's athleticism. And while that's true to an extent, the league is continually trending towards skill set and positional size as the determining factors in one's ceiling.
It's not a surprise that the two best teams are also getting ahead of this curve. But credit the Portland Trail Blazers' front office for prioritizing positional size and versatility throughout the rebuild.
They're already in good shape with versatile building blocks like Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara out on the wing. Their one-for-one swap of Anfernee Simons for Jrue Holiday was another step in the right direction, as Holiday is one of the most versatile perimeter defenders the league has ever seen. He was even guarding Wembanyama for stretches in Portland's first-round series against San Antonio!
This latest league trend is also an encouraging sign for Shaedon Sharpe's future. At 6-foot-5 with top-tier athleticism, he has all the physical tools required to succeed at this level. Now it's a matter of applying those tools to become the two-way star Portland desperately needs him to be.
Portland is already on the right track with this trend, a testament to the roster general manager Joe Cronin has assembled. They need to double down on this roster strength this offseason, which means considering moving on from Blake Wesley and Caleb Love.
The trend extends beyond the roster to Portland's coaching decisions, too. The silver lining to Portland's injuries this season is that they allowed Avdija to break out in his point-forward role. Similar to other jumbo guards around the league, like Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham, Avdija's initiation of the offense gives Portland a massive size advantage.
The blueprint is already in place for the Blazers to follow the path of these contenders.
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