If the opening round of the 2025 NBA playoffs is of any indication, this year’s postseason will be one for the ages. The physicality has been absolutely off the charts across the board. The Knicks and Pistons are playing like hated rivals, the Nuggets and Clippers have been unafraid to bang hard in the pain, and the number of brawls that have happened in each series is too many to count. Dwyane Wade knows how physical the playoffs have been and commented on it during the latest edition of his podcast.
Advertisement
One noticeable trait among all the games has been the referees’ swallowing their whistles and letting the boys just play. Because of this, many players are turning up the intensity in uncharted territories. The Timberwolves ‘ first-round stomping of the Lakers is a prime example.
LA was without a true 5, but Rudy Gobert snagged over 20 rebounds in their Game 5 victory, and did it by throwing elbows in the paint. That, paired with Anthony Edwards playing incredibly physical on both sides of the ball, led to an early exit for LeBron James and Luka Doncic.
In fact, Ant-Man played such physical ball with LeBron in particular that it became a topic of conversation amongst NBA fans and analysts alike. One particularly possession saw the Wolves superstar laying into The King with stiff shots, which the refs just let go.
This is what Wade and his boys really dissected on their pod. The Heat legend got incredibly excited by Ant’s physicality because it reminded him of games he used to see in the hood.
“When my uncles and my dad and when you was in the hood, that’s how you used to play bro,” Wade stated with a big smile. “The ref can’t call that foul in the hood cause he gonna get whooped.” As fun as the group was having dissection the topic, Wade also made a point about why the refs not calling everything was good for the game. “You cannot go into the spaces and point at the refs and say ‘they’re swallowing their whistles.’ No they allowing you all to play.”
It does feel more laid back on the officials’ part than it has been in years. This has made each series feel way more competitive than during the regular season, but has led to a number of fights in both conferences. Celtics star Jaylen Brown weighed in on that, and even warned the league for the referees not controlling their environments. “If you want to fight it out, we can do that. We can fight to see who goes to the second round,” the 2024 Finals MVP stated.
It will be interesting to see if the refs remain consistent with their calls in the second and conference finals rounds of the playoffs. Perhaps this is just the honeymoon phase. Or perhaps the NBA is finally returning to its roots: physicality.
