Most players on NBA teams have a set pregame ritual.
Whether it’s LeBron and his powder, or Kevin Durant and his variety of different handshakes and dances, the players take their time before tip-off.
According to Deadspin, the NBA will not tolerate the delay in the start of the game, and will tip-off without you.
The reports are that once the player introductions have ended, the players have 90 seconds to get settled before the ball is tipped.
Kevin Durant has a lengthy pregame ritual that he partakes in, and he’s not pleased by the rule change.
Courtesy of the Oklahoman:
“I personally don’t like it,” Durant said of the 90-second rule. “Every player in this league has routines they do with their teammates, rituals they do before the game and before they walk on the floor. The fans like it. The fans enjoy it. You see the fans mimicking the guys who do their stuff before the game. To cut that down really don’t make no sense. Why would you do it? I really don’t agree with it, but I don’t make the rules.”