Since the NBA was founded in June, 1946 it’s been through several iterations. The Boston Celtics held court in the 1960’s. The Los Angeles Lakers ushered in Showtime in the 1980’s. Michael Jordan took over the 1990’s, the San Antonio Spurs team approach dominated the early 2000’s, the Warriors Dynasty and LeBron James the 2010’s, all preceding the parity, pace-and-space era that’s dominant today.
Rule changes along the way have benefited certain approaches. Some might say the league’s emphasis has created the unfolding eras we’ve seen, or at least opened the door for them.