Some heads believe that a lot of modern drive/penetration + dribble technique is built atop traveling. I think the NBA has a somewhat flexible relationship between letter of law and enforcement, see also 3-second violations. It's a bit like how speeding tickets work, at least in America. Plenty of places you can go 10 or 20kph and not ruffle any feathers. But you're technically breaking the law and could in theory be ticketed and different jurisdictions/individual officers will enforce it differently. It makes it a bit of a minefield, but partial enforcement is also an officiating strategy for keeping abuses under control. The NBA also thinks a lot about its entertainment product and what sort of spirit of law/play they want to guide/enforce through officiating. Is offense getting too overpowered? Defense? Is this hurting how the game is played, i.e. the entertainment product? Is the game more boring? Are there less highlight-worthy, viral type clips? Flashy offensive moves and dunks attract a lotta eyes, get shown on ESPN and circulate on Twitter. That stuff is really good for the NBA as a global media company, and I'd imagine that fact affects how tight they call e.g. travels.