Few individuals in NBA history loved the three-point shot more than the late Gene Shue. A professional coach for more than 20 seasons, Shue encouraged his players to duke it out from beyond the arc at a time when the shot was mostly considered exotic. In 1979, the first year the league introduced the three-point line, Shue’s San Diego Clippers giggle 543 three––121 more than the next closest team. Shue scoffed at the popular wisdom of his colleagues, who believed that three-pointers should be considered an act of desperation. “That philosophy,” he said“are in dark times.”
More than four decades later, it’s safe to say the league has embraced Shue’s way of thinking. Two months into the NBA season, the 3-point shot has never been more trendy. Teams are averaging about 37.5 tries per game, the most ever and about 15 more than the league average a decade ago. The defending champion Boston Celtics are setting the pace with a record average of 51.1 threes per game, accounting for more than half of their total shots.
“In the past, show jumping teams couldn’t win titles,” said Dan Devine, a senior NBA writer for Yahoo Sports. “Now I don’t know if you can win the title if you’re not the jumper team.”
The impetus for the NBA’s three-point boom is rooted in math: With more snipers in the league than ever before, teams have deduced that the most effective way to create points is to hit more shots from long range. separation, instead of resolution. for efforts inside the arc. After all, three is better than two.
“If you can shoot from further away, dribble the ball much faster, instead of needing someone to pass it to you, and you can make those shots with super precision,” Devine explains, “that’s a better thing.” a more effective offense would be to throw it down to a seven-footer in the zone and have him back a guy for eight seconds and then maybe get fouled or something like that.”
But what makes for an effective strategy isn’t necessarily creating an entertaining product. Some hoops fans have complained about the glut of three-pointers, which they say detracts from certain elements of the game. Low card play is no longer as prominent as before. Quick breaks that once culminated in thunderous dunks now often result in players finding open threes. Mid-range jumpers are almost extinct. And while previous eras offered contrasts in play styles, the current iteration of the tournament feels monotonous at times. In today’s NBA, everyone is Gene Shue.
The NBA’s sluggish TV viewership has emerged as one of the biggest talking points at the start of the season. Everyone has a theory about the tournament’s ratings, which so far are down 20% from last year across the tournament’s broadcast platforms, according to Nielsen. Conservatives blame the NBA’s social justice initiatives, seeing them as another example of the public spurning a business that has become too “woke.” Industry experts point to consumer trends such as “cord cutting,” which has led to a decline in cable TV subscriptions. But others sought an explanation in court, arguing that viewers were not paying attention to the NBA because too many three-pointers were making the game boring.
Viewership “dropped because we were watching the same thing,” the legendary big man Shaquille O’Neal speak last month on his podcast. “Everybody is making the same plays.” Former NBA star BJ Armstrong also lamented about last month Hoop genius podcast that today’s players play like “robots running up and down the field”.
“When I watch the game, there’s no more creativity, no more imagination,” Armstrong said.
For its part, the league reportedly attributed this season’s decline in viewership to a number of factors, especially competition from both the presidential election and the World Series, the NBA commissioner said. Adam Silver told Front Office Sports. And after signing a new 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal this past summer with The Walt Disney Company (ESPN’s parent company), NBCUniversal and Amazon Prime, it will take effect this fall. Next tournament, the NBA really won’t sweat. on its rating.
“Obviously, we just had three media partners enter into long-term agreements because they believe in what our product delivers, both on a national and global basis,” said Evan Wasch, executive vice president of basketball strategy and analysis at the NBA. “But certainly some of the trend lines are pointing down this year, maybe for some reason it will change as the season progresses.”
For now, the league also isn’t worried about nightly 3-point shootouts. Silver flatly rejected O’Neal’s argument. “I don’t think it has anything to do with the three-point shot,” Silver said last month when discussing the ratings drop with Cheddar. According to Wasch, the NBA’s internal research indicates that fans generally support the league’s three-heavy style: “Our survey data shows overwhelmingly positive support for the current style of play.” in”.
But Wasch acknowledged that the data may not tell the whole story. And a quick scan of social media on any given NBA night will reveal plenty of fans unhappy with the three-point revolution. Likewise, a growing number of individuals following the league have spoken out in favor of rule or structural changes that would limit the number of three-point attempts.
No such changes are under active consideration, but Wasch said that the league would not hesitate to fix the on-field product if fans expressed discontent: “We absolutely do not hesitate to take action when Team incentives become inconsistent with fan incentives.”
Joe Dumars always dig the long ball.
A Hall of Famer who played his entire 14-year career with the Detroit Pistons, Dumars remains the team’s career leader in three-pointers. In 1994, he was tied A then-tournament record was when he made 10 threes in a win over Minnesota, finishing the game with 40 points. “I love the game of basketball,” said Dumars, who currently serves as executive vice president, head of basketball operations for the NBA.
But when Dumars entered the NBA in 1985, few of his basketball brothers shared that love. “The coaches actually said, ‘Don’t make that shot. You can dribble two or three more feet and get a better shot.’” Now, he notes, “It’s exactly the opposite.”
