The 3-point shot has revolutionized the game of basketball.
The 3-point line was first adopted by the NBA for the 1979-80 season, but it is only in the last 10 years that it has become the be-all and end-all for almost every NBA offense.
Most of that is down to Golden State Warriors marksman Steph Curry, whose limitless range and efficiency from beyond the arc has caused a fundamental shift in the way the sport is played.
With 3s counting more than 2s, teams have figured out the easy math and are now shooting 3 after 3, which many feel is to the detriment of the NBA.
The Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors recently set an NBA record by combining for 48 made 3-pointers, a stat some fans think is proof the game has become unwatchable.
In 1992, NBA legend Michael Jordan was asked about the 3-point shot after hitting six 3s in the first half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers.
However, instead of reveling in his hot shooting night, No. 23 for the Chicago Bulls highlighted the problem of shooting too many 3s and why he was reluctant to make it a bigger part of his game.
He warned about becoming lazy and too over-reliant on the shot at the detriment of other aspects of his game.
“My 3-point shooting is something that I don’t want to excel at because it takes away from all phases of my game,” Jordan said.
“My game is a fake drive to the hole, penetrate, dish off, dunk, whatever. When you have that mentality, as I found out in the first game of making 3s, you don’t go to the hole as much.
“You go to the 3-point line and you start sitting there waiting for someone to find you.
“That’s not my mentality. I don’t want to create that because it takes away my other parts of my game.”
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Fans caught wind of the throwback footage and shared their thoughts online.
“In other words you become one-dimensional and you stop working on fundamentals. So it’s best to practice all facets of the game, hit em 3s when you need to, and remain a constant threat,” one fan said.
“All facts,” added another.
“Mike tried to warn us,” commented a third.
“Steph Curry ruined the game of basketball and I’ve said it since 2015,” a fourth added.
One only has to look at the individual numbers to see how the 3-point shot has evolved in terms of importance.
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Jordan made 581 three-pointers during his career. He attempted 1,778 three-pointers (1.7 per game) and had a career average of 32.7 percent.
Curry has made 3,849 three-pointers in his NBA career so far. He has attempted 9,053 such shots (9.2 per game) and made 42.5 percent of them.
Jordan wasn’t known as a deadly 3-point shooter simply because he didn’t need to be.
The ten-time scoring champion instead dominated by being unstoppable at the rim and having a virtually un-guardable mid-range game.
Curry has dominated in his own unique way, splashing in logo 3s to catapult himself and the Warriors to basketball greatness.
Where the issue lies, however, is that not every player has the shooting touch or range of a ‘Chef Curry’.
Unfortunately, the NBA being the copy cat league that it is means certain teams and players think they can replicate what the ‘Splash Brother’ does with the same devastating impact.
They can’t, but that hasn’t stopped them continuing to jack up 3s and take ill-advised deep shots just because Curry does.
The Hornets and Bulls recently combined to miss a staggering 75 three-pointers, the most in a regulation-length game in NBA history.
That’s a huge part of why TV viewership for the entire NBA is down almost 50 percent since 2012, and why the league as a product has a big problem on its hands.
Defense isn’t prioritized, while offensive sets routinely give way to 3 after 3 fired from long distance.
The NBA could move the 3-point line back or change current rules to emphasize defense more.
Or, teams could do what MJ advised over 30 years ago and focus on improving other fundamentals to find a different path to success.