In clinching their fourth NBA title in eight years last night, the Golden State Warriors cement both their legacy as one of the more impressive dynasties in league history and one of the most negative influences on the game of basketball itself.
As a basketball purist, watching the Warriors play is incredibly frustrating. I love the crisp passing, player movement, and ball handling skills. But what I can’t stand is the constant jacking up of three-point shots every game. Last night, Golden State attempted 46 threes. Half of all their shots were from behind the arc. Amazingly, they made the same percentage of those–41.3%–as they did shots attempted inside the three-point stripe. It is a testament to the shooting talents of Steph Curry, Clay Thompson, and Jordan Poole to be able to make as many shots from 25 feet as they can from 5-feet.
However, this type of long-range shooting talent is not that common. Just look at why the Milwaukee Bucks were not the Warriors opponent in the Finals. They took just as many threes against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, but hit a much lower percentage. But thanks to the success of the Warriors (and the use of Advanced Analytics, which promotes three-point shooting due to its higher “value”) every team at every level of basketball is now trying to win with the same formula.
There isn’t a Wisconsin Badgers game anymore where I am not shouting at my TV “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP SHOOTING THREES!!” as the Badgers go seven, eight or nine minute stretches without making a shot from the field. And as both an official and a play-by-play guy, the three is all I see every night in gyms across Wisconsin. Pre-pandemic, I was working a 5th grade boys tournament on a weekend and a team from De Pere attempted all of one shot from inside the three-point arc in the entire first half. There were kids getting offensive rebounds or catching passes nearly unguarded six feet away from the hoop and instead of dribbling once to get a layup or shooting the short open jumper, they were kicking it back out to a teammate behind the arc–19 feet away from the hoop.
The point guard on a couple of occasions in that game took just one or two dribbles across half-court and–Steph Curry style–launched a shot “from the logo”. And, even though the shots were missed, there on the sidelines was the coach, clapping his hands and yelling out “Good shot!! Good shot!!” Again, these were 5th graders. I seriously considered stopping the action, giving the coach a double technical and ejecting him from the game, in hopes that it might save us from a future where high school players think 35-footers by the point guard two seconds after getting possession is “good basketball”.
And that is the lasting legacy of the Golden State Warriors. A game that once used the same ball motion, screening and cutting action to produce high-percentage shots as close to the basket as possible has devolved into getting open looks for jump shooters as far away from the basket as possible. Watch kids at the YMCA or at some other open gym setting just taking shots. Everyone runs out behind the arc to shoot threes, over and over and over again. If I wanted to see a three-point shooting contest, I’d go to YouTube and watch Larry Bird winning the first couple of All-Star game weekend competitions and listen to the other participants talk about how Larry walked into the locker room those nights and told them “Who’s coming in second?” And then I can watch the other recommended videos where the Celtics and Lakers of the 80’s play a game inside the arc that is far more beautiful than we see today.
Now all of that being said, I’d still rather watch Steph Curry and Clay Thompson shoot from 35 feet than watch James Harden take six steps without dribbling to set up his fall away jumper while kicking his defender in the man zone to draw a foul, or Giannis complete a “Eurostep” that would set the world record for the triple jump in order to get around all five defenders on his way to the hoop. (Moves I also see regularly in the youth ranks, with players looking at you incredulously when you call them for traveling.)
I’ve often joked that the area inside the three-point line will someday be painted red and treated as a “restricted zone” like it is in team handball–and all shots will have to be taken from outside of it. The more titles Golden State racks up from deep, the closer that will become to reality.
