The National Basketball Association is one of the world’s most notable and influential professional sports leagues. Having amassed over 90 million followers on Instagram, they are the highest-followed professional sports account on a social media platform that spans vast demographics. With such a global and inclusive audience, the NBA has consistently attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers to standard regular-season games, with millions tuning in to watch nationally televised matchups. However, according to Yahoo Sports, the 2024-2025 NBA season has seen a significant decline in viewership rate, dropping 28% on ESPN alone. Networks like TNT and NBATV have also experienced similar declines. Basketball enthusiasts worldwide argue that the once-coveted 3-pointer has ruined the game at the highest level. But has it?
Among the loudest critics of the NBA’s 3-point explosion is sports show host Nick Wright. In a recent segment, Wright exclaimed, “The league needs to change some rules. They have finally figured out that not only is three worth more than two, it’s that three is worth a lot more than two … The smart way to play is probably what the Celtics did on opening night. Shoot 60 of them things. That is the best strategy [to win games]. That is also terrible television. This [crap] is not sustainable. At its core, the NBA is at its best when dudes are flying over people meeting them at the rim. Hanging out at the 3-point line, hoisting 30-footers, is not good TV.”
Many fans concur that the league-wide increase in 3-pointer volume has made the NBA “unwatchable.” In a recent YouTube video titled “They’re Breaking the NBA Again,” published by JxmyHighroller, the highly-respected basketball content creator presents simple and advanced statistics to illustrate the recent 3-point boom. He explains that the 2024 Boston Celtics are taking 51.2 threes per game, almost 20 more than the 2016 Golden State Warriors. In fact, every team in the NBA this season is attempting more long shots than the legendary Dubs squad filled with sharpshooters like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson (JxmyHighroller, 2024, 3:40).
The skill advancement of the modern NBA player means that almost all 10 men on the court can take and make the 3-point shot. Is shooting over 50 threes a night exciting basketball for the average viewer? Probably not. While this style of play might bore some audience members, many fail to realize that it also allows the backbone of the NBA — mesmerizing handles, beautiful post-work, and highlight-reel dunks — to shine brighter.
When asked about the 3-point barrage encapsulating the NBA, Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker affirmed, “The volume should be up. Attempting the 3-point shot, not even making it, stretches out defenses and opens up better looks throughout the game (JxmyHighroller, 2024, 10:47).”
And that’s the key.
Taking additional 3-pointers means extending defense and exposing the paint more. The deep ball threat makes bigs play above the free-throw line and forces guards to stay tighter to their perimeter assignments. This increased spacing allows dribbling wizards like Kyrie Irving more room to dance with their defenders, putting the ball on a string before finishing a mind-boggling layup over a center who is too slow to recover from the elbow-extended fully. An extra shot-blocker away from the basket gives Nikola Jokic space to perform a series of beautiful ball fakes before dropping a soft floater off the glass or shooting a one-legged fadeaway.
When a defender does get caught in the restricted area’s crossroads, Minnesota Timberwolves lightning rod Anthony Edwards is sure to make them pay with an emphatic poster dunk. Edwards’s most prolific slam happened on Mar. 18, 2024, when he threw down the 2024 NBA Fan Favorites Dunk of the Year against the Utah Jazz. Yet, this renowned play may have never happened if his teammate, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, didn’t spot up at the 3-point line on a fast break before dishing the ball to Edwards. Instead of rim-running off a turnover like players are traditionally taught, Alexander-Walker instinctively ran behind the arc, setting up Edwards’s flush. Ironically, the NBA’s 3-point revolution created one of the best 2-pointers in league history.
Does the modern NBA game sometimes feel like a lull, with teams shooting more threes than layups each time they go down the court? Yes. Is that boring basketball and television? Also, yes. However, 3-pointers open the game, freeing players to showcase their craft and put on a clinic with the basketball. Although this makes good defense feel more like a rarity each season, basketball and the NBA are adaptable. Players adjusted to the Traditional, Deadball and Superteam eras. Now, teams will figure out how to solve the Pace and Space era and contain the 3-point barrage. In a copycat league, we may be on the verge of a new brand of basketball in the upcoming decade. Nevertheless, the 3-pointer has never, and may never, make the NBA unwatchable.
