Julius Randle revealed why three-point shooting is essential for every player in today’s NBA, irrespective of the position they play.
“If you can’t shoot the three now, in my position, you can’t play bro. You cannot play,” the New York Knicks forward told Paul George during his appearance on Podcast P.
He added that the game has seen a revolutionary shift with three-point shooting taking centerstage. While it was about one or two players shooting from beyond the arc back in the day in each team, the modern-day league has players from all five positions taking the shot from downtown.
And the numbers are valid proof. The number of 3s made in a season has drastically jumped breaching the 1,000 mark consistently over the last few years. In fact, to further stamp our case, Stephen Curry has made more three-pointers in his last two seasons, compared to what Larry Bird did his entire career.
In his career, Bird made a total of 649 three-pointers, and Curry who leads the all-time list of the 3s made, had 726 of them in two seasons. During the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, the sharpshooter made 402 and 326 three-pointers for a total of 726.
The point is simple: Surviving in today’s NBA means having the long-range shot as part of your arsenal. It’s the one shot that changes the course of the game in a second and Randle didn’t mince words when he added that it was a necessity.
Three-Point Shooting Is A Crucial Component, Despite The Bad Rap
One of the stars who believed that three-point shooting was also a bane in a way, despite changing the landscape of the NBA, was former Los Angeles Lakers legend Jerry West.
He slammed the present-day league as soft, saying, “I’d rather see somebody make a beautiful pass, go in, and lay it up instead of four on-one, some guy runs behind the three-point line and shoots a three,” West said. “The game is soft that way today. I don’t like it. I don’t think it makes for pretty basketball. And I think, unless you have a great, great team late in the game, you’re going to lose games, you’re taking points off the board.”
And while the flamboyance may take a hit, what cannot be denied is the fact that the three’s are the ones that separate the best from the rest. The players who can drain from any corner of the floor from the distance are the ones ensuring that their teams go the distance.
While shooting from three-point land is sometimes given too much importance over basics, a closer look at the games answers the why behind the importance.
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