“Everybody’s looking at the same thing,” Shaquille O’Neal said recently. Out of context it could sound like the ‘same thing’ everyone is looking at is the NBA season, which means great viewership. But only in sportscasting utopia. In reality, NBA viewership is going down. Shaq’s secure that the timeless Inside the NBA is not the problem. It’s the way the game is played. O’Neal asks his guests on The Big Podcast about the NBA’s 3-point epidemic as frequently as the new generation of players attempting threes.

But is Shaq’s concern valid? Adam Silver didn’t think so. But what do the numbers say?

What does Shaq want to see?

In 2019, Gregg Popovich had this to say about the top 2 3-point shooters in the playoffs. “There’s no basketball anymore, there’s no beauty in it.” This season, Pop’s star youngster, Victor Wembanyama is embodying positionless basketball by attempting threes (not always successfully). Last week on The Big Podcast, Shaq admitted he turned off the Lakers-Spurs game because of that. This is the Lakers legend TNT pays to watch games and talk about them. He’s not alone in the sentiment.

When Stephen Curry found out that Klay Thompson is close to surpassing Reggie Miller’s fifth spot in the all-time 3-pointers made list, he said “Hold on. You said fifth?… It’s crazy because I passed Reggie three years ago and he was second and now he’s fifth.” Yeah, because while Curry holds the top spot, James Harden and Damian Lillard jumped ahead.

If that’s not all, the no.5 scorer saw that the Warriors and Mavericks combined for 48 three-pointers. Miller responded, “We’ve gone from one extreme to the next… LORDY, to play in today’s era.” Miller’s latest Instagram posts prove he still has his long range shooting skills that can fit in today’s NBA. But Shaq’s TNT colleague was more than just one of the best 3-point shooters of all time. From clutch time heroics, his speed, and his famous stepback jumper, a well-rounded player like Reggie Miller is becoming an endangered species in the NBA.

And NBA analysts aren’t the only ones tuning out. The quality and quantity of threes is getting a bit dull. Fadeaways are fading away, dunks are getting extinct in fear of shame, ball movement is a dying artform, and high scoring games don’t feel that unique. Even the 3-point contest is losing its charm. And over at the WNBA, Caitlin Clark’s assists records, Angel Reese’s rebounding prowess, and team strategies throw it back to when there was a little more variety in the game.

The 3-point list is always changing

When this season started, the numbers in one particular game made some iffy. The Mavericks beat the Timberwolves 120-114 in their first matchup of the season. In this game, both teams combined for 78 three-point attempts. They made 45% of them. It was only a small part of a larger issue.

Unlike the days when Wilt Chamberlain hit 100 points or Kobe Bryant made 80, games have been ending in triple digits, and the likes of Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid were reaching close to Wilt’s record very easily. It’s a growing trend since the 2010s, when the Warriors were winning under Curry’s wide 3-point range. He’s the one Shaq blames for ‘ruining the game.’

Statisticians say that teams are making 37 threes per game this season. Around a decade ago, that number was around 10 till Curry and Klay won their first title. The numbers have been increasing every year. Last year’s finalist teams, the Celtics and the Mavs who have some strong shooters, made the most attempts last year. The dependency is understandable. Anything to increase the score. But the Lakers and Nuggets won the titles in 2020 and 2023 respectively attempting fewer threes.

In contrast, Chris Paul surpassed Jason Kidd in the all-time assists list in two decades of his career. But a whole other player would have to pick up dimes from the start of their career to dethrone John Stockton from the top spot. So Curry can’t get comfortable on his all-time list that’s changing too rapidly.

Shaq liked a little scuffle at the post. Michael Jordan didn’t care to adapt to the 3-point range. But Adam Silver implied that the ’90s NBA was boring because of the lack of shooting.

There is no denying that the frequency of threes – attempted and made – is a lot. Adam Silver is only in denial if it’s making the NBA boring to watch.