The NBA has seen a dramatic transformation in recent years, with three-pointers now dominating nearly every possession.
Teams prioritize spacing the floor, hunting for open shooters, and launching deep shots at a record-breaking pace.
While many fans see this as exciting, NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is far from impressed, and he doesn’t mince words about who he believes is responsible.
“My problem is not with the three-point shot,” Barkley said during an appearance on the Howard Eisen Show.
“It’s who’s shooting the shots. Howard, we got bad players jacking up threes… If you one of these guys and you can’t shoot threes, why are you shooting threes?”
Barkley’s criticism isn’t aimed at skilled long-range shooters. Instead, he’s frustrated with players who launch deep shots without the ability to consistently make them, creating inefficient possessions and disrupting team flow.
He also stressed that coaches should take a stronger role in reigning in reckless shot attempts.
“Guys are going on a fast break, instead of taking a layup, they’re flaring out to shoot a three,” Barkley added.
“I’m like, ‘Yo, man, you had a layup. It’s all right to shoot a layup every now and then.’ But listen, guys are got like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson that they ruined the NBA because everybody think they Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.”
How the Splash Brothers reshaped modern basketball
The influence of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson on the NBA is undeniable.
Known as the Splash Brothers, their ability to hit deep shots with precision has reshaped offensive strategies. Teams now prioritize three-pointers over mid-range attempts, stretching defenses and changing traditional spacing concepts.
Barkley argues that this has created a generation of players who attempt threes without understanding the risks, thinking they can replicate Curry and Thompson’s elite accuracy.
Today, many teams attempt 35-40 three-pointers per game, and analytics-driven strategies reward deep shooting, even when players lack the skill to consistently make them.
Reflecting on his own career, Barkley recalled his struggles from deep: he averaged just 26.6% on three-point attempts during the 1980s and 1990s, despite high volume.
His perspective makes him particularly sensitive to today’s three-point-heavy mindset, which he believes undermines fundamentals.
While the NBA’s fast-paced, high-scoring style is thrilling to many, Barkley sees a downside: it encourages style over substance, risk over smart decision-making, and creates inefficiencies for teams relying on mimicry of the Splash Brothers rather than fundamentals.
For Charles Barkley, it’s clear: Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson didn’t just revolutionize the three-point shot, they inadvertently inspired a generation of players to prioritize spectacle over solid basketball principles, changing the league forever.
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