3 Point Shooting: A Dying Art

   The Magic Celtics game on Monday night was another hard fought game between the two but what I learned most from that game was not about either teams' ability or their direction for this season, rather it was something that color analyst Reggie Miller said. Play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan and him were discussing Ray Allen and how he has remained so good over the years to which Reggie said  because of how much he practices purely shooting the basketball in the gym. Not defense, conditioning, or ball handling, just shooting the ball in a gym. So Harlan replied with something along the lines of "So what? He's probably shooting about a couple hundred balls a day?"

   Which to me seems a pretty reasonable amount for a pro athlete to shoot in a day. Reggie then surprises Harlan saying, "No. Try 500 to a 1,000 balls a day."

Gym Session with Bird (nba.com)  

   Now to me and probably all of you, that is an absurd amount of balls to shoot in a day but Reggie then brought up another interesting point saying how nowadays, sports is so dominated by the culture that ESPN has created. The importance of what is seen on Sportscenter's Top 10 is huge but rarely is a shooter shown, rather a player driving to the hoop dunking over another player. This is undeniably true and the only time I can think of seeing a shooter on Top 10 is when he is making a clutch shot or if a player plays ridiculous on a given night. Miller emphasizes that now players want to find the quickest and easiest way to become famous and "get their money," and to spend that time in the gym on a daily basis is much more of a hassle to most guys than to just drive it to the hoop because that is what is seen as cool in the modern NBA. However, Miller's point extends far beyond just the NBA, rather the dying art of 3 point shooting is indicative of our American identity. 

    People are going to sell out any way they can if that means becoming rich and famous. Let's look at another culture that is closely related to sports, hip hop. At first, hip hop had nothing to do with living in the hood and rolling hard, go listen to "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugar Hill Gang, the first commercialized rap song. Then came gangster rap and what America has come to know as modern hip hop with Public Enemy and NWA. Now every hip hop artist raps about "gangster life" and becoming rich. Its what is commercially viable in today's society. Ice Cube, the member of NWA who has probably become most famous, is starring in Disney movies now when he used to rap about police brutality and how we would kill any cop who tried to cross him. Don't forget another Disney star, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who cashed in after pro wrestling wasn't tough enough for him, he'd rather star as a Tooth Fairy. However ironic and laughable this is, they both have earned more money acting than what they would have earned if they both had continued their previous professions. 

"This is pretty weird, huh?"

   Reggie Miller was right when he said that 3 point shooting just isn't sexy enough for players anymore, its not what makes them famous. The stars of the NBA: Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Kevin Durant are all known for their dunks and drives to the hoop not their 3 point shooting ability. No one thinks about Peja Stojakovic, Mike Miller, or Raja Bell when they think about the NBA, however essential the three is in the game. The very game that Reggie Miller was announcing for shows the validity of the three in the NBA game, the Magic stayed in that game only because of their ability to shoot the three and cut the leads the Celtics would build. Also, the three excites a crowd just as much as a slam dunk can in a big game but it doesn't get you on Sportscenter, it only earns you more time in the gym. However, I challenge the Bryants, the James', and the Durants of the NBA to score 8 points in 9 seconds. That's not sexy, that's just damn impressive.