“Just Ask Kevin Durant”: Stephen A. Smith Stands By Adam Silver Despite Push Back From the NBA Community

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver voiced his concern for the uptick in scoring and its correlation to the negative impact on the product on the court. The increased usage of the 3-point shot has led to a decrease in the NBA’s viewership numbers, after all. ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith came to Silver’s defense, despite the commissioner receiving pushback from the fraternity.

Smith took to ESPN’s First Take to share a passionate message about the NBA’s over usage of shots from outside the arc. His response came as a reaction to Celtics head coach Joe Mazulla’s opposition to Silver’s comments. Smith said,

“The reason I disagree with him is because I don’t think he’s taken into account how the game has diminished in terms of its quality. Mike D’Antoni sort of instigated this, you want a three-point shot or a layup. He don’t want to see a mid-range shot.  There’s a skill to making mid-range shots just ask Kevin Durant about that.”

The source of this conversation came from the commissioner breaking his silence on the matter. Fans on social media have voiced their concern about the increased three-point volume. Silver finally addressed the issue, siding with fans on the problem it’s causing. “I would not reduce it to a so-called three-point issue,” said Silver. “I think we look more holistically at the skill level on the floor, the diversity of offense, the fan reception to the game, all of the above…”

The Celtics are one of the teams responsible for the league’s heavy reliance on three-point shooting. They are on pace to smash the record for the highest three-point attempts per game at 51.1 threes. The Celtics’ HC opposed Silver’s stance. “Scoring up across other sports,” said Mazzulla. “My question would be: Why in basketball is scoring being up an issue, as opposed to other sports?”

In the past higher scoring games equated for better entertainment, but the NBA is noticing that isn’t strictly the case.

Rise in scoring over the years

This era of basketball features the highest average points in NBA history. It’s a stark difference in comparison to the different eras throughout the league’s existence. In the 90s, the reputation of the NBA was for its physicality. However, at the start of that era, the average points per game was in the hundreds. However, between 1995 to 2008, there wasn’t a single season where the average points per game exceeded 100 points.

Fast forward to the ascension of Stephen Curry, and the trajectory of the league changed. In the 2013-14 season, the average points per game (101 points) increased by three points compared to the year before. By the 2018-19 season, the average points per game jumped to 111.2.

Additionally, the number of three-pointers attempted has doubled. The highest three-point shooting season in the 90s was the 1996-97 season. Teams attempted 16.8 three-pointers per game. So far this season, that number has skyrocketed to 37.5 three-pointers per game, with no signs of slowing down.

With so much outside shooting and so little regard for phonebooth scoring or the utilization of the mid-range shot, fans are understandably fed up with the quality of the game they see on their screens, and Adam Silver is agreeing with them.