Fans of 1990s NBA basketball will remember Cedric Ceballos as a journeyman who had a good pro career that was sprinkled with iconic moments. The former All-Star played 11 seasons for six teams, but he’s most known for scoring 50 points in a game and winning the 1992 All-Star Slam Dunk Contest.
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Ceballos appeared on the most recent episode of Byron Scott’s Fast Break, and during his long interview with his fellow former Laker, he wondered at one point how his game would translate to today’s NBA.
Ceballos was an athletic player who did most of his work inside the arc. He only attempted 1.2 threes per game in his career, and he made just 30.9% of them. Nowadays it seems that even centers need to be able to stretch the floor, a fact he illustrated by mentioning Shaquille O’Neal, whom he played with briefly during the 1996-97 season.
“In this game, I don’t know how I would fare,” Ceballos said. “I would have to add a three-point shot. I would have to, ’cause some coaches won’t even play you. I heard them say, ‘I can’t play Shaq ’cause he don’t make three-pointers.’ Come on now, how you gonna not play Shaq ’cause he don’t make three-pointers? Who cares?!”
Scott jumped to Ceballos’ defense by pointing out that there’s one player in today’s game who has gone against the league’s ever-increasing reliance on the outside shot and has found great success doing so. “Ced, I think your game woulda did well in this era, because we just had a prime example. [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander], not a three-point shooter, averaged 30.”
Scott brought up how SGA used the mid-range game and his ability to get to the free-throw line to great effect, winning both the regular season and Finals MVP while leading the Thunder to their first championship in Oklahoma City.
Scott sees SGA’s transgressive game as the spark that could slow down the three-point revolution. “I think what he was able to accomplish this year will have all these guys … start reevaluating how the game is gonna be played in the next 5-10 years.”
Kid Jay, Scott’s cohost on the podcast, brought up Kawhi Leonard as another guy who has thrived despite never being reliant on the three-pointer. Kawhi has struggled with injuries in recent years, but he’s still a two-time Finals MVP and six-time All-NBA player who’s made most of his money on the defensive end and in the mid-range.
As a team, the Thunder attempted the 12th-most threes in the league, and they made the 10th-most. Contrary to prevailing opinion, jacking up a ton of threes isn’t the best way to win, a fact proven by the presence of the Bulls, Jazz, Spurs, Nets, Wizards, Hornets and Suns all being ahead of OKC in threes attempted.
The Celtics, Warriors, Cavs and Wolves were the only playoff teams to shoot more threes than the Thunder. Boston led the league by a wide margin, but that one-dimensional style of play is exactly what proved to be their undoing against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference semis.
Players like SGA and Kawhi aren’t exactly growing on trees, but their accomplishments show that there’s value in zagging while the rest of the league zigs. It will be interesting to see if Scott is right and others follow suit.
