Former NBA superstar Charles Barkley, now an analyst, likes to make bold statements, and recently blamed the Golden State Warriors for ruining basketball. In today’s NBA landscape, teams are constantly criticized for how heavily they rely on 3-point shooting. In many game plans, teams will choose to pass open twos in favor of a possible 3-point shot.

Berkeley selects Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson The Howard Eskin Show when discussing Cause of this problem today:

“My problem isn’t the 3-point shot. It’s who’s shooting it. There are some bad players who shoot the 3-point shot. Well, fine, if you’re a good 3-point shooter, good luck. If you’re one of those guys and you can’t shoot the 3-point shot, why are you shooting the 3-point shot?”

We need more. We need to give more coaches the power to say, “Hey, you’re not a three-point shooter.” Don’t take three shots. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have ruined the NBA because everyone thinks they’re Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. You are not them. Stop jacking up threes. ”

Barkley made sure to mention that he was criticizing players whose shooting skills were worse than Curry and Thompson. However, he feels that the Splash Brothers took over the league in the 2010s, leading lesser players and other teams to copy their blueprint.

Did curry cause this dramatic change?

Coaches are more to blame than players for the changes in the style of the NBA game over the past few years. The Houston Rockets tried to beat the Warriors at their own game, backed by Mike D’Antoni’s coaching mind and James Harden’s offensive excellence.

Despite not winning the NBA Championship, Houston’s regular season success caused other teams to mess up their game plans. Teams now want him to make easy 2-pointers in the paint or pass to 3-point shooters in the corner spots every possession.

Curry and Thompson made the 3-point shot even more popular at a time when it was considered out-of-bounds. Golden State had a more creative offense during its formative years, so it doesn’t deserve to be criticized for today’s teams all reflecting the same style.

Why Charles Berkeley criticized Curry

Barkley makes a good point that players who aren’t as good as Curry and Thompson are trying to recreate what they did in their glory days. NBA teams are trying to develop shooters by signing good 3-point marksmen or replacing players who lack an outside shot.

Old-school players like Barkley have little respect for teams that follow a finesse style of shooting more than 40 3-pointers per game. But Barkley also deserves some criticism for saying the Warriors’ outside shooting in the 2010s cost them a chance to win a title.

Golden State proved him wrong time and time again, influencing the rest of the league’s teams to try to win with shots. Barkley and other legends from previous eras miss the physical play of players who have to fight for every bucket. Only time will tell if the NBA returns to that style or if the reliance on three-point shooting remains forever.

joey haverford Joey Haverford is a veteran sports content writer with over 12 years of experience. In the sports industry, he covers the NBA, WNBA, MLB, NFL, professional wrestling, etc. Learn more about Joey Haverford