Total Pageviews

Thursday, January 22, 2026

Basketball - "Idee Fixe"

Everyone has an "idee fixe," entrenched perception of the basketball world. It's seductive to believe that our ideas and experience are superior to the "next new thing."

The 1980 NBA Champion Lakers made ZERO three-pointers in the NBA Finals. The NBA introduced the three-pointer that season, making it more of a novelty than a staple of offensive attack.

In 1977, "The Punch" of Rudy Tomjanovich by Kermit Washington led to an unprecedented 20-game suspension. But it paved the way for "decongestion" of basketball behemoths, changing the game forever. The adoption of the three-point shot reduced some of the paint pugilism as the game moved outside. 

Fixed ideas lead to concepts such as "defense wins championships" over "balance wins championships," that shot clocks are unnecessary, and a personal pet peeve, "the demise of the pass-first point guard."

There's also basketball "trickle-down economics." As the long ball becomes more and more of a staple, that influence infects every level of play. 

A summary with an AI assist:

  • 1979–80 (Inaugural Season): 2.8 three-point attempts per game

  • Early 1980s: Remained below 1.0 made per game, with attempts averaging around 3–4 per game

  • 1984–85 Onward: Steady rise in attempts, with a nearly linear trend over 25 years

  • 2000–2010: Gradual increase, averaging around 10–12 three-point attempts per game

  • 2012–13: Reached 20 attempts per game

  • 2015–16 (Steph Curry’s MVP season): Marked a turning point — attempts surged past 25 per game

  • 2018–19: Averaged 30.4 three-point attempts per game

  • 2022–23: Peaked at 35.4 attempts per game, with teams regularly attempting over 35 threes per game. It's still rising. 

There is not a 1:1 correlation with three-point attempts and success. The best team in the NBA (OKC) is 16th in three-pointers attempted per game and the other conference leader (DET) is 27th. 


Image from ChatGPT Plus 


So it's EFG%? OKC is fourth and DET is 17th. 

The object of the game is scoring more points than opponents. Team point differentials reflect the objective. 


Mirabile dictu, defensive rating still matters, too. 


The Thunder and Pistons both appear among the leaders. 

No "fixed idea" or unitary answer explains or solves why teams win or don't. Everything - talent, culture, coaching, balance, and crunchtime execution - goes into the competitive cauldron. 

Lagniappe. Joe Mazzulla ducks some of the "pet peeves" question.

Lagniappe 2. Authentic joy for the success of others is a worthy goal.  

Lagniappe 3. The ability to win without your best stuff is a hallmark of successful players and teams.  

Posted by at